We rode the part of this trail which leads from Wilson Morgan park to the Tennessee River. It goes through residential Decatur, mostly along sidewalks which parallel the roads. You must stop or slow continually for crossroads/curbs. The neighborhoods you ride through are sketchy with a lot of trash and poor upkeep. It’s certainly not scenic in any way until you reach the old downtown. Also, I’m several places it’s poorly marked or not marked at all.

Beautiful ride!! Nice and shaded- several people on the trail. It is working biking, walking, or running. Great place!!

This is one of the most beautiful rails to trails. But, it is a rough bicycle ride. Athens/Limestone need to pave it.

My husband and I have been walking this trail at different entry points for years, we have seen all forms of wildlife from snakes to owls. My only complaint is the people who throw their trash out and expect someone else to pick it up

Rode about 5 miles this afternoon. Relatively smooth gravel pathway with modest elevation changes and turns. Beautiful scenery. Very enjoyable.

A trail with a LOT of potential if maintained properly. The original trailbed is gravel, a mix between no. 57 and no. 67, and for the most part was pleasant, well, the 1/2 mile of the 1.5 miles one way that we rode that wasn’t redone in large no. 1 and no. 3 stones (Im talking 1/2” to 3” rocks here) and that was a rough ride. Whoever made the decision to fill the holes with fist sized rocks needs fired. At the end of my brief ride, one of my tires started going flat. This trail as is may be great for hikers and horses, but is bad for bikes. I won’t be back.

We have ridden this trail 4 or 5 times in the past and we have really enjoyed it, but not this time. We started at the caboose in town and headed north on the trail. It was very rough. Lots of tree limbs and debris. There were large rocks that made the going very tough. Looks like someone has stopped maintaining the trail. We made it to the northern end after a very rough ride. We decided that we just couldn't head back on the trail so we rode the road back into Elkmont.

We were so disappointed in the trail that we did not try the southern part. We just drove the 2 hours back home.

It is a shame because we have enjoyed the trail in the past. We won't come back unless something is done for the trail.

Swan Creek Trail is a well maintained bike/walk/run trail in Athens, AL. Nice natural features like the creek with small noisy rapids and interesting man made ramps and bridges. Trail travels under all major roads for maximum safety. Good mix of sun and shade connecting Athens shopping to tennis, ball and soccer facilities. Enjoy this quick pit stop with even your smallest or oldest family members and pets.

I'm late with this review, but the previous two reviews prompted me to add mine now. I went for my third on this trail in late 2017. As my earlier reviews stated, I had really nice rides. But not this one. I started at the northern trailhead and only went maybe a couple of miles before turning back because the trail was in such horrible shape. As stated in the two previous reviews by markmoore and Old Terry, there were lots of very large rocks to contend with which made the ride very unpleasant. I kept waiting for signs that things were going to get better, but that didn't happen and finally I just gave it up and turned back and got on the road alongside the trail as soon as possible. I had driven over an hour to get there, so I was quite disappointed. The short stretch of trail on the north end between the trailhead and the woods has always been the roughest section, but it was tolerable. But this time it was really bad even far into the woods. Apparently no trail maintenance at all had been done for quite some time. As the Mad Tweeter might say - Sad!

I would like to try the trail again sometime this year, but will not unless I know it will be in better shape for biking. Hopefully someone can give an update here on the condition of the trail at the north end.

Oh, and there are indeed dogs again at the house by the trailhead. They were in a fenced-in yard and I don't recall having any problems with them - not even being barked at - but they are there again.