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Smooth ride and uncrowded. No traffic. At one point it seems to end but you have to cross the road to catch the rest of the trail
A group of 6 semi aged men from St Marys GA recently ventured west to bike this and others in the area. This is a beautiful trail , well maintained (with a short construction detour presently). Kudos to the city of Columbus for putting a significant investment in the downtown part of the trail in particular. Good workout and plenty of watering holes in Columbus to reward yourself. Nice variety of environment I.e. riverside, urban, country side.
I spent 3 days in Columbus Aug 7-9, and finally got to ride this whole trail, plus roads through town to the Riverwalk. Very nice and enjoyable, cars stopped at several crossings for me (which I am not used to), and generally I was respected as another vehicle when I was on the road. I never felt threatened in any way, it is safer than many store parking lots. Thank you for this great amenity! When we come back, (Dr visit) I will be bringing my bike again!
I set out today looking for a new trail to ride. After reading the reviews I wasn't expecting much, but still decided to give it a try as it was only 30 minutes from where I live and the trail distance sounded good. I parked in the lot in Shawmut and was immediately concerned by the graffiti on all the signage. Still, I unloaded my bike and decided to take the risk. The trail still comes to an abrupt end about 1 1/2 miles into the ride. Fortunately I had read the reviews and was able to locate the next portion on the other side of U.S. 29. Other people have posted some nice pictures of the area. All I can say is the pictures are much nicer than the actual scenery now. Everything seems to be getting worse. The trail itself is in desperate need of maintenance. There are areas where it has been dug up and never repaved. It seems the City of Valley has lost interest, funding or both for keeping this trail in good condition. By the time I made it to Riverview, I had lost all desire to look for the river itself. The ride back was quick and uneventful. Overall, the area along the trail is very sketchy. As a police officer, I would not recommend anyone riding it alone. There are several areas where, if someone was so inclined, a person could be robbed very easily. Hopefully in time the City of Valley will make an attempt to clean up the trail and help it reach it's full potential. Until then, once was more than enough.
I've not only been over every inch of this trail as a recreational biker but I've also used it to commute to work at Fort Benning from my neighborhood deep in the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee. Riding to work I sweated street traffic until picking up the trail in downtown Columbus. After that it was very pleasant peddling along the safe Riverwalk at sunrise all the way into Fort Benning. On the ride home, it was a much slower trip because I would stop and look into every creek and slough along the way. Such "alligator habitat" side sights make this trail extra interesting. I no longer work at Benning but I still ride the trail which is great for tween and teen family members too.
I favor the Rotary Park access when taking children with me to the trail. From there one can go upriver to downtown, the rapids, and the mills. Or one can go downstream toward the wooded areas and Fort Benning.
An excellent recreational motive for peddling from Columbus south toward Benning are two attractions around the Benning end of the trail. One is the Oxbow Meadows Nature Center. The other is the Infantry Museum. The museum is outside of Benning's checkpoint gates so there is no hassle. But the Museum prohibits even "small pocket knives" so leave your bicycle maintenance multi-tool, your pepper spray, etc. at your bike before going in.
The pavement on this trail is generally smoother than downtown roads and much of the Riverwalk. However there are lots of rough spots that can trip a novice-class inline skater like myself. I've skated from Flat Rock Park to Psalmond Road and back a couple of times and I've completed a one-way from Flat Rock Park to the Train Station Burger King at the Peachtree Mall area. The later trip involves a 95 foot net elevation drop according to Google Earth and the same source shows the distance as 4.66 miles. From FRP to Psalmond Road is 1.3 miles and is 2.6 for the down and back. The asphalt to concrete junctions vary from well-meshed to quite rough, especially on the first bridge east of FRP. I skate with typical 80mm wheels and have had some trouble with rough spots so I may follow the trend to 110 or 125mm tri-skates for smoothing out the ride. I've fallen only twice and both times were on the rough pavement of the street crossings, once at Reese Road and once at nearby University Avenue. Fatigue probably played a part in the falls but the pavement is tricky. The trail uses yellow bump panels at the approaches to the crossings that are not inline skate friendly but the asphalt out in the road is more of a hazard.
Rode the Fall Line Trace for the first time with my 4-year old daughter and it was awesome! Rode between Hilton Ave. and Columbus State University. Shady, flat, perfect! Bravo!
The trail is pretty good! The trail starts off great! After you cross the bridge the scenery goes away. It is a great exercise trail! Loved it until crossing bridge and then it turns into just a asphalt walkway in the middle of ??? and a campground at the very end. I will say the views of the lake, the bridge over the lake, the cool old architectural things, the bird scenery, the history and the waterfall make up for the last part of the trail! So yes I would go back!
My husband and I walked this trail in January 2017. It was well worth the walk in 30 degree weather. Look for the side trails marked by cute little signs. One took us to a waterfall. The other to a path that looked like it was straight from a fairytale. We will be coming back!
I have used this trail many times. I do agree that there are too many busy intersections to cross. Some areas where the trail are located can be a bit sketchy. But overall the trail serves its purpose.
I've ridden over 1,000 miles on the River Walk and Fall Line Trace since May of 2016. I have never had one instance of feelin in danger. I'm 66 years old and have had nothing but great experiences. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
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