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Print Friendly MapThe Melton Lake Greenway is an 11-mile out-and-back trail on the Clinch River and its reservoir, Melton Hill Lake. The trail begins by tracing the forested northern perimeter of Haw Ridge Park. This brings it right up to the river's edge, where it remains as it twists and curves its way north. The trail also parallels Melton Lake Drive, so the sights and sounds of car traffic are always close by. Benches are placed strategically at points offering scenic river views. At the marina, kayakers and other water recreation enthusiasts can be seen enjoying Melton Hill Lake.
The trail ends at Elza Gate Park. It also connects to the Emory Valley Greenway, a neighborhood recreation trail, at the intersection of Melton Lake Drive and Emory Valley Road.
The trail is mostly flat or mild, but there are a couple of points where the grade may get challenging - there's a steep climb coming out of the Haw Ridge Trailhead, and another smaller incline at 0.6 miles from the trailhead at Melton Lake Drive and Centennial Boulevard.
There's plenty of parking along the trail route including:
This is a great trail for working off your winter fluff - it is challenging in areas with hills which for those of us who spent the winter either shoveling snow or hibernating (me) came as a surprise! The trail itself is paved with asphalt or concrete slabs. The asphalt areas have tree roots humps and bumps accompanied with a couple heaves. The poured concrete slabs were in decent shape. The trail goes alongside Melton Lake - pretty early spring views from the bluff. Many people were out enjoying the warm temps and the crew teams were out on the water. I
This is my go to bike path. I start at Haw Ridge and ride to Elza Gate - 6miles one way. Great round trip ride! Very pretty scenery and some challenging hills.
Nice paved trail. More than enough hills for this Floridian!
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