Around
2008 Jean and I were in the habit of taking a Labor Day weekend trip down to
Chattanooga. The primary target of these trips was to ride the roads and trails
of the Chattanooga-Chickamauga National Battlefield. I’d first ridden the
battlefield while working on my biking guide (Bike Book), and we loved going
back to see the monuments on the battlefield and to learn more about this
turning point in the Civil War.
Raccoon Mountain Visitors Center.
Both
of us were confident riding on single track so there were many other trail
systems that we could explore. We’d also ride the trails from my bike book just
outside of town in Prentice Cooper State Forest and the Ocoee Whitewater
Center, as well as new trails in town including the Guild-Hardy Trail on
Lookout Mountain, the Enterprise South Nature Park, and Raccoon Mountain. At
the time Chattanooga was going through an explosion of trail building, most of
which were built for mountain bikes by the local SORBA chapter. Enterprise (2023 Enterprise ride) and Raccoon Mountain are
two trail networks built expressly for mountain bikes.
Grindstone Ridge Trail.
Raccoon
Mountain is a pumped storage facility on the Tennessee River operated by the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Pumped storage facilities operate as a giant
battery. When power demand is low and power prices are cheap, water is pumped
to a storage reservoir above the river. Then when demand peaks and power prices
are high, water is dropped through turbines as in a dam to generate power. TVA
had partnered with SORBA Chattanooga in 2005 to construct a mountain bike trail
network around the reservoir at Raccoon Mountain.
Grindstone Ridge Trail.
After
riding the Brush Creek and Bear Paw trails at the Ocoee system on Saturday,
Jean and I decided to try the Raccoon Mountain trails on Sunday. We found our
way up to the visitor center at Raccoon Mountain, and prepared to ride a loop
clockwise around the reservoir. The VC had informative displays about the
facility, a nice lookout over the Tennessee River, water fountains, and indoor
plumbing. It was a foggy day, but not too hot and muggy.
Our
first trail was Grindstone Ridge, rated intermediate, which was a fun, narrow
single track with some tight turns that followed close to the VC road. This was
a good match for our skills, offering a pretty cross country ride, with just a
bit of challenge. Next we’d pass junctions with the Table Rock and Lower Chunky
trails near the switchyard about two miles in. Instead, we took the East
Rim-Switchyard connector which was rated beginner. We found the junctions easy
to spot, but were glad to have our trail maps as the marker posts were
generally missing. For most of the loop, we stuck to the inside trails, which
were rated easier than their counterparts which typically ranged further from
the reservoir.
Jean on Grindstone Ridge Trail.
The
connector again was fine riding. Our only troubles were in following the trail
amid at least two new trails being built to branch off the connector. We got to
the East Overlook a little over four miles in and were super happy with the
trail so far. Next we would take the South Rim Trail, which was also rated as
Beginner. We took some time out to find two geocaches hidden along the trail.
Geocaching.
At
the end of South Rim around 6.5 miles we started the Laurel Point Trail. This
trail was rated Intermediate, but we found it significantly more technical with
rocky sections and small drops. After another mile Jean bailed out at a spur to
a parking area while I continued around to the picnic area. The trail didn’t
improve much with more rocky areas with drops.
However,
on the back side of the picnic area I found another new trail that led back
toward the reservoir road and alongside the picnic area road (This trail would
be merged with South Rim to become Electric Avenue). This was another fun,
smooth, and low tech single track. I followed this new trail to the reservoir
road and then took the access road to the picnic area, where I had planned to
meet Jean. From the picnic area we rode the new trail back to the reservoir road,
and then stayed on the road to close the loop back at the visitor center to
finish with 16.2 miles.
Overall,
we’d found the trails a bit tougher than expected. Grindstone had some
technical sections, but we were fresh, and there were even some rough spots on
the connector. We thought the west half of Laurel Ridge should have been rated
advanced. The new trail to the picnic area was probably the easiest. The system
is almost 100% single track. We saw lots of people, but everyone we talked to
was there for their first time. The trail junctions all had posts set, but the
signs hadn’t been added yet. At this point it was just at the edge of Jean’s
ability, but would have been ideal for a more experienced rider.
Since
our 2008 ride the trail system has been expanded with the addition of Live
Wire, a long advanced trail around the north side of the reservoir, and with a
number of new connecting trails. The system now totals around 30 trail miles.
9-6-09,
Raccoon Mountain Trail Run
11.7
miles in ~ 3 hours, Solo
2009
brought us a four day weekend to spend in Chattanooga. The first day we drove
down to the Walls of Jericho in Alabama to explore new trails. On day two we
rode through the battlefield. Jean needed the next day to catch up with her
teaching responsibilities, so I decided to head back to Raccoon Mountain. Essentially,
I would repeat our mountain biking loop, except that I would run the advanced
Megawatt Trail, instead of the road between Laurel Point PC area and the
visitors center.
I’d
hoped to mountain bike, but a rainstorm started on the drive, so I thought I’d
be better off running. To save some driving I used the East Brow Trailhead. My
route was clockwise around Electric Avenue 1, and 2, River Gorge, Megawatt,
Grindstone Ridge, Connector, and East Rim. As I’d seen on our MB ride, the
trail junctions still needed some signs, but otherwise it was great running. I
walked a bit near the VC but otherwise ran nice smooth trail.
2009 Raccoon Mountain Biking and Running loops.
Current
TVA trail map: (Here)
