Raccoon Mountain

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Key Search Terms: Raccoon Mountain Chattanooga TN; SORBA Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association; Tennessee Valley Authority TVA; camping Raccoon Mountain Chattanooga; Chattanooga attractions.

A video of one of our rides here can be found on YouTube.

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Text: Rich Ries. Photos: Rich Ries. Event: Mountain bike ride. Location: Raccoon Mountain Trail Network in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Time of Visit: multiple visits. Miles: 16.5. Rich skipped one section and ended up with about 12 miles. Total Elevation Gain: 1,291 feet. Fee: No. Closures: None posted, but check with SORBA and/or the TVA before making the trip. Accommodations: We stayed at a hotel, but camping is available in the area.

The Good: Intensely fun. Easy to navigate, even without a map. Convenient to Chattanooga and all it offers, such as restaurants, bike shops, lodging, and other attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum.

The Bad: SORBA intends to expand the system; we wish those additional miles were on the ground right now to multiply the fun factor.

The Summary: One more exquisite urban trail system in the Southeast.

SORBA wanted to build a showcase trail, and in Raccoon Mountain they succeeded. Pretty much every inch of the trail is fun, with roots, rocks, small step-ups and drop-ins. Beginners can find do-able segments and restrict their riding to those areas while intermediate and advanced riders can rip into the whole thing.

Note that the various trail names, such as East Brow and Grind Stone, actually refer to trail segments, not separate, distinct trails. There is essentially one loop with different named segments. The exception is that Small Intestine is a stacked loop in the northeast corner of the main trail.

I visited at the end of a hectic business trip. It was late afternoon when I arrived and because I was concerned about available daylight, I chose to skip part of the trail and take the road along the top of the dam. Bad choice. I got back to the parking lot and thought I had nearly enough time for a second loop, and that shortcutting the first lap had been completely unnecessary. A second downside is that I didn't take time to shoot photos, although I did GPS the ride. I wish I had those pictures now for my own review and to share with you. On the other hand since I skipped part of the trail I now have additional incentive to go back, not that I needed additional incentive.

After talking with several local riders I chose to ride the trail counterclockwise. It flowed very well that direction, although the consensus is that flow is good both directions. And I did take the time to ride Small Intestine. That's a blast. One of the cool features is a bowl that's bermed all the way around. I entered from the uphill side of the bowl, rocketed around the edge about 430 degrees (passing my entry point), and exited to continue on the trail.

The place is extremely popular. By the time I got back to the BRATmobile there was not a vacant spot in the lot. There is additional parking at other lots; SORBA advises against parking on the grass as that's likely to result in a ticket.

Update: I went back several weeks after that first trip and rode Megawatt and skipped Small Intestine. I also took some pictures, which appear below. A second trip confirmed that this is one of my favorite trails of all time. Certainly in the Top 5. Maybe one of the Top 3.

Update #2: On another trip to placePlaceNameRaccoon PlaceTypeMountain we rode the Expert Section. There are basically two features that qualify this as an “expert” area. One is a jump where you can grab as much air as your courage and skill allow. The other is a rock face drop-in. It's maybe 15 feet high, at about a 70 degree angle, and moderately rough. The whole Expert Area offers maybe one additional mile of trail. You can continue on to rejoin the main trail, which we did not do; if there are more features on this spur, we don't know about them.

Photos

Probably the most-photographed section of the trail is this one.

The trailbuilders have made exquisite use of native rock. There's not 100 yards of trail on the main loop that doesn't have a rock feature. Some, like that shown above, are quite benign. Some, like that gnarlfest shown below, make you do a victory dance when you clean them.

There's also this tantalizing sign. The area wasn't open on my first visit and I ran out of time (again) on my second. Looks like a third visit is in order.

The map shows my route, including a section of trail I bypassed by riding along the dam - unfortunately.

The plummet at mile 2.5 resulted from having the GPS unit turned off while I contemplated whether to ride Small Intestine. When I realized I'd started off again with the unit in standby, I turned it back on. By then I'd dropped about 100 feet of elevation. Oops.