Mountain Biking in Gatlinburg: The Ultimate Guide

Cades Cove Loop Road

This 11-mile one way trail offers riders a closer view of the enchanting mountain valley of Cades Cove. Bikers can view wildlife, visit historic buildings, and just enjoy the majesty of riding through this scenic bowl in the Great Smoky Mountains.

For mountain bikers there are three options that spur off of Cades Cove Loop Road.

• Sparks Lane and Hyatt Lane shorten the loop and take you off the main 11-mile trail.
• For more adventurous and experienced mountain bikers there is Rich Mountain Road just past Hyatt lane. This path will take riders up a steep climb on a gravel road to the park boundary at Rich Mountain Gap. This route is 7-miles one way.
• Again for the seasoned mountain biker, there is the Forge Creek Road/Parsons Branch Road option. This gravel road, located just past the Cades Cove Visitors Center, leads bikers up a steep 5.4 climb to the crest of Hannah Mountain.
• If you are visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the second weekend in May and to the second to last weekend in September be sure to bike Cades Cove Loop on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings when the loop is closed to automobiles.

Gatlinburg Trail

An easy trail better suited for a beginner mountain biker, the Gatlinburg Trail runs for 1.9 miles each way from the Sugarlands Visitor Center in Gatlinburg along the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River. This trail offers riders the peaceful presence of a mountain river in addition to several old historic foundations and chimneys to view.

Oconaluftee River Trail

This trail travels for 1.5 miles each way from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to the outskirts of the City of Cherokee, NC. The Oconaluftee River Trail rolls over some small hills and winds through forests and along parts of the Ocunaluftee River.

Diane Cutler co-owner of Bryson City Bikes adds, “The Oconaluftee River Trail is great for beginners! It’s a flat-(one of very few flat trails in western NC), packed dirt, multi-use trail along the Oconaluftee River, and it’s just 3 miles out and back.”

Considered one of the most beautiful rides in the area, and family friendly, Deep Creek Trail follows along crystal clear Deep Creek. Out and back, the trail is 4.5 miles.

Diane Cutler co-owner of Bryson City Bikes explains, “I call this a family friendly trail, not necessarily an EASY trail. There are two short but steep hills on the outbound leg. If you’re not a hill climber or have small children, simply get off and push up the hills, the rest of the trail is well worth it!”

This trail located outside the Bryson City, NC part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rolls along the beautiful and tumbling falls of Deep Creek. Mountain Bikers are permitted to stay on Deep Creek and Indian Creek Trails until the roadbeds end and the trail treads begin.

Diane Cutler co-owner of Bryson City Bikes describes, “If you’re looking for a few more miles to tack on to your Deep Creek ride and a little more of a workout, give Indian Creek a whirl. Less traveled than the Deep Creek Trail, this trail is tranquil and follows Indian Creek the entire two and a half miles up. And up is the operative word here; the trail is nearly all uphill, some gradual, some moderate, some a little steeper. But the workout is worth it because when you turn around, the return trip is all downhill.”

This scenic road/trail begins at Greenbriar, 6 miles East of Gatlinburg, near the Town of Pittman Center. Mountain Bikers can park at the Rangers Station just after turning onto Greenbriar Road and follow this road up 1 mile until it turns into gravel. From there the gravel road winds up the mountain along the scenic Porters Creek and through dense forest for an additional 5 miles to the Porters Creek and Ramsey Cascades trail head. Mountain Biking is not permitted on these trails.

The four-loop system, consists of mountain bike options from 4-12 miles, and offers a variety of landscapes and trail types from single track to old logging roads. In addition, there are several connector trails, gravel roads, and extension trails that give more options for rides on top of the main loop trails.

Tsali is known for its hard packed, single track trails that are well designed and maintained.

This 8.7 mile loop trail is also ranked moderate. It leads mountain bikers down old logging roads and along single track. Wildlife viewing is also possible on this trail with a chance to see wild turkey, deer and grouse in wildlife openings, in addition to old home sites.

Located in Western North Carolina between Brevard and Hendersonville, DuPont State Recreational Forest is an outdoor adventure lover’s dream playground. This 10,400 acre state forest features over 100 miles of unique trails. As Kent Cranford owner of Motion Makers Cycling in Sylvia describes, “DuPont has the most density of trails and beauty per mile because of the waterfall terrain. You can have your mind blown out there over and over again.”

DuPont Forest offers both single track and easy forest road trails. Many of their trails are more traditional trails for the region that hug mountainous terrain through dense forest. However, these trails have the added bonus of featuring spectacular waterfalls trails as riders wind along the Little Pigeon River and its tributaries.

Pisgah National Forest is a wonder unto itself. Covering over 500,000 acres of dense mountainous terrain in Western North Carolina, this national forest contains breathtaking waterfalls, hardwood forests, steep ridgelines, whitewater rivers, and numerous trails. Pisgah National Forest is also known as the Cradle of Forestry-an American historic site, as it hosted the first school of forestry in the country.

Famous among mountain bikers in the Southeast, Pisgah National Forest is a mountain biker’s paradise. With over 245 miles of trails this national forest offers a huge network of trails and gravel roads running all throughout this rugged wilderness.

This 9.8 mile trail is rated difficult, and rightly so as it covers an elevation change of 1,900 feet. The first part of the trail is relatively easy, but this changes quickly as riders ascend 800 feet up and over Little Hickory Knob. From there the trail eases up a bit and drops down to Pressley Gap then onto Black Mountain and Clawhammer mountain (which has an especially nice view).The trail continues on to climb Soapstone Ridge and ends at Club Gab. As Scott Smith owner of Tennessee Valley Bikes notes, “[Black Mountain trail is …] tough and awesome with two summits, Clawhammer Mountain and Black Mountain and there are great views from each. This is one of my favorite trails of all time!” For more information visit:http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recreation/bicycling/recarea/?recid=48322&actid=24

Rated moderate, this trail starts from the Bradley Creek Trail and scoots past the old Mullinax homeplace where there is a grassy opening and the remains of the house foundation. This trail continues as a side slope trail and winds around several gaps-Mullinax Gap, Laurel Gap, Horse Cove Gap and Squirrel Gap-then finally descends to Wolf Ford where it intersects with the South Mills River Trail. As Scott Smith describes, “[This as one of his other favorite trails in Pisgah…] Squirrel Gap cuts around the sides of Funnel Top Mountain and Rich Mountain and while very close to Black Mountain Trail it’s totally different. Squirrel Gap is narrow, rooty and rocky East Coast single track at its best. Sometimes the trail seems to be only inches wide. To quote a good friend of mine after riding Squirrel, ‘Tonight, you’ll dream of roots.'” For more information visit:http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recreation/bicycling/recarea/?recid=48350&actid=24

Covering over 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, Big South Fork Recreation area protects free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. Known for its scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs, this national recreation area is filled with numerous natural and historic features, and is a popular play area for many outdoor recreation activities.

Skinny singletrack, doable hills, spectacular views, and known for being less populated than other mountain biking destinations, have made mountain biking increasingly more popular in Big South Fork. In addition, Big South Fork Mountain Bike Club has built and maintained more trails in this recreation area attracting more mountain bikers.

Big South Fork contains bike only trails, but mountain bikes are allowed on highway edges, backcountry roads and some horse trails. Thus, this recreation area provides many different options for mountain bikers of all levels. As Scott Smith adds, “[Big South Fork is a…] another great place for beginners looking for more of a backcountry experience, the Big South Fork trails has good mileage and beautiful views.”

Great trails, the Grand Gap Loop and John Muir Loop, are excellent trails for beginner or intermediate riders, as they are both mostly flat and smooth single track. These trails can be combined and made into a longer ride. As Scott Smith describes this trail, “The Grand Gap to John Muir Loop is about eighteen miles of contour trail without any huge climbs. These trails also hold up really well when the weather is poor. Grand Gap is a contour trail that follows the rim of the Big South Fork River Gorge. It has spectacular views and nice trails that are good to ride in any weather.” For more information visit: http://www.bigsouthforkbike.org/BikeTrails.html

A great trail for mountain bikers of all levels the South Loop’s main trail is 12.5 miles. Riders will experience a variety of single track, dirt roads and greenways. The main loop is rated easy to moderate, but for more advanced mountain bikers there are four additional trailheads within this system that lead to all different trial types and levels. These include Mead’s Quarry, William Hastie Natural Area, Anderson School and Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area.

For more information visit: http://www.outdoorknoxville.com/urban-wilderness or http://www.mtbproject.com/trail/59266

This state of the art trail features a two-mile green flow trail, practice loop and pump track, with an extensive, purpose built trail system in sight. The trail is packed with rollers, logs, bridges, and berms, and features the state-of-the art section called “The Curliest”. All are rideable for beginners, and fun for experts.

Voted Best Bike store in Knoxville for 2013 by the Knoxville Metro Pulse, Tennessee Valley Bikes (TVB) has a long standing reputation for superb customer service and some of the best biking merchandise in East Tennessee.

Tennessee Valley Bikes sales a variety of the top brands including: Surly, Scott, Salsa Cycles, Kona, and Breezer. In addition, the store currently offers demo Kona and Scott mountain bikes. This is a great service to interested customers who would like to test out different bike styles on the trail before they buy them.

For visitors to the area, especially those seeking to try out Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness trails TVB rents Kona and Scott Bicycles in varying sizes to accommodate most adult riders.

Visit TVB at:
214 W Magnolia Ave Knoxville, Tennessee 37917 | 865-540-9979

Known as the ‘Tsali’s Bike Shop’, Bryson City Bicycles is your one-one-stop shop for bikes sales, rentals, gear, repair and much more. Located in the heart of downtown Bryson City, this store features top bikes brands such as Kona, Scott, 9niner, and Marin.

Laidback owners, Diane Cutler and Andy Zivinsky, have lived all over the country and chose to open their store in Western North Carolina as passionate mountain bikers and outdoors enthusiasts. They bring this contagious passion for biking and exploring the outdoors to their shop and share this with every customer that steps through the door.

Opened in Sylva, North Carolina since 1986, this bicycle shop expanded and opened a sister store in Asheville in 2010.

Motion Maker Bicycle Shops are committed to unprecedented customer service. As their motto reiterates, “Everyone talks about great customer service, but we mean real, impassioned, ‘how-can-we-help-you-and-we-mean-it’, customer service.”