When searching for the best mountain bike trails, your journey can take you a distance away from home.
Mountain bike trails in Georgia are among the best you can find. Employing a close-knit region in the Appalachian Mountains, many are close together, so you can combine a couple if they are shorter, or span a couple of days and explore more.
In North Georgia, especially, there is so much great riding, it is hard to pick out the best. Although, here, we have the top Georgia mountain bike trails you can find for your next excursion.
5 Best Georgia Mountain Bike Trails
1. Bear Creek
Bear Creek is an intermediate trail and made up of a 10-mile Blue Ridge (Woodstock) singletrack loop that delivers excellent rides.
It comes in with a 4,700’ elevation gain. You find this loop is a part of the Pinhoti trail and great for downhill mountain bikers as you ride the most of it while descending the trail.
There lower portions are a bit on the muddy side with creek crossings, yet the trail is fast and flows well. It allows for lots of high-speed action before you reach the lower parts where you ride along with the sections you traveled on the ascent.
The main highlights of this loop are to pull over and take some snaps of the Gannet Poplar; it is a massive tree with an enormous girth.
2. Blankets Creek
You will find the Blankets Creek trail is among the top bike trails in Georgia that sit in the Atlanta region.
The elevation isn’t too much at 871 ft., yet it offers 15 miles of the best singletrack you can find. Right from the outset, you can pick all manner of accessible trails from this stacked-loop trail.
However, it is when you venture more inside you come across the prime trail system. Here you find berms, rocks, jumps, and lots more to keep you going. It is hugely popular and can get busy, although it is never overly congested once you head away from the parking area.
You can also find many other trails in Blankets Creek, such as Mosquito flats, Dwelling Loop, South Loop trail, The Holler, and Van Michael trail.
3. Jake Mountain Trail
The Jake Mountain trail delivers 30 miles that provide elevation up to 1752 feet. It guarantees lots of fast downhill action while you still have a chance to soak up the scenery.
You can race through tunnels through the mountain laurel, cross creeks, and pass by waterfalls. The bike trail comprises just under half singletrack, and the remainder split between primitive road and double track.
You have so much to take in; it is advisable to take a map and compass to make sure you get back to the end of the bike trail.
If you tackle the entire mountain bike trail, your total climb can amount to nearly 3,000 feet so that you can have multiple chances of speedy descents; however, it is as easy to pick more accessible trails where your elevation isn’t more than a few hundred feet.
You can split this mountain trail as on the other side; you have Bull Mountain.
4. Stanley Gap
One of the toughest yet most exhilarating bike trails in Georgia has to be Stanley Gap. It is on the advanced end of the scale and comprises 20 miles out and then 10 miles back.
The 2,100 elevated singletrack offers very fast downhill. It does take plenty of lung power to power you through the tricky trail, yet if you want more or want to add distance, other trails can easily be incorporated.
It does see some other traffic, yet this won’t detract from your action. You face many false summits before reaching the highest point, and from there, you can speed all the way back down to the start.
Such is its popularity as one of the best Georgia trails; you need to be wary of hikers who frequent this trail for a challenge on foot.
5. Clinton Nature Preserve
In this nature preserve, you find 13 of the sweetest trails you can wish to ride. You will traverse everything from granite, rocks, and creeks in this glorious singletrack setting.
No matter if you are a beginner or experienced, there is something for everyone. Be sure to collect a map from the parking lot kiosk, and you are good to go.
If you are a first-timer, you may wish to tag along with more a more experienced mountain biker who knows their way around.
There are many updates on the trail thanks to some supporting locals, and you can even partake in a Wednesday evening night ride for a different jolt of adrenaline. You also find a decent elevation without being too taxing, so you won’t be out of breath before you begin to head downhill.
Once you begin searching for the best trails in the region, you can find countless others that span across a state park, to deliver many miles of enjoyable mountain biking.
Not only are there trails for every level of experience, yet the great outdoors; that is home to these trails offer some of the best scenery you can imagine.
The list can go on, and you have the potential of hundreds to choose, but if you focus on the five above, you are in for a great time without spreading yourself too thinly across the state.
Woodstock, Ellijay, and Dahlonega serve up most of the best trails in the northern part of the state. All you need now is to grab your bike and get out there for some two-wheeled fun and fresh air.
