Explore the best rated trails in Gadsden, AL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Viking Trail and Oostanaula Levee Trail. With more than 8 trails covering 111 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Rode May 4 & 5th, 2023. A fabulous trail! So well maintained! Surrounded by trees on most of the trail. First 20 to 30 miles from Smyrna are probably the easiest.
Started off at the trail head at Anniston and rode north past Piedmont to the 9.5 mile marker. Trail was pretty flat with some bumps along the way. The scenery was good.
One of our favorites! We’ve started at Anniston, Piedmont and Jacksonville State depending on how much time and how far we want to ride. Bathroom stops along the way and beautiful views. Roots under areas of the path but usually easy to spot & avoid. Mike markers are clearly marked and mostly wide open riding!
Husband and I came to ride this trail. We went from the trail head in Anniston. We managed to avoid any rain some lite drizzle but much colder than expected. Rode to mile maker 20. On way back to Anniston we we chased by a white looked like pit bull mix. Food stops along the way would be nice but understandable that there aren’t any for the remote locations. Will most definitely come back!
My wife and I rode the 10 miles out from Cedartowm -awesome trail-smooth and mostly shaded on a very hot Georgia day. We drank a lot of water on the ride only to find that there’s no restroom at Esom. Not good for a couple of 70+ bikers. The person at the Cedartown trailhead said that she didn’t know. Beware- still a great ride ¿
We traveled on ebikes from Piedmont, AL to the Georgia state line and back. We used assist #1 & #2 at times. The trail was in great shape. The rare bumps had been marked with colored paint to see easily. We enjoyed the shade and spots of open sun. We loved the countryside with the tree just beginning to show their fall colors. We fortunately saw only one snake on the trail. It was crossing from one side of the woods over the trail to the other side. It would have been nice to have a restroom at the state line park given we had traveled about 12-13 miles, however the bike racks, picnic table and pavilion were all nice. The transition between the states was a nice touch welcoming each side to the other state. We plan on returning to travel the other sections. We are both senior citizens.
I rode the entire Silver Comet trail starting in Alabama on the Chief Ladgia Trail overnighting in Dallas. The Silver Comet Trail is completely paved, well marked and in nearly perfect condition. There are many road crossings but I never had an issue finding the trail and the few busier road crossings have traffic signals to make crossing safer.
There are a few important things to point out however. The large hill that parallels a landfill outside of Cedartown throws out the rail trail of the Silver Comet. It is very steep and riding from West to East there were two downhills where I had to dismount because I didn't feel safe going down a steep curving decline. Powder Springs and Rockmart have embraced the Silver Comet more as they have more signage directing trail users to local businesses, Cedartown hasn't done the same.
The scenery is gorgeous with great variation from streams, tunnels, a few trestles and plenty of trees providing much needed shade during the Labor Day Weekend heat. I encountered more trail users in the last 20 miles from Dallas to Smyrna than I did in the 80 previous miles from Alabama to Dallas. Almost all trail users were courteous and every driver I encountered at intersections yielded to cyclists.
I highly recommend contacting Rooted Trading Company in Powder Springs if you want to arrange shuttle service to anywhere on either the Silver Comet or Chief Ladgia Trails.
I rode the entire Chief Ladiga and Silver Comet trails over two days and had a great experience on both. I parked overnight at the Weaver PD who were kind enough to let me park my car there as long as I left my info with them. I quickly rode to the Michael Tucker Park to say I started at mile 0 and began my long trip.
Chief Ladiga is fully paved and still in overall great condition. There are a fair amount of cracks and bumps but most were marked and there were none that my hybrid bike tires couldn't handle, they just give me a little rattle. The trail itself is mostly shaded and had mile markers at every half mile. The trail is mostly flat but you will feel when you have to peddle to keep momentum and feel when you can just let loose and speed up on a gentle decline.
My only recommendation for improvement is for the communities along the way to embrace this trail more. I didn't really see signage for local businesses so unless you do your research in advance you will miss out on what the three towns along the trail have to offer. Even on Labor Day Weekend the trail wasn't too busy.
One last suggestion is for anyone looking to ride the entire Chief Ladiga and Silver Comet trail is to arrange a shuttle with Rooted Trading Company in Powder Springs, GA. They are able to pick you up and drop you off anywhere along the trail if you reach out to them.
We rode a couple of days over the weekend. The trail is a little bumpy in spots but over all in good shape. We rode the section from Jacksonville to Piedmont (fyi - highly recomend Elevated Grounds coffee shop in Piedmont. Great food, coffee, smoothies, etc. 110 S Center st. Just off the trail.)
I'm 68 years old and rode the 66 miles from Anniston and back. I enjoyed the entire trail but the last 10 miles or so through Talladega National Forest were beautiful. Very well-maintained trail. The old train depot in Jacksonville is nice and Piedmont struck me as a typical Alabama town. Very glad I did it though strong wind gusts made it difficult at times in open areas.
Nice trail pavement. Lots of rest stops if needed. Will return in future.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Scan the QR code to get TrailLink on your phone
