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Hello,

We've ridden Coal Creek three times for a week each time, in the last two months. It was well worth the drive from Michigan. Perhaps someone has their own gps points, but according to the guys from Windrock, the ones they have are private. The mining company doesn't want them released. Not to worry though. They have a well marked trail system. They also have a map on the Coal Creek Mining website. It will show you the trails, and the difficulty rating. I've ridden all the marked trails. This last trip, we explored quite a few unmarked ones as well. The place is awesome. If anyone would like any more info, let me know. I know the place pretty well. Also, they started marking a bunch of new trails on the other side of the highway. I've been told that they are even better than the existing ones. A good hotel to stay is in Oak Ridge. It's about five miles away. If you tell them you are there to ride with Windrock, it's 55.00 per night. You can get maps and permits there. It's 50.00 a year.

Scott

 

Thanks, Scott....Can I get the necessary permits to ride when I visit Coal Creek Friday of this week? The Hotel information is good but I'll be staying with relatives in Athens, TN. Looking forward to riding up there.....

 

<< Can I get the necessary permits to ride when I visit Coal Creek Friday of this week? >>



Permits can be bought at the trail head on weekends or anytime at the &quot;Short Stop Market&quot; in downtown Oliver Springs. &quot;Downtown&quot; is only about a half mile long, so you can't miss it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

As for trail maps, you can download or print one from this link:


http://www.coalcreekmining.com/map/trailmap.htm

 

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No problem preacherman. Always like to help out a fellow rider. Especially one who will be riding at my favorite place. I'm real jealous. I know we just got home Saturday, but I'm ready to go back. I would recommend staying off trail 14. I did it going down and it liked to killed me. I was totally wore out after tying a strap to the back of my Scrambler and lowering it down 4 feet over a rock. Then had to proceed to roll it over on the handle bars and back on the wheels. Took over an hour for a .7 mile trail. Trail 18 can be pretty rough too. Trail 1 and 16 are very rocky. 16 has a HUGE puddle in it that the Windrock guys were trying to fix. I would ask them about it on Saturday. If you want to do an excellent most of the day ride, do this. Head up P1 to G2, then get on trail 6. It has a rocky spot, but it's not too bad. About three quarters of the way up, you will want to stop. It is an incredible view down the powerlines. We stop there every time. Any way, take 6 to the end and turn right, this is G4. At the bottom of the hill, turn right again. This will take you to trail 12. 12 runs back and forth across the creek. About three quarters of the way through it, there is a big flat rock area that the creek flows over. It's an excellent place to stop. Continue on 12, you will come to a sign that says trail 8. Take that down a little ways. There is a gravel road. Turn left, and keep heading up the mountain. It's not marked there, but you can't miss it. Not too far up the road is a cemetary. It will be on your right. Take 8 back. It brings you up the back side of the windmills. It makes for an excellent ride.

One other one to do. Go to the top of the mountain towards the windmills. You can take p1 to g2 to 6 to g4. Turn left and go up the mountain when you get to g4. Almost at the top, there is a road on the right. It's gated, but normally open. It takes you around the back of the windmills. You can climb a couple of hills. This will take you right underneath them. great view as well.

Depending on your riding abilities, 21 can be tough. It has a real long steep hill. I would definitely try 3, 19 and 20. They are right next to each other. 13 is good, so is 2. 11 is easy, but a good ride.

Well, I hope this helps you out. Have a great time, and be safe.

Scott

 

Thanks Scott for the information. I found Coal Creek to be a great place to ride. I did stay away from Trail #14 but I went up another one that wasn't marked that was pretty tough. One of my riding partners had a bad deal climbing the trail, it flipped backwards and came back over him. If a tree didn't stop it we would not have took his ATV home in one piece. I found that the trails were marked pretty well but someone had taken the markings off some of the posts. Not good. Those who do these kinds of tricks just don't realize how much they could be jeopardizing someone else's life. I met one of our ATVConnection.com netizens while at Coal Creek who was from Indiana. He was there with his son who apperaded to be 15 or 16 years old. I was told when we returned to the truck that one of them were hurt. I sure hope they're OK. If you guys read this let us know what happened and hopefully you will let us know you're OK. We spent most of the day there and didn't cover but a small percentage of the trails. We rode just under 50 miles but it was much different than 50 miles of riding down here on flat land. I really want to go back up there and ride some more. I would recommend riding Coal Creek to anyone. I did think the Wind Mills were impressive. Anyone that rides Coal Creek should make it a point to ride to the wind mills, what some monsters...Thanks again for the input from this forum, it was very helpful.

 

There is the tn/n.c state line..some good riding there.