Dry Creek

This place has the potential to be really cool, but maintenance was a little lacking and kind of killed some of the fun for me. I started out on dry creek heading in a generally cw direction. Things were smooth and flowy as I headed up toward turkey and the pinhoti, with several long speedy sections, linked together with super easy climbing. I was hauling butt until I got around to wheat and then things became much more like a horse trail. The mud holes started to get pretty frequent, I had to dismount for several downed trees, and eventually my legs and arms were shredded pretty good from getting snagged by wild blackberries reaching into the trail. By the end I was glad to be done. I would try this again another time and hope that conditions were better, but I felt like it was a big tease. The flow and fun is there but it’s a little hard to find.

This is a great trail system, but don't let the name fool you about being dry. There are plenty of opportunities to get your socks wet. The trails are not these machine cut superhighways that are popping up, you actually need some bike handling skills to negotiate them. The trails are not well marked, so take a little bit of time and review the map or use your garmin course guidance function.
Absolutely worth your time to ride these trails.

Great night riding. Fun flowy trails that make you work just the right amount. Only downside is dodging the horse poop.

$5.00 to park. Signage is bad to none. The trail has some fun sections, but some that are not. Due to the lack of signage, I probably won't do this one again.

Kind of a bummer that there were plenty of parking fee envelopes ($5) and zero maps at the Dry Creek trailhead. Trail was beginner-ish but navigation with no map is way more advanced. Would be a fun trail if you know your way around though. Also plenty of horse dung to dodge if you're into that sort of thing.

Rode these trails as part of the 50 mile Snake Creek Gap Time Trial.

Really impressed with the system overall. It's like a baby Pinhoti. Some climbing, a tiny bit of rock, but nothing that will crush your soul.

Trails are well built and drain well. Great place to take someone who is looking to venture beyond their local trails.

Camp at the trailhead and ride Dry Creek along with some out and back along the Pinhoti. That would make for a great weekend.

This is a great set of trails inside a national forest. There are plenty of options for distance, incline, and terrain. This is one of those trail systems that requires you to make a day trip since it is in the middle of nowhere and includes many trails. However, it is well worth the ride. Beware the trails up the mountain as they can get steep for several miles!

Outstanding! Tremendous flowing trail system...nothing too technical....but certainly can be a challenge on some of the connecting trails. Trailhead was fantastic...as I would say it could hold 100 vehicles...has a map kiosk, and nice restrooms...this trail system is also an equestrian use system, as the unusually large parking area is designed for horse trailers. Several 2 to 3 ft creek crossings at the time of my ride....which could pose a problem if temps are in the 30's. Overall another great system in NW Georgia.

good trail

Trails are fast and flowy with little to no technical features. A little bit of climbing here and there but nothing extended or extremely steep. Trail surface is generally smooth but some sections are little more loose/gravely than others and there are a couple of turns you can wipe out hard on if you're not careful. I've ridden here the past 3 weekends in a row and everytime it gets better. The only trail I didn't particulary care for is the red trail (East Armuchee)..more double track than single and more of a horse trail. Wheat (purple) was like that in some spots but there is some decent single track mixed in. The rest of the trails are all super fun single track. Lots of opinions on how to run these trails (thought the chainbuster route was to slow) but I think this route ran the best: Parking > loblolly spur > right on loblolly (green) > right on Pinhoti > left on Turkey (pink) > left on Pinhoti > right on dry creek (yellow) > left on mt joy (orange) > right on lolbolly (green) > left on e. armuchee (red) > left on stirrup (blue) > right on lolbolly (green) > parking lot

Went there today, got a little mixed up in where everybody parks but there was some folks on the trail that squared me on that. Well kept trail, rode parts of blue and yellow, smoothe flow nothing major, definitely good for time trial. Enjoyed it and will be back tomorrow.

Well marked, but take a map. We got lucky and met a couple local riders who showed us around a bit, THANKS! Covered Loblolly, Dry Creek, and Mt Joy on Sat afternoon, then came back for E Armuchee and Wheat Sunday. Different terrain on W/E sides of the area, it was pretty cool. Lots of flow on Loblolly and Dry Creek, no big climbs and smooth trail. E Armuchee had one grinder climb (riding CCW) that kicked our butt, but dowhill made it worth it. Wheat much easier, but both on this side had some rocks/roots, tolerable (riding rigid SS) and I could still feel my hands when done! Thx to all who keep up these great trails, loads of fun, we'll be back! (we were up from the Savannah area)

I rode Dry Creek just after it officially opened a few years ago. The trails were wide and bumpy from being freshly cut. I hit overgrown areas that made me want to lay down and die, being the middle of summer. Today I went back about 1.5 years later and it's completely different and more mature. I'd ridden the Snake Creek series through there this year but this was the first time I ventured back onto the rest of the singletrack. I have to say I think it's one of the finest trail systems around. Streams, great flow, reasonable climbing, beautiful foliage (at least in the Spring). Not really technical though Wheat does have enough rocks and streams to keep it interesting and the loose soil does make you think twice about flying around some turns. I have to compare it to FATS because that's the only other place I've felt like I hardly pedaled as much as I did today. And of course you can always bike out of the area on the Pinhoti as much as you want. There are lots of camping areas in the Dry Creek area too. Definitely download a new map from the USFS website before you go but the trails are well marked. My favorite trails were Turkey, Loblolly, Wheat, and Dry Dreek. I gave it a 4 because I didn't get back to the half of the system that was most overgrown last time I went. If those are as clean I'd give the system a 5 for being perfectly designed for it's area. Again, nothing too technical but I will be back for sure!

I really enjoyed my ride at Dry Creek yesterday. The three trails that we rode were clear, fast, and had a nice flow to them. My only complaint was I wasn't prepared and didn't bring a map. The map posted at the parking lot, as far as I could tell, was outdated. If you are coming from the Rome are, take hwy 27 North to Gore. Turn right on Gore-Subligna road and then right on East Armuchee road. The gravel road that leads to the trailhead will be on the right just before the Walker county line. After you turn onto the gravel road you can easily follow the signs to the parking lot. I will definitely be going back to this trail system.

* Review edited 8/29/2012

FWIW, the trails on the west side of the system (Mt Joy and Dry Creek) were VERY overgrown with thorns and several downed trees on my most recent ride. The rest of the trails I rode were in great condition and very fast other than a few low lying spots that have been lined with gravel to prevent mud.

Great trail. I drove from Atlanta and it was well worth it. Once off 75, its a beautiful drive too. You go right into the mountains. I forgot my trail map though. It would have been even better if I had the map. The map at trailhead board is old and wrong now (as of 4/28), so beware. Definitely bring your own map. Not overly technical, but decent long up hills and really nice downhills with lots of jump spots. Lots of nature to see. squirrels, deer, turkey, a lady popping-a-squat outside her vehicle right on the main gravel road and a couple enjoying the nature intimately...together...very intimately right out in the open just off the trail :) Got to love the country.

Quite a few creek crossings, Wide and pretty deep creeks. They are all definitely crossable though. I guess that would largely depend on the amount it rain recently, but they were a lot of fun.

As other reviewers have said, it is a multi-use trail, so watch out the horse pies. The Horses also muck up the trail in a lot of places and there's heavy gravel in spots to help with moisture. They both can be a major pain, but hey we aren't roading it out there.

If you go to the right spot you can even hit about 2-3 miles of Pinhoti trail.

Overall can't wait to go back better prepared.* Review edited 4/30/2012

* Review edited 4/30/2012

Nice trails with several deep creek crossings. There's some great singletrack, with some doubletrack mixed in.

Good flow to trails , need better trail markings very easy to get misplaced ( never lost ) take a map to avoid getting misplaced. watch out for horse pucks they will slap you in the face if fresh. good ride nothing over the top.

Machine cut trails that wind through the woods on the west side of John's Mt. Mostly loose over hardpack. Trails are rolling and fun but could stand to be ridden a little more to wear the newness off. Wheat was Sweet!!! Great flow and the creek crossings are refreshing. The majority of the trails are machine cut singletrack but a few use old logging roads for a short sections. Will be back when temps come back to down earth. Please be respectful to the horse riders if you come across any. They had a huge hand in getting this place into existence.* Review edited 7/26/2011

* Review edited 7/27/2011