Clear Springs Rec. Area

We decided to chance this trail. We hiked our bikes much more then we rode. Such a pretty place to not be maintained.

Trails have been abandoned. No maintenance at all. Friend sent me photos and it was horrible. Very sad.

Nice trail for the most part. A few downed trees along the way. Wish there were a few more signs along the route pointing you in the right directions, especially when the trail is covered by leaves and such.

I rode the lake trail, part of tallys and part of Richardson.

These seemed like better hiking trails than bike trails in my opinion. The trails were mostly overgrown with a few downed trees.

I went to Clear Springs this weekend (Sunday 7/12/15). A park ranger told us we can ride the trails but the bathroom facilities were off limits. The camping area around Clear Springs lake is closed off for repairs and is not accessible by car. I rode a little bit of Tallys Trail, Richardson Creek Trail, Clear spring lake trail, and Mills Branch Trails. Tallys and Richardson creek are not really overgrown too much, but there are some fallen trees/branches that need to be cleared out. Clear springs lake trail has some bridges that are still out. Had to hike-a-bike down to get to the other side of the bridges. Clear springs lake trail also has some trees down in the way. Mills Branch Trail is VERY overgrown. I only did about 2.5 miles of Mills branch loop and had to hike about half of that due to all of the overgrowth. Mills branch would be a good ride if it were cleared out. It doesnt look like anyone has ridden Mills Branch in years.

Can really only go off of what the man that worked there told us and that the signs were up saying the trails were closed.

I ran the Equinox 50K down there 3-21-15. I don't know how the trails could have been closed then.

Needs a little maintenance Grassy areas overgrown.

A beautiful spot in the Homochitto National Forest, the Clear Springs Recreation Area has at its center a spring-fed lake, which is a great place to flop after riding for a few hours.
On the Tally's Creek trail, pine needles and leaves cover a great deal of the singletrack, and the climbs were often eroded and quite steep, more of an old-school hiking trail. We ended up pushing up several climbs.
Richardson is a well-planned 10-mile trail with great flow and plenty of beautiful scenery.
Tally's is an adventure. We compiled 14 miles on Tally's, but some of that was dirt road riding.

Great trail ,,, actually the three trails combined are near 30 miles and its not in Crosby MS, it's just past Meadville/Bude exit in Franklin Co. Good climbing... Most all single track.. When maintained, one of the best in the south

Rode the trail the weekend of Oct 6, 2012. The trails were in really bad shape, and while some people attribute this to Hurricane Isaac, to me it seemed more of an issue of overall upkeep. It's not that the trails were obstructed by downed trees and debris, but instead the trails were washed out, overgrown, and lacking flow. In my opinion, it seems like these trails were built for hikers, not bikers... on top of that, it doesn't appear that anyone is responsible for maintaining them, so they're completely washed out and full of roots.

My expectations were pretty high based on the reviews I read here, so I thought I'd share my experience. if I return to Clear Springs, I'll bring a backpack instead of a bike. The camping was decent (although there are no primitive sites along the lake).

Drove two hours to get my butt kicked for 7 miles of the trail. Great trail just didn't expect the climbs to be so tough. Partly roots, partly heat, mostly due to ridding flat ground in New Orleans. Wish it was closer to NOLA. Thanks to Mike and his friend for trail info.

Drove 3 hrs to ride this area, it was well worth it. Some tight sections, some flowing sections, lots of bridges, good trail markers. Camping looked pretty good too.

rode richardson's creek, very fast and fun. hills were a challenge, but not too bad. trail is well marked, well cared for. campground is top notch

GREAT SINGLETRACK FOR HOURS.....Just like vida said, these trails are really great trails for MS. Nice flowing singletrack through big woods with fun, smooth downhills and some steep, grindy uphills. The Richardson Creek trail was open the whole way, and was well groomed and perfect.
Tallys Creek trail was covered in leaves and pinestraw, and had some small pines actually growing in and over the trail. If this trail was cleaned up, could be just as good be almost as good as Richardsons creek. However, at the moment, you might want to skip this trail until it gets cleaned up.
The N/S of Mill Branch was nice, but other riders said th southside was overgrown.
Good swimming area at the lake to cool down.

Overall, one of the best trails I have ridden in Mississippi. Fast flowing downhills, tremendous scenery, and well maintained trails. * Review edited 8/30/2009* Review edited 8/30/2009

This is a great singletrack with uphils that are short and doable with some very rewarding downhills. I would highly recommend riding the Richardson Creek Trail each way. I was told the south side of Mills branch was grown up and I know that the West section of Tally's is very difficult rooty uphills with no downhill speed. Miserable. Go down to the lake and hop around on the Lake trail which takes about 10 minutes. It is more of a walking trail, but it is fun to ride without falling in the lake.

I have to agree with "Devon_P". These trails are great. They make you realize just how in shape you have to be. The hill-climbs are phenomenal. I would recommend these trails for anyone with experience and endurance.

After spending three days camping and riding with fellow singletracker "Nickrm" I would have to say that these trails are awesome. There are miles of singletarck through the national forest with tough climbs (if you are only used to southern riding) and fast fun descents. The trails cross many bridges over creeks and streams and wind through stands of pines trees. Richardson's Creek runs about 9.5 miles and provides a great showing of the offerred terrain. Talley's Trail was marked as being closed due to lack of maintenance post Hurricane Gustav. We were able to ride a 3.5 mile section but were forced to hike-a-bike and scout ahead to find the trail as it disappeared several times. If the trail were cleared it would make for the most challenging route there.

The Clear Springs trails are very fun and can go from easy to fairly technical. They have a few good fast fun downhills and the climbs are not too bad, but if you decide to take a ride I recomend the Richardson's Creek trail! It should take take you about 1 to 2 hours.

Very nice, well marked trail system. There are climbs for nearly everyone. Some of the downhills were faster than they felt according to my computer. The scenery was beautiful.