Raccoon Mountain Trail Network

I last reviewed this trail system in 2016. I am now a much more accomplished rider and have to say this is my favorite trail system. If you like rock gardens, and have honed your skills for this type of riding, there are not to many places better to give you a challenge. The only negative thing about this system is there never seems to be enough time to explore everything.

Raccoon Mountain is a truly excellent trail system, especially for riders not afraid of a climb or some gnarly rocks. The climb up HIgh Voltage is nothing short of brutal, the trails around the rim up top are great fun, including both the easy, flowy green trail or the chunky black trail, and the descent, especially on Live Wire 1 makes all the pain so worthwhile. This is a truly great ride.

I visited raccoon mountain for the first time yesterday. I did it solo and parked at the boat launch down by the river. I'm an intermediate rider with good conditioning and this took everything I had. I kind of knew going in that the climb up high voltage would be a test and it sure didn't disappoint; my jaw dropped when I got to the wall switchbacks. On top of the mountain there were some great speedy sections, especially on grindstone, split rock and small intestine, but the techy/rocky/rooty/ascending stuff was pretty constant throughout. Megawatt was such a good challenge, I loved it. The upper section of live wire was insanely fast. And then I reached the rock gardens, only a couple miles from the car, and despair set in as I had to pick my way carefully over this one final slog. I disagree with the 'intermediate' rating on this page. The loop I rode was definitely a step or two above that. I live a couple of hours away and will be back to skill up.

Not enough ride time there to do it justice but it was great the section i did . Ran out of daylight quick and entrance gates say they close at 5:30.

I'm new to the sport of mountain biking. I came here yesterday, 8/11/18, and rode Livewire 1 and 2. Livewire 1 is a great downhill ride as long as you go CCW, with some fun switchbacks and pump tracks. Livewire 2 is much more difficult and about twice as long at a little more than 3 miles. It's very technical and rocky, or at least for me it was. Overall had a great time. Word of warning if you read this any time soon, there's a huge tree down on Livewire 1. Took us 10 minutes or so to climb up and around it.

Planned a trip here 1/20/2018. Great trail system however upon review of the recommended directions to ride, I read many different things. We ended up doing CCW direction and it was THE WRONG DIRECTION! Unless you want to climb all the glory, downhill sections I suggest riding CW.
We rode Laurel Point, Electric Avenue 2, East Rim, Chunky Downhill Freeride, Livewire 1, Livewire 2, and a horrendous climb out High Voltage. Unless you're a badass I wouldn't recommend this direction.
Livewire 1&2 are best CCW.
Everything else is best ridden CW.
We are riding Electric Avenue, Laurel Point, Splitting Rock, and High Voltage in CW direction today...

Rode this track on November 10, 2017. It was a beautiful day and Trail was very much leaf covered. It is a multi directional trail with a couple good climbs and some technical rocky areas. I rode a full suspension which I would recommend although some might be just as comfortable on a hard trail. There was very little traffic on the trail for a beautiful fall Saturday. A link to my Strava file for profile info on the trail can be found below.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1271203530/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US&v=1510441593

Electric Avenue is a short mostly downhill trail with a few small jumps. East Rim ridden cw is a little flowy with a good bit of roots

A great place...rolling, rocky, rowdy. Climbs, fast descents, great views. A little something for everyone. And even though they claim some trails as beginner, I'd consider them tough beginner.

Best trails in Chattanooga. Close to the city. Trails are marked well.

Awesome trail system. One of the top trails in the southeast. It has a lot of variety.

This trail is challenging and technical riding. Honestly, I did not find it that enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy good technical rock gardens and climbs in my trails for the challenge, but when it goes into 3 miles straight of rock garden it stops being "fun" and starts being "annoying." I prefer my mountain bike trails to be trails with the intermittent technical challenge every once in a while, not the other way around. I am sure there are some people that love unending technical slog. . . Knock yourselves out, guys. If you do not like this type of riding, do yourself a favor and stick to the greens and easier blues like small intestine, river gorge, switch yard, etc. or go ride somewhere else.

Even though I could clear mostly everything but the steepest "wall" switchbacks of the high voltage climb and some of the chunkiest to sections, I did not find the day to be that much fun. It is definitely a challenge.

Awesome trail. Well maintained and a good challenge. I drove 3 hours to get there and it was definitely worth it. Just make sure you bring a good camera for the views along the trail.

Racoon is great. Lot's of climbs, downhills, some rock gardens, some bustin sections that have you tearing your lungs to shreds. Super fun, must return.

WARNING RANT TO FOLLOW: To the young punks on Live Wire 2 Saturday afternoon July 9th around 5 pm...THIS IS A BI-Directional trail!! Your attitude and riding don't belong if you can't get along. Go to a Gravity area if you want to ride like that and run climbers off the trail like you did.

Other than that, Chattanooga ROCKS!

Great trail system. All skill levels intermediate to Advanced are here. The outer loop will test everything you have, and the inner will just make it a fabulous day. Love this trail!

The trail is a blast, with varied terrain, mixture of tech and smooth flow and just outright gorgeous scenery. You can mix up the trails to tailor your ride to anything you are craving. Tons of miles can be had here.
My *only* complaint is that the signage is terrible. The network of trails criss-cross so often that it's easy to get off your intended route, especially if you've never ridden here before. Make sure you have a clear easily accessible map because you WILL use it a LOT.
Can't wait to go back.
Oh and also, I liked CW direction best. :)

Very difficult trail. Not for beginners who arnt athletic. Most if not all sections are dangerous. The fun level is high if skilled. But if your unprepared i mean this places easy trails are few and far in between so if you want to ride an easier or intermediate trail this is not for you. But on the bright side coon is amazing. Im sure some people do this place solo but i would not. Bring you phone if you do and know how to repair a flat. You will enjoy this trail if you have bike skills if you done you will struggle.

Overview: We parked at the East Overlook and rode East Rim > Live Wire 1 > Live Wire 2 > High Voltage > Split Rock > Laurel Point > River Gorge > Megawatt > Grindstone > Small intestine > Switch Yard > Lower Chunky > Chunky > East Rim > Electric Ave 1 > Electric Ave 2 > Electric Ave 2 > Electric Ave 1. Basically counter clock wise. Total was about 29 miles. The beginning was downhill and was great until High Voltage which was a tough climb. The terrain is varied and awesome if you like technical challenge and good flowing single track. I really enjoy rocks and felt challenged on the black skill trails. This place is great and drains wall.

SUPER chunky, fun downhills, not very flowy. Tons of climbing, but totally worth the view.

First time riding RM and loved it. Some fast some technical and a lot of awesome views. Only had time to ride for a couple of hours but looking forward to visiting again. Rode on a sunny cool day in Jan 2016.