Talking Rock Nature Preserve

I just rode this trail today(Memorial day weekend '22). Basically you take a left off 575 after you a few miles after you go through Jasper. The parking area is about a mile up the gravel road and has a trail map, bike bump, and bike tool station. This trail system is fast, flowy, and fun. As other's mention it's not very difficult but that didn't cut out any of the fun. I started on Fast Charlies which is about a mile and mostly flow. Then I did Jon's trail which is about 3 miles and more and more flow. I'd compare these 2 to Raceway at Rope Mill but faster and smoother. After this I met up with a guy and his son. The way to do a loop on the East side is Nitro Nix North to Pickens; then connect with Twister and finally Nitro Nix South. Pickens has some of the fastest and most fun downhills I've ever done on a MTB trail. There are a few tough climbs on Pickens but then you are quickly rewarded with some blazing downhill runs. Can't wait to get here to ride again. Fantastic trail system.

This is a tame trail system. Good flow on the trails with a few short climbs. Very good trail for confidence building in less experienced riders

Arrived at 0745 and had the place to myself. Headed out intending to ride Nitro North out and back to Nitro South, but took a slight right about a quarter mile in and ended up on what I discovered is Pickens, formerly The Black Trail. Nothing too difficult, just further than I expected, I did hike a bike in several places. After about 2.25 miles, ended up on a gravel road, Old Whitestone Rd, and headed back to the trailhead. Rode Jon's Trail, very nice easy fun trail, but I somehow missed .75m of it, followed that with Fast Charlie's Loop, also easy but fun. Am looking forward to heading back to try everything in reverse, to find the missing mileage on Jon's as well as try the newer loops I didn't know were there - they didn't appear on the maps... I found the updated maps on the web page when I got home. They installed the donation tube while I was there - definitely worth a donation. As an avid gardener and naturist I was pleased to read that there are plans to expand / enhance the plantings for pollinators and to install bird habitat. My next trip will include a stop at the aviary. I really enjoyed these trails. An easy fun ride. Gave it a 4 only because the maps and markings could be better on the Nitro side. Update as of 7/4 - rode Nitro N to The Grinning, a good workout for me. Lots of right hand turns which are my weakness, so I was slow on this first run. Watch for hikers/runners...

I decided to go to Talking Rock based on a friend of mines suggestion. My local rides are Taylor Randahl and Blankets Creek. So, I was up to trying something new that is relatively close by.

I arrived at the trails and parked in the first parking lot I came to on the gravel road (Carns Mill Rd.).

I look at the trail map and then proceeded to the first trail known as Fast Charlie's Loop. It was fast alright, as it may have taken me about 5 minutes to ride it, but it was a nice warm up lap with nothing to technical to ride over, and only some moderate climbing. This trail is single track with a lot of old pine needles, so it can be a little slippery when you overcook a turn. Upon coming out of Fast Charlie's, I went right into the next entrance which is Jon's Trail. Most of the trails are directional, and on this day it was clockwise. There's are signs that will keep you going in the right direction as well. Jon's Trail was just like Fast Charlie's but was about 2 miles longer. There is also a jump line loop called the Dragon's Tail that is fun. After riding Jon's and Charlie's I was thinking that I may have wasted my time coming here. Don't get me wrong, the first two trails were fun, but they weren't challenging, or scenic for me to think this was anything worth coming out to again.

From here I made my way back toward the parking lot and on to a connector trail that led me to the North Nitro Nix trail. North Nitro Nix is a two way trail so you need to look out for oncoming traffic. This trail I liked, because it started to feel like I was further north into the Ellijay trails. The hills got steeper and the vibe felt more remote. At the top of the first climb, the trail went into two directions. So wanting to keep the clockwise route going, I went left which brought me back to the gravel/fire road. I turned around and went back to the split and took a right this time. This took me to what I believe is the Black Trail, and I went down a couple of blazing fast downhills, that had switchbacks, diving turns and some good rocks to pop off of as well. There was some more climbing too, but nothing too radical. This trail would eventually flow back into North Nitro Nix. I also saw a trail that split off to the left, but I did not take it. I heard later that this is a good trail too. I really enjoyed this section of the trail, as it took more time to ride and had some nice challenges along the way.

I then road the South Nitro Nix Trail that is fast but short; a lot like Charlie's. So, not wanting to leave just yet, I rode Jon's and the Dragon Tail one more time for good measure.

Overall this was a fun ride that was worth taking a break from the usual trails I ride. I consider myself an advanced rider, and I have been riding MTB's for 30 years; I know what a good trail system is, and I'd say this one is good. This trail system can be even better with the addition of more trails. I rode my single speed (it's a good single speed ride) this day, and probably rode around 8 to 10 miles.

Over 8 miles of trail so far. Should be 12 miles when completed. Good trails and not crowded.

What a fun little system! I had a great time! The blackberry bushes will slice your arms up but that's just a badge of honor. Seriously, it's an easy system, but loads of fun and speedy flowy sections. Just do multiple laps, especially of South Nitro. That trail is a blast.