Unicoi State Park

We stayed at Unicoi this weekend and were excited to see that there was a dedicated mountain bike trail. Mostly double track, the trail has some tough climbs, but also nice downhill rewards. It's well marked, but pay attention to trail direction at intersections as the trail is one way. A few other reviewers mentioned a tree being down, but that is gone. Otherwise, the trail is in ok condition though quite rough in some spots.

Also, I stayed at the lodge and was told I had to buy a $2 mountain bike pass, so I did... then when I drove to the bottom parking lot, there was an additional $5 parking fee... so for $7 you can ride maybe a mile and a half of messy trail before having to turn around because of a rat's nest of logs from a fallen tree covering the trail.

Had my hopes up, but they were crushed by a huge tree that made a huge mess about a mile in after a fun long downhill. No distinguishable way around it either with all the poison ivy.

Fun trail. One tree down across the trail but I don't mind grinding over a tree or two. A couple of steep climbs and one decent steep downhill to get your adrenaline going. There's an early exit about half-way through if you get gassed.

Trail has good climes. Has several areas where trail has been washed away but not bad.

Great trail. Very old school, rocky trail. No flow. Defiantly kick my butt on the climbing. Great encouragement to get out there to ride more trails like this one.

Awesome trail. That is what I imagine as a perfect mountain biking trail.
Climbs killed me after 2 miles and had to turn around to save my heart from jumping out of my body. But I'll be back soon in better condition.

Has potential but is in serious need of some maintenance. A little disappointing since it is state funded and receives income from parking fees. There were 8-10 trees down in the trail and a lot of debris that is piling up. Not worth riding in it's current condition in my opinion.

The trail has not seen a lot of riding in recent weeks. Lots of small branches and very deep leaves cover much of the trail.

There's some good potential here. The trails are nice but need some work. There is space to add more mileage and to maybe make some of the climbs a little more friendly. Overall this isn't a pushover even though it's only 8 miles.

Great Ride. My first trail Mountain Biking. Very intense. Im in decent shape and had to stop a few times to walk it. Very tough hills but beautiful scenery. Nice trail

I don't know how this trail keeps getting such an intermeditate rating! It is a work out! It does get raced for a reason. You have to ride this trail at least 4 times to realy enjoy it. Great for training with long tough climbs, sharp turns, and a great down hill at the end ( break 30 mph). The first time you ride it it will kick your ass!!

There are lots of killer hills that will really get your blood pumping. The views are pretty nice, but nothing spectacular as the summer foliage has hidden most from view. The climbs aren't rewarded with alot of awesome downhills. There are a few nice one's but in my opinion they aren't as rewarding as the climb requires. If you are looking for a fast fun ride it's hard to do here. If you are looking to train up for a race and build endurance and climbing muscle this is the place. If you legs don't burn on this trail you weren't trying.

Lots of climbing! I did a race here and not real sure how they had us routed, but I felt like I was going uphill the whole time! There were some fast downhills, but I was so tired from climbing that I didn't get to enjoy them as much as I wanted to. Lots of great scenery and a great location near Helen.

trail was a little muddy bc of rain but it was fun regardless of long uphills. Definitely intermediate level plus

If you re looking for a fast flowy trail, go somewhere else. Fire roads are not mountain bike trails nor are they flowy. This was exercise only. I guess i have finally learned that state parks do not have good trails ( unless created/maintained by sorba or some other cycle club).

* Review edited 8/10/2012

I finally got to ride this trail. It was the finals for the Georgia State Championship Series. We raced it in the counter-clockwise direction complete with a calf-high creek crossing. Really fun course with lots of flowy sections. Good challenging climbs, high speed bermed downhills with a good amount of technical stuff. Beginners can ride it but it would take them 2-3 hours to complete. Race times were in the 45-60 minutes per lap including a sprint across the field to the parking lot where the start/finish line was.

Its hard for me to i agine this as an intermediate to beginner trail. True, there arent too many technical challenges..but there are some pretty strong climbs that took the wind out of my sails. I was very dissappointed that there wasnt an actual creek crossing as some reviews suggested- they were bridges! All in all, had a great time, and I'd come back, but I prefer stonewall falls.

I like riding this trail, but don't like the new $2 bike permit. I don't think this trail would be a good choice for a beginer. It has some good climbs in it and the last mile or two is probably the most fun!

Could be good. Has a long up and downs design that could be so much better. roots and leaves everywhere making it bumpy and slick. Would love to see it after a race.

On top of that it's 5 to park and $2 for a "bike permit" many better trails all around. Overrated.