The new Wilderness Camp MTB trails are located just one hour north of downtown Atlanta, GA

*Wilderness Camp has given residents of Bartow County, GA, great trails in their own backyard. Photo: Brett Davidson.*

When you live in a major metropolitan area like Atlanta, getting to a trail system can be a major endeavor. Depending on the day, you might spend an hour or more in traffic driving just a few miles. So, having a trail system close to home is a real plus.

Bartow County, GA, recognized that fact and is turning a beautiful piece of property into a new trail system so its residents won’t have to leave the area to ride trails. With four miles already completed and another four miles set to open this summer, Barstow County hopes to become a riding destination for both local residents and visitors to the Atlanta area.

*Residents of Bartow County asked for more outdoor recreational opportunities. Photo:* Brett Davidson.

Bartow County developed Wilderness Camp in response to resident demand for more recreation

Bartow County acquired the 254-acre property known as Wilderness Camp back in 2012 as a dedicated greenspace. According to Claire Mulkey, the Grant Writing Specialist for Bartow County, greenspace is defined as “permanently protected land or water which may be used for passive (non-organized sports) recreation, preserved in its natural state, set aside for water source protection, or designated as a historic/archaeological site.”

The county made the decision to develop shared-use mountain biking and hiking trails on the Wilderness Camp property as part of its 2018-2028 Joint Comprehensive Plan. This decision was informed by a community survey conducted during the planning process. 46% of residents ranked access to recreational and leisure pursuits as very important, and 60% considered the preservation of rural settings and natural resources as very important.

With its own grant-writing department, the County obtained grant funding to design and build new trails at Wilderness Camp

Local governments usually don’t have any full-time grant writers on staff, but Bartow County has its own grant writing department. This allows the county to keep abreast of newly announced state and federal funding opportunities, as well as match the priorities identified in its Joint Comprehensive Plan to annual funding opportunities, according to Mulkey.

One such opportunity was the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Bartow County submitted a pre-application to the grant program in October 2020, asking for $150,000 in grant funding to construct a trailhead parking lot, four miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, a vault restroom, picnic area, and bike workstation. The DNR invited Bartow County to file a full application in the spring of 2021, and, once it gave environmental clearance to the property, awarded Bartow County the full amount it requested in November 2022.

*IMBA helped design the first phase of trails at Wilderness Camp. Image courtesy of Bartow County.*

Once it had funding, the county quickly got to work building trails

Bartow County hired IMBA Trail Solutions to design and create a concept trail system plan to submit to the DNR along with its grant application. After it obtained the grant money, the county brought Trail Solutions back to complete the field design and trail corridor, flagging the four miles of phase one trails. Once that was done, the county hired Steele & Associates to build the trails while its road department constructed the parking lot.

Mulkey told Singletracks that “Bartow County matched the $150,000 grant award with approximately $188,000 in local funding to bring Phase 1 of the trail system to fruition.” The first phase was built during 2024 and had its grand opening in January of this year.

*By the time phase one of Wilderness Camp was opened to the public in January of 2025, phase two had already been planned and funded. Photo: Brett Davidson.*

But even before phase one had begun, Bartow County worked on obtaining funding for phase two

Though it hadn’t yet received approval of its grant application to fund phase one of Wilderness Camp, Bartow County started working on funding phase two of the project in the fall of 2021 by submitting a pre-application to the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). It requested $200,000 in grant funding to construct an additional four miles of trail, along with a bridge that would connect the phase one and two trails to the area of the property designated for future phased trails.

“After being issued an invitation to submit a full application in the spring of 2022, Bartow County was notified of the successful award of $200,000 in RTP funding in the fall of 2023,” said Mulkey. The county credited Tailored Trails with creating the phase two concept plan that it submitted with its pre-application.

*MTB Atlanta’s professional trailbuilding program helped design and flag out the phase two trails at Wilderness Camp. Photo: Brett Davidson.*

Phase two funding in hand, the county called upon MTB Atlanta to assist with designing and planning the new trails

Bartow County and MTB Atlanta entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide trail support and stewardship. It also hired the chapter to do the trail design and corridor flagging for phases two and three, which would add an additional 10-11 miles of trail.

“MTB Atlanta has the only professional trail building program in the Southern Off-Road Bicycling Association (SORBA),” said its current executive director, Brett Davidson. MTB Atlanta Pro Trails was created in 2019, and it has built and maintained close to 50 miles of new trails in Metro Atlanta since its inception.

For phase two, MTB Atlanta designed four miles of intermediate-level trails with a narrow backcountry feel that are both scenic and fun. “It has views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and really rocky terrain, thanks to the Brevard fault that runs through the area,” said Davidson.

*The phase two trails provide great views of the creek that runs through the Wilderness Camp property. Photo: Contour Trail Designs.*

Phase two is currently underway and is scheduled to be completed this summer

Bartow County hired Contour Trail Design to build out phase two, which includes the addition of a pre-fab bridge that will ultimately connect phases one and two with future trails that are part of phase three of the park. Randy Conner, who founded Countour Trail Design, and his son Zach Conner are currently working on phase two and plan to have it completed by July.

“The trail will have cross-country flow with some chunk. We’re throwing in some rock features using rock that’s already available on the land, along with green ridearounds.” Conner noted that the local rock is unique. “It’s round rock that looks like concrete with river pebbles mixed in.”

Conner and his son are halfway done with the phase two trail. They are grateful to the county for being so accommodating and anticipate that they might be finished before the July deadline. He thinks riders are going to enjoy the new trails once they’re open. “We’ve tried to maximize the climbs and descents. Plus, the creek is really beautiful where the new trail is located. We put the trail on a bluff overlooking it to enhance the view.”

*Bartow County plans to add even more trails to Wilderness Camp in the near future. Photo: Contour Trail Designs.*

As phase two nears completion, Bartow County is looking ahead to phase three

Mulkey told Singletracks that Bartow County is currently in the process of applying for funding for phase three trails at Wilderness Camp. It hopes to expand the trail system to 14 miles at final build-out.

“It is thanks to the forward-thinking and conscientious planning of Bartow County leadership, including Sole Commissioner Steve Taylor and Parks and Recreation Director Greg Hight, that Bartow County has been successful in pursuing both federal and state grant opportunities to fund essential outdoor recreation facilities such as the Wilderness Camp Trail System,” said Mulkey