Lakeland Trail

Lakeland Trail

	Lakeland Trail
Location:	Tennessee
Nearest Town:	Lakeland
Directions to Trailhead:	I-240 East to exit 20, Canada Road. Turn left away from the outlet mall and continue for about 3-4 miles. It starts getting residential and on the left is the parking lot to a community center. Park there and the trail on the right (I believe it's the blue one) is a good one to start with! It's an awesome ride!
Trail Description:	Very hilly with good turns. Awesome descent first thing!
Trail Length:	3? miles
Trail Type:	Singletrack & Fire Roads
Skill Level:	Intermediate
Submitted By:	April

Marcopollo from Lakeland Date: May 13, 2003 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: From I40 exit at Canada rd and go North about 2-3 miles. You will see a sign designating the park entrance which is on the Left. Ride around the park building on the road to it's end. Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: Forget the tour de Wolfe at Shelby Farms! This trail is more challenging and you won't have to dodge 50 other hikers and bikers while you run it. From the back of the lake you can catch either the RED, BLUE or Yellow trail. RED and BLUE are pretty tame, but they are getting quite grown over(I guess not too many people are using these this year). Yellow trail is great. It's a good 4 miles with lots of challanging switch backs with uphill climbs over exposed root systems. Trail is very easy to follow. A beginner can do this trail if they take their time and are ready to walk over some of the obstacles. Difficulty increases as you pick up the pace due to the switchbacks, roots and narrow openings between and under trees. Trail is very greasy and difficult after a rain. A couple obstacles require good speed and the willingness to get airborn to cross on wheel(then get ready to slam the breaks to make the next turn!) If you don't come away with your heart racing, legs burning and brow sweating after this one...you're not pushing it, so watch out behind you for someone coming by who is.	Overall Rating:

Tom from Germantown, TN (Memphis) Date: April 6, 2003 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: Yellow Trail Other recommended trails in the same area: Wolf River Trails. Tour d'Wolf (sections of it anyway). Stanky Creek.
Review: We ride these trails on Mountain Unicycles. As others have said, this is one of the best in the area for us. It's relatively short (I think more like 2 or 2.5 miles) but hilly enough to be fun. The uphills are doable, but challenging. (Remember, we ride on one wheel). We save the Red and Blue trails for last because we need fresh legs for the Yellow. I've ridden it a couple of times and really enjoyed it. The only downside is that today (April 6, 2002) we noticed the Poison Ivy starting to come up. It looks like its going to get thick. Lots of vines on the trees near the trail. I imagine in deep summer it will keep me away. Aside from that, no complaints.	Overall Rating:

DEVIN from GERMANTOWN, TN Date: March 12, 2003 Trail Ridden: Every few months
Recommended Route: YOU MUST DO ALL OF IT A FEW TIMES TO GET A GOOD WORKOUT Other recommended trails in the same area: STANKY CREEK
Review: THIS IS A SHORT TRAIL (3-4 MILES) SO YOU HAVE TO DO MULTIPLE LAPS, BUT IT'S PRETTY FUN AND HAS MORE CLIMBING THAN ANY OTHER TRAIL IN THE MEMPHIS AREA-MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT IT EXISTS. A GOOD TRAIL TO DO NIGHT RIDES.	Overall Rating:

Mike from Memphis Date: November 16, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: Stanky creek (Bartlett park).
Review: Gotta keep in mind...This is Memphis (OK technical geeks..it's Lakeland). The complete trail system at Lakeland is arguably the best trail you'll find in the Memphis area. To ride all of the "red" trail, you have to dismount and carry your bike across a creek. To make this ride a bit more exciting, try flying off of the paved parking lot into the grassy slope that leads down to the lake. It's about a 3 foot drop and you can get some good speed once you touch down.	Overall Rating:

Shawn Whiz from Cordova, TN Date: June 30, 2002 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Upon arrival to "Managerial Park" on the west side of Canada Road, park on the pavement next to the first building you see. Disregard the sign for the "Blue Trail" and look behind you towards Canada Road. You should find a partially hidden sign for the "yellow trail." Ride up the short truck trail and enter the first single track you see.... Other recommended trails in the same area: Stanky Creek, Herb Parsons Lake
Review: Now that you made it to the "Yellow Trail" enjoy this section of trail that is cut out of rolling terrain with great intermediate switch-backs. The rest of the trail continues to twist around with pretty good moderate climbs and descents, some more technical than others. No worries, this trail is straight forward and you should not be able to take any wrong turns that will lead you away.. But, when you reach the end of the "yellow trail" it automatically turns into the "blue trail" without telling you. The only way you will know is if you happen to see two intersecting trails from your left. Both leading you to a gravel road that will take you along the small lake back to your car if you wish. Or if you want more, continue with the "blue trail" which will be flat but windy. When you reach the fork in the trail, now join the "red trail" which starts with a technical stream crossing and continues to be fairly tight single track with a quick transistion on a truck trail. When exiting the "red trail" take a quick left and join back up on the "blue trail" and you are left with a couple of choices on how to get back. Follow the truck trail transistion back to the technical river crossing and try it backwards and follow the signs to the "blue trail" again or explore other ways to the east. Either way you choose will eventually get you back to the lake and your home free after a short climb up the gravel road. Ride hard but always be alert for any hikers, etc..	Overall Rating:

MtMind from Memphis Date: September 3, 2000 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: It's called the "Managerial Park" Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: The blue trail is about half singletrack and half fire roads with one creek crossing - OK for newbies. The yellow is lots of climbs and a few too many impassible logsn - intermediate to advanced. We didn't try the red trail. You can ride around the small lake.	Overall Rating: