Prentice Cooper

Prentice Cooper

	Prentice Cooper
Location:	Tennessee
Nearest Town:	Chattanooga
Directions to Trailhead:	Hwy 27 N towards Whitwell, at top of mountain turn left at Prentice Copper park entance sign. Take next left on gravel rd.
Trail Description:	Take your pick! There are more trails up here then you can shake a stick at. Not much of a point trying to discuss them all here(I'm no novelist). You got your jeep roads, some singletrack, good climbing and descending, nice views, technical riding, yadda yadda yadda. The whole gamut is right here.
Trail Length:	?????
Trail Type:	Singletrack & Fire Roads
Skill Level:	Advanced
Submitted By:	Furrious Fred and the Bedrocks

KaHOnas from ChattaNOOOOOOga Date: May 26, 2003 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Don't really have a favorite. I just let my wheels lead me. Other recommended trails in the same area: Don't know of any...most that I can think of are up towards Knoxville...
Review: This is a fantastic all around wheeling spot. You've got light terrain, medium - tough, and stuff you'd be lucky to see the other side of. Fun for the whole family (yeah, cheezy, I know)	Overall Rating:

Eric from Chattanooga, Tn Date: June 13, 2002 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Go all the way to the end of the gravel road and ride Pot Point. Go right at the 1st fork til you get to the pond. Look for the dirt trail to the right just after you go around the pond. Other recommended trails in the same area: Chilhowee ( esp. Slick rock, Azelia, Benton Falls, Clemmer), Booker T
Review: Seems to be an old jeep or ATV road that no one uses anymore (didn't see any tire tracks). Mostly dirt trail with a lot of small scattered gravel sections and small but deep sand areas. Some technical climbs and descents, but all short. The end of the trail is a really gravely and deep sandy road with lots of ATV tracks. We tried to bike up it to the left but sucked, so we road the trail back, which was more fun and a lot faster than it was coming (though it's not really uphill one way or another). Good trail, but will probably leave you wanting to bike more. Took us about an hour and a half. Probably 4-5 miles long, but that's just a guess... can't find that trail on a map. Worth riding though.	Overall Rating:

Bike Mike from DC Date: July 17, 2001 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: Not sure - we started at persimmons, looped around back to the Tower road, headed off down some more jeep roads that took us to some nice singletrack which looped around to the Tower Road again. Other recommended trails in the same area: Pigeon Mountain, Edwards Point
Review: Again, went out on this trail with the Chattanooga Bike Club on Saturday. Had a great time. Dont know where we rode but it was mostly double track and jeep trails with a nice stretch of steep switch back single track. This place is big, and I have a feeling I only touched the tip of the iceberg. Only concern was the number of ATVs we ran into. Will certainly return on my next trip down.	Overall Rating:

Kevin from Chattanooga Date: August 22, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Persimmon os on the right. Start there and take the first right. It loops back around to a 4 way. Cross it still going straight. Keep right everywhere after that and it comes out at the cemetary. Other recommended trails in the same area:
Review: The trail ridden this way is technical. It gives you fast rutted downhills, some 2 and 3 foot drops, several creek crossings, some short steep rocky climbs, and a few jumps. To go down as much as you do, the climbing out doesn't seem like much. To skip the gravel road back, take the dirt rd. behind the cemetary. It's rolling, not quite as fun, but better than gravel. Get a map... explore the area.	Overall Rating:

brian from chatt-town Date: March 9, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: i usually do the 12 mile loop that begins just past the ranger station on the right. Other recommended trails in the same area: edwards point, stringers ridge(for a quick ride between classes),ocoee
Review: the first time i rode this trail was in december and the leaves were all over the trail. i couldnt see crap. however, i rode it just last week following beautiful weather and the trail rocked. granted, it is mainly jeep trails and fire roads (except for some illegal singletrack i hear) but it is a rad place for fast decents and nice jumps. also included are some good climbs.	Overall Rating:

Dereck from NC Date: February 21, 2000 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: Don't bother Other recommended trails in the same area: Franklin Forest, Copper Creek, Chilhowie, Edwards Point
Review: I'm sorry but this was the most boring 4 hours of riding ever done. It it wasn't for a couple really nice overlooks and a pretty waterfall this would have been a total washout. I have to wonder about the riders that sent me here. Particularly because I have haveing such a good time riding the other trails around Chattanooga.	Overall Rating:

Jason from Collegedale, TN Date: February 5, 2000 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Go in the main intrance and follow the dirt road. Go past the ranger station and there should be a trailhead pretty soon on your right. Where you go from there is all up to how good you feel. Other recommended trails in the same area: chilhowee, edwards point, mabbit springs
Review: If you want to do an all day exploring ride, this is the place to go. I have heard that there is 80 miles or more of trails out here. I have only ridden about 25-30 miles of it. This place has a lot of everything, except single track cause they closed it. It is pretty easy for the most part but there are some really technical climbs and downhills. It is all jump roads and stuff but still fun. It is probably one of my favorite trails. One word of advice. Be careful. The rednecks in the area love to throw stuff out on the trail. One of my friends hit a nail cluster one day and it went all the way threw his rim! So if you see anything my advice is to get it off the trail before someone kills themselves onit! See ya there!	Overall Rating:

SockBoy from Nashville, TN Date: December 10, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a year
Recommended Route: Sneak in through the back of the golf course on Signal Mtn. (Timberlinks Dr/James St) Other recommended trails in the same area: The nightriding the actual golfcourse baby!...NAKED!
Review: I used to ride these trails when i was younger, and it all seemed super rad then, but now its not great, but still fun for some easy rides. If youre lucky, you can find some cools spots that you can swin in, or you can get lost and end up in a nightmarish trailerpark with a huge rotwiler (personal experience). Great fun overall. 4 knobbies for childhood fun.	Overall Rating:

GRINCH from CHATTAVEGAS Date: November 27, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a week
Recommended Route: Try the cemetary trail or the (gasp) hiking only trail(I cannot condone the use of illegal trails) . Yeah right, go shred that mutha. If the ranger comes by just toss your bike in the brush and act casual. Other recommended trails in the same area: Stringers Ridge and Edwards point
Review: Lotta good trails up here. My only gripe; hunting season. The illegal singletrack rules. It might actually be the cumberland trail but I'm not sure. This is a good place to do some exploring. There are miles of trails up here, some groomed some not.	Overall Rating:

Jonathan from Ooltewah Date: November 25, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a year
Recommended Route: any trail Other recommended trails in the same area: Edwards Point
Review: SWEET!!!!	Overall Rating:

John from SignalMtTN Date: July 23, 1999 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: Get a quad map from TVA in Chattanooga Other recommended trails in the same area: Tellico
Review: Tom Eberly down at Quality Tire in Chatt. Showed me showed me some wire thingies(four pointed and welded) that the Prentice Cooper Ranger had brought in (along with some punctured tires) he said some creeps had thrown a bunch of these out on the roads in Prentice Cooper - BE ADVISED - check with the Ranger on the status	Overall Rating:

Jeremy from Chatt. TN (live on the mtn. Date: July 15, 1999 Trail Ridden: Please Select
Recommended Route: I usually go out to the cemetary and follow that trail on the right. It circles back around closer to the checking station. Even though I have only had a bicycle on it once I have ride my 4-wheeler on it quite a bit. Other recommended trails in the same area: for some of the best views Lusk point and the one that goes behind the little log cabin, both are still in the park
Review: huge selection of just about anything	Overall Rating:

Skip Dempsey from McDonald, Tn Date: March 20, 1999 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: The outside loop is the longest. Other recommended trails in the same area: Pigeon Mountain, Chilhowee, Boxite Ridge.
Review: This trail is mostly double track 4x4 road. There are a great number of creek crossings if you follow the outside loop. My Brother and I rode this in 1 Hour and 40 Minutes and we are not pros nor racers. There is some fast down hills and some very steep and rocky uphills especiall coming out of the creek crossings. I would much prefer riding at Chilhowee or Pigeon Mountain to this one. But it is worth checking out.	Overall Rating:

Mike Barron from Collegedale, TN Date: February 19, 1999 Trail Ridden: Once a month
Recommended Route: Other recommended trails in the same area: Edwards Point, Raccoon Mtn
Review: Take a jeep and go 4-wheeling, then bike the trails along the way that catch your eye. Lots of 'em, but not that exciting (except the "hikers only" trails)	Overall Rating:

Russell from TN USA Date: January 21, 1999 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: same Other recommended trails in the same area: GOOD LUCK ALL RACERS
Review: Hey this goes out to all the racers who will be in the Jan.24 race. If it rains the course will be a living nightmare, so if its wet I suggest slaping on a good set of mud tires. Good Luck to all racers, I'll be the guy on the S-works M-4, a teen. Keep it cool	Overall Rating:

Mtnbker from Mtn's of TN Date: January 13, 1999 Trail Ridden: Ridden Once
Recommended Route: same Other recommended trails in the same area: Cherokee park trails, Pigeon Mt., Sewanee Perimeter
Review: This trail rocks, but watch out for the climb, it is a bitch. And to all those that are going to show up there to race this Jan. 24 see you there, I'll be one of the few guys in Woody's jerseys	Overall Rating: