These two trails link together at the Alabama/Georgia state line to make up 94.5 miles of paved rail trail. The eastern trailhead is just outside of Atlanta, which is just over 4 hours away from my house. This is either a 3 or 4 day bike tour, depending on how I want to do it.
The Plan
Drive to the trailhead in Smyrna, GA and leave the car there. Here is the location;
According to the website for the Silver Comet Trail, this trailhead has nice restrooms, paved parking, picnic tables, and water.
Here is the Silver Comet Trail website: https://www.silvercometga.com/
And here is the Chief Ladiga Trail website: https://www.silvercometga.com/chief-ladiga-trail/index-ladiga.shtml
Chief Ladiga Trail Map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5157492.pdf
Day #1: The easiest is to shoot for 4 days. Which puts the end of Day #1 in Cedartown at MM 51.4. FYI, you start at MM 0. There is a Quality Inn and an Econolodge about two miles from the trail. There are quite a few restaurants in Cedartown.
Day #2: Ride the last 10 miles of the trail in Georgia, then it is into Alabama. Then 34 miles of the Chief Ladiga Trail. That’s 44 miles to the end of the trail. Turn around and bike back to Jacksonville, AL where there is a couple of hotels (Hampton Inn & University Inn) about a mile from the trail. Total mileage for the day would be 49 miles.
Day #3: 29 miles back to the Alabama/Georgia border. Then, not wanting to stop in the same town twice on this trip I would continue on 22.8 miles to Rockmart, GA. That’s 52 miles on the trail. There are a couple of hotels in Rockmart (Econo Lodge & Garden Inn) that are two miles from the trail. There are quite a few restaurants in town as well.
Day #4: 38.7 miles back to the starting point and the long drive home. With the off-trail miles, the total should be close to 200 miles for the four days.
If you wanted to do this ride in three days, the logistics get tougher because of lack of facilities. One option is staying both nights in Cedartown. That means your second day is 88 miles and you wouldn’t need to haul any gear that second day, since you’ll be returning to your hotel in Cedartown. The second option for a 3-day trip would be to stay in a cabin near the boarder (Highland Park Resort). There aren’t any restaurants here, but you could manage. That would make the first day mileage 61.5 miles. Then Day #2 could be back to the same cabin after 68 miles. Day #3 would be 61.5 miles back to the start.