Review Date
July 18, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: kent ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Once you get past the loose gravel and mud stomp from horses, this is a great trail. Not very technical or steep (though the climb up the flanks of Curahee is tough), the speed you can carry through the place makes it a blast. The understory vegetation is thick so the trail sneaks up on you. I rode most of the trails trying to catch as much single track as possible. All in all it is a very scenic and exciting ride. Combine a ride with a climbing trip to Curahee Mountain just up the road.

Recommended Route:
Many possible combinations through the four loops.

Review Date
June 1, 2006

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: jtibb ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
rode this trail a couple of weeks ago. will ride again in next few days. the first couple of miles suck because of the horses trashing the trail (soft,muddy) once past that, trails are all in pretty good shape. rode a couple of weeks ago a few days after some rain, no horses had been out there, awesome, never been better. we'll see in next few days now that hot,dry weather is here. not a wasted trip, miles,scenic,etc.. better than chicopee, better on week days(no horses)

Recommended Route:
outer loop, map in parking lot. just follow the outer perimeter all the way around, i dont know.. 10-12 miles?

Review Date
March 30, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: RevRob ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This trail is totally wore out but It does have the redeming sweet jumps that the ATV's have made. Back in the late 90's it was worse that it was now but overall what makes this place one of my favorites is not just this trail but the trail that connects which few know about. If you ride to the base where the train trussels are and then go past, eventually you will reach a dirt service road. There's about 3 or 4 different ways to get there from the service road but once you get there look for a large mound of bulldozed dirt that covers another trail. This Trail is called Dead Man's Branch and runs a couple miles of great single track which is fairly technical. This trail dumps into the back side of Toccoa Falls College next to there pond and huge 190 some foot water fall. It's great if you enjoy a tight single track. There are several streams along Dead Man's Branch trail but the coolest ones are the two deep ones at the end. By the way, it's named Deadmans's branch because of some old, old myth. There's a sign about it at the end of the trail on campus. The only reason I know all this is because I went to college there and use to ride this route about 3-4 times a week. Just as good now as it was then.

Review Date
December 27, 2004

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 2 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: MRBIGG ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
*THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOOD TRAIL IS OVER USED, ABUSED, AND UNDER MAINTAINED*
Fortunatly, almost none of this damage has been caused by mountain bikes.
Unfortunatly, none of these conditions will improve unless mountain bikers get involved.
Frady Branch is just one of 4 or 5 trails which total over 14 miles within the Lake Russel Wildlife Management system, and being just over an hours drive from Atlanta, it has the potential to rival Blankets Creek and Chicopee. Although in saying that I must strongly emphasize the word potential.
Upon pulling into the parking lot it is immediatly obvious that horses are the most frequent trail users, and upon entering the single track it is obvious that many of the riders (the equine type) have total disregard for maintaing trail conditions. (if a 30lbs bike can tear up a wet trail, try imagining what a 800lbs horse does to it)
Before going any further I must state that I am not a horse hater. I have ridden many trails that allow horses and have seen nothing like that which exsists at Frady Branch. (These trails will not last more than a few years if they continue to be abused the way they have been) These are some of the wetest trails I have ever ridden where in some instances it would take a week or more of hot dry weather to dry out.(there's a reason this place has a bike wash) This coupled with excessive use by horses is a trail closing waiting to happen.
That being said... the trails were great. Moments of trudging through lowland muck wondering why you decided to ride here instead of your favorite local spot, to be rewarded with winding fast downhills, exciting creek crossings, and a nice hill right in the middle which is sure to give any rider a good workout. I will definately ride these trails again and hopefully so will others. (the bike type)

***DO NOT LET THIS TRAIL SYSTEM GO TO WASTE***
If mountain bikers make there prescense known and show their enthusiasim for the system then this could be a great place to ride.(there is already camping and picnicing)

Recommended Route:
Frady Branch - counter clockwise

Review Date
November 9, 2004

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: BWatGT ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I rode this trail yesterday after getting excited by the two reviews posted here. 14 miles of exciting new singletrack!? the single track is actually just old double track that has become something of a singletrack. this can make for great riding, but not here. The trails just don't flow at all. This may be due to the fact that horses have destroyed the trail surface. there is horse crap everywhere and there are long stretchs of very loose sand and dirt that has been churned up by horses. I think that this place would have some potential if it were hardpack, but no one likes riding in sandy loose dirt and horse crap. maybe a management program similar to Tsali would work here; alternate days for bikers and horses. the scenery is nice, and I got a good workout, so it wasn't a complete waste of my time, but I'd rather go somewhere that I can get a good workout and then I get rewarded with fast, flowing singletrack and/or technical challenges. Frady branch just doesn't offer that. I realize that this is a new trail system, so hopefully more bike traffic will improve the trails.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Bull/Jake mtn, the Aska rd. trails.