Location: Coldwater Mountain, Anniston, AL
Ridden: February, 2016
Click on Video to Play
As the first leg of the Nankman Southern Adventure, we headed to Anniston, Alabama to ride Coldwater Mountain. Joël and I had seen many social media posts about this place and read many good reviews on the internet so we wanted to make sure we stopped there to ride and see what all the hype is about. We were glad we made time to go there; the riding was well worth the extra side trip to ride these awesome trails.
Located halfway between the major cities of Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia is the small town of Anniston, Alabama and it's 4000 acre property Coldwater Mountain. Under the direction of IMBA Trail Solutions, about 30-40 miles of trails have already been built there and the plan is to have 75 miles by 2017. The mountain offers a little bit of everything; explore the red-dirt trails in a backcountry setting, shuttle the gravity runs, or enjoy the scenic, entry level trails. The Northeast Alabama Bicycle Association is responsible for trail maintenance and you can get maps and current trail info from there website here.
We rode every trail there except the gravity lines, putting in just about 40 miles. The trails did have a little bit of everything; some were fast and flowy, others tight and twisty. Throw in some rock gardens and technical features, the occasional sustained climbs, and a few good descents to bomb down and there truly is a great mix of trails and something for every level.
The trails and surrounding area are very user-friendly. The main parking area has a kiosk with a large map and trail system information. The trails are well marked with trail name and difficulty level (watch out, some are unidirectional but this is easy to note by the "do no enter" and "wrong way" signs on these trails) and at most major intersection there is a trail map. Within a few minutes of the trail system is a grocery store a few low-key places to eat.
Definitely worth adding into our Southern Adventure and somewhere we will visit again in the future; especially once all 75 miles are completed. For full details on the Southern Adventure, it can be found over to the right in the "Places We Have Ridden" or click here.
-words by Jess
-video by Joël
-fast times by Cliff