cumberland river bicentennial trail

great place to take the kids and get some outside time I love taking the bikes, my dog and the kids for a day out Highly recommend just watch for snakes in the summer / spring

Short walk from the hotel we stayed at. The Bicentennial trail is nature at its finest. We didn't walk the whole 13 miles as it was getting dark but will be back in the fall with our bikes!

This is an old railroad route that has been converted into a paved bike trail. It starts just outside of Ashland City, TN with a nice parking lot that will hold over 20 cars. There is one porta-potty there. The trail itself is under heavy shading from tall 100 y.o. trees that completely cover it. The trail has the river on one side and a steep hill on the other. The steep hill provides some of the shade as well. Even when it is over 90 degrees outside on your back porch it is very comfortable to ride your bike on this trail. It is smooth for about 3 miles and then the asphalt is rooty for the final mile. There are two old rail road bridges that you can cross and that adds some variety and scenery. I have see some hikers swim from the bridge to cool off in the muddy Cumberland river below. Today there were 3 little lizards and one colorful snake. You can hear a lot of different birds making their calls in the canopy above you. I have seen camera clubs hiking out there at times. There is one bathroom building along the way but a few years back it was not well kept. I didn't check it out today. There are a couple of little streams for kids to wade in or explore along the way. At the end of the asphalt trail there is another stretch that goes another 4 miles or so that is called Eagle Pass Trailhead. Supposedly there is an Eagle's nest out there somewhere, but I have yet to see it. At that point there is a paved 2 lane road that you can take back to the original starting point at Mark's Creek Trailhead. It runs along more of the river and through a little resort area. This is a little different kind of scenery. There are large cornfields on the inland side and there are boaters on the river on the other side. That would be on Chapmansboro Road. If you take the gravel trail you will finally get to another campground that goes all the way to the dam. That round trip should get you about 19 miles. There are no hills and a lot of shade. Bike, stroll jog or run. I guess you could even roller blade the first 4 miles.

The Cumberland River Bicentennial trail is mostly shaded in the spring, summer and fall. Beautiful colors all the time. 4 miles paved, Mark's Creek Trailhead to Sycamore Harbor Traihead, all on Chapmansboro Rd. Eagle Pass to Cheatham Dam Recreation Area is three miles gravel. Runs along the abandoned railbed. Beautiful sites and very level. Good for biking, walking, running.

I've walked 1/2 the trail (paved part nearest AC to mid point), walked and biked most of eagle pass. The paved walking trail is great, however, we biked a part of eagle pass, turned around, and went back to the paved path due to the roughness of eagle pass and to rounding curves into unexpected descents which in my daughters case could have been worse than what she sustained. Our lack of biking skills became reality very quickly...lol. I will venture down eagle pass again and will make it to the end one day soon. This is an amazing place and I do recommend it to everyone young and old (by foot) or by bike on paved path for us older folks..lol. Wildlife, river, lake, nature, flowers, plants, a must! I took some amazing pics too.

This trail is mostly flat and half of it is paved and the other half is not. I usually start on the paved in near downtown Ashland City. Its usually a nice and relaxing walk or run.

This is a good trail for biking if you are an infrequent rider (like myself), but cycling enthusiasts might find it too boring. The trail is 7 miles long and almost entirely flat, as it lies along an old railway bed, with only a few dips where it veers off the railway line. The eastern half is paved and the western half is mostly hard packed gravel/dirt that makes for an easy ride. The views are good, especially around the main bridge and at the west end of the trail. One thing I did notice was that the trail doesn't actually follow the river for much of the route, but rather lagoons/swampland in the floodplain. I suspect that in the summer and fall it may be horribly infested with mosquitoes, but can't speak to whether it actually is.

Really like this trail, converted from old railroad path (so it's mostly flat). We prefer starting from the trailhead near Sycamore Creek Recreation Area, because there's a playground and restrooms there. The section going west is very shady and eventually you get to see a pretty cove. We like going the other direction, too, because it's cool to walk on the bridge (100 years old) and look down on the creek and any boats that are passing underneath. Never been crowded any time we have been there. Have heard it's a great spot to see wildflowers in the spring.