Mtn Biking at Haw Ridge

Let's go riding!!! Haw Ridge Park is an Oak Ridge City Park under the jurisdiction of the Parks and Recreation Office. The 780-acre Park lies on the shore of Melton Hill Lake in the southeast corner of the City across from the Bull Run Steam Plant. The park is a wilderness area covered by hardwoods (oak, poplar, hickory, beech) and some cedar, pines, and hemlock (common TN trees). A cedar barrens is located along the West point trail. The forest floor supports more than forty varieties of wild flower, including one endangered plant. The Park/ridge gets its name from the haw bush and/or black haw. The Park is populated by deer, raccoon, skunk, beaver, and fox, as well as blue heron, osprey, hawk, owl, turkey and the usual assortment of East Tennessee birds. The rare tree goat has also been photographed in the park. The geology is shale and limestone. The land was donated to the City by TVA in 1972, for recreational use only. The Park has over 28 miles of wooded dirt trails and is used by hikers, trail runners, canoers (5 miles of shoreline), mountain bikers, nordic skiers, and horseback riders. The park is also a popular orienteering and geoaching destination. (From trail construction cost estimates of about $3/ft, this represents a $400,000 resource!) Parking is available at the west end of the park, and trail heads are at the west end and along Old Edgemoor Road (see the Haw Ridge mountain biking page for maps and trail information). Volunteers perform trail maintenance and marking. There are some crazy hard trails at Haw Ridge.... We will NOT be riding these! I'm very familiar with this trail system and will be leading the group along moderate trails along the water.... The only fee to ride at Haw is the steep entry trail... However, once you pay this "entry fee" you're home free! Many people let the steep entry trail intimidate them..... Don't!!! Many of us will be walking our bikes up this entry section in order to save our energy for the fun stuff! We will meet at the Edgemoore Rd parking lot across from Centennial Golf Course at 10 AM. This event is totally dependent upon Mother Nature. This event will most likely have to be rescheduled if it rains anytime after Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed! After the ride, we'll head over to Big Ed's for some beer and pizza!