Mountain Biking in Big South Fork

In the fall of 1913, the first track of the Oneida & Western Railroad was laid along the canyon floor northwest of present-day Oneida. Its remnants form a double-track corridor where mountain bikers can pedal the 11 miles (one way) from Toomy to Zenith, a total out-and-back mileage of over 22 miles. With only a slight grade, the O & W Rail Trail is a ride best remembered for its water, mud, and rock. Along the creek, the tops of sheer cliffs loom straight up, allowing little direct sunlight to hit the trail.

The O & W's legacy can be traced back to the tall trees that once grew wherever a root could take hold. After a group of Cincinnati businessmen decided to build the railroad, local land developer and later state senator John Toomy worked with large land owner Bruno Gernt to build a lumber business. It took just 16 years to harvest the trees. With the top side ravaged, companies began filling the O & W's cars with coal dug from local mines. It took 25 years to remove enough coal to make business slack, and in 1954, the O & W"pulled the steel" of the four-and-a-half-foot-wide track. It would be another 20 years before Congress passed legislation providing for the formation of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. In 1984, completed construction of nearby facilities at Bandy Creek attracted visitors, some of whom arrived with mountain bikes and rediscovered the tracks of days and ways gone by.

Finding the trail: Leave Oneida on TN 297, headed west. About 8 miles out of town, the small community of New Haven is marked by several farms, one of them a Hereford (polled, I believe) farm on the right, with its sign near the highway. Slow down. Turn left onto the next road on the left (most likely, there's no sign). If you reach the intersection where TN 297 turns left to Bandy Creek, you've gone too far. Turn around and travel just over a half mile. The turn should be obvious this time. Turn right. It's slightly over 2 miles down this road before you reach the trailhead, bearing left at the next intersection with a farm's driveway. A gas well and storage tank will be on the left, near the bottom of an extremely steep descent.

Notes on the trail: The epic adventure begins at Toomy and heads west toward Jamestown for at least 22 out-and-back (total) miles, under occasionally rugged and wet conditions. In those miles to Zenith and back, expect to ford at least ten creeks... twice. It is a navigational no-brainer: just keep on the canyon floor, close to the creek or in it. But for those times when the water's too high to safely cross North White Oak Creek, try starting at Gernt and ride the western portion.

View: Trail Map