Fontana Lake

Autumn Begins in Fontana

Background:

I took this past weekend off awhile ago so I could get lots of good hiking and biking in this beautiful part of the state... and I was not disappointed.

One of the highlights of my weekend was my ride of the Left and Right loops of the Tsali trail complex in the Nantahala National Forest outside of Bryson City. I have another post up where I did the Mouse Branch/Thompson loops, but due to the high volume of mountain biking and equistrian users sharing this trail system, only half of the trails can be ridden on any given day, alternating throughout the week. 

The Tsali trail system lies just on the other side of Fontana Lake from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the loops I did on this day in particular rewarded fantastic views of the lake and these mountains. A nickname for this lake is the "Finger" lakes, because of the many coves that look like fingers on a map. 

Bike Report:

Distance: 19 miles

Time: ~2.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

Pictures will do all the talking for me for this post. The air was cool and crisp, you could feel the change of seasons. The elevation for my ride varied from about 1,500 feet to nearly 2,000. 

I ended up doing 19 miles on this day and nearly 2,000 feet of climbing, all in around 2.5 hours. My lasting impression of the Tsali from my last visit on the other half of the trails was speed. Fast and flowing trails. My lasting impression of the Tsali for this half of the trail system (Right & Left loops) was not only speed, but beauty and uniqueness of the trail system. 

There are many trails that have been built along the banks of rivers, lakes. Arguably, you have the best terrain to work with here as the hills roll and traverse the riverbanks. What makes the Tsali Left & Right loops unique is the beauty of Fontana Lake and the dirt that makes up the trails is absolutely perfect for mountain biking. There are many overlooks scattered throughout the trails and on the back end you are literally riding on the edge of an embankment of the "fingers." I got no pictures of this because I wanted to enjoy the ride, but I got plenty of the many beautiful views. 

Off of an overlook on the right loop, I found these cliffs. You could easily cliff-dive off of this

Black tupelo trees beginning to show their red

 

This part of the state never disappoints, on bike and on foot I will be back.