In the fall of 2023, The Tennessee River Gorge Trust (TRGT) opened the first phase of the Aetna Mountain Trails! These trails were designed and built through community feedback to ensure the style fits perfectly into the context of our region’s existing trails. The first phase of the Aetna Mountain Trails offers roughly 4 miles of multi-use trail. Upon completion of all three phases, the trail system will ultimately offer 8+ miles of high-quality singletrack trails atop Aetna Mountain for mountain bikers, hikers, and trail runners. In 2025, completed fundraising to build the second phase of trails at Aetna Mountain. In February of 2026, the professional trail builders began breaking ground for an additional 4 miles!
A big thank you to Black Creek, the Lyndhurst Foundation, Tower Community Bank, Chattanooga Tourism Co, Gearhead Outfitters (Rock Creek), Fox Factory, the International Mountain Biking Association, RH Aviation, and many individual donors for making this project possible!
Exciting News
Thanks to a generous commitment from Black Creek, all donations made to Aetna Trails Phase II between September 1 and December 31, 2025, will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000!
That means every dollar you give will be doubled, helping us reach our fundraising goal to complete Phase II of the Aetna Mountain Trails.
Current Layout of Phase I Trails
Conceptual Design of Entire Trail Layout
Project Updates
Construction of Phase I Trails: 2023- The International Mountain Biking Association’s Trail Solutions crew completed trail construction over the summer of 2023. Meanwhile, the TRGT team completed signage, trailhead infrastructure, and minor trail work.
Grand Opening of Phase I Trails: September 2023- TRGT opened the first phase of the Aetna Mountain Trail on September 29, 2023!
Fundraising for Phase II: 2025- Thanks to our community’s support, fundraising for Phase II of the Aetna Mountain Trails is complete. Thank you to the Riverview Foundation, Black Creek, Gearhead Outfitters, and all our partners for making this possible. To donate to support maintaining the trails, use this link or click the button below and please considering joining us for an upcoming event!
Groundbreaking for Phase II: 2026- In February of 2026, the professional trail crew arrived onsite and began construction of 4 additional miles of trails.
If you are interested in learning more about supporting this project, please reach out to Alishea Hixson at alisheah@trgt.org. Thank you for your support!
Directions to Trailhead
The trailhead is roughly 0.5 miles up the mountain past 2924 River Gorge Drive. This address is for a model home before you reach the trailhead parking lot. Continue up River Gorge Drive until you reach the trailhead parking lot at a hairpin curve.