SORBA-Chattanooga, TVA, and Outdoor Chattanooga are delighted to present the Chattanooga area with a wonderful new outdoor recreation asset just in time for the holidays: The East Rim trail on Raccoon Mountain. The partners will host a trail opening on Christmas Eve at 1:00 PM.

The East Rim trail is about 2 miles long, and is designed for beginning mountain bikers and casual hiking. Visitors will find it to be not just a fun workout but also very scenic, with panoramic views of Chattanooga and the Tennessee valley.

This is the first section of a trail system the Chattanooga chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA- Chattanooga) is developing in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority at the Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage facility, with support from Outdoor Chattanooga.

When complete, the Raccoon Mountain trail system will feature over ten miles of trails for biking and hiking, circling the reservoir on the top of the mountain. Other sections of the trail will be developed over the next year.

SORBA-Chattanooga will lead an inaugural mountain bike ride to open the trail on December 24, 2005, at 1:00 PM, from the East Overlook on Raccoon Mountain.

For more information contact Greg Laudeman, SORBA- Chattanooga Advocacy Director, 423-867- 7687 or advocacy@sorbachattanooga.org.

###