Scooter's Loop

Very fun, maybe traversed for an hour or so. Pretty easy except for one technical uphill. Water crossing easy. We haven’t gotten much rain in a while.

Trail was open. Storm damage was cut through and cleared. No problems with locals. I went on a Tuesday so no traffic. Weekends are probably busier.

Loop Closed at this point. Not sure where it picks back up. Started our route at the I40 junction the traveled southwest around the loop until Carter Road. (where it is closed 35.93022, -87.40858 ). We were traveling south to north. The rest of the trail was very passable and mostly dry with exception of some mud holes and 3 creek crossings.

There is a guy close to the end of the trail that has all kinds of trespassing signs. He has cameras up and had the trail blocked and made us turn around. FYI I was on the blue trail.

The Old Mill Creek Rd is the most challenging part. There were a couple of spots where 4-low makes things much easier to ascend/descend. There was a washout that required traversing and if your vehicle has open differentials, it would be quite difficult. The road is closed at Carter Rd ( N 35°55'49.21", W 87°24'31.18") so a detour to Pinewood Rd will save some time. The creek crossings were good, but you could feel the vehicle sink while crossing. Don't stop and you'll be fine. Overall, a good trail. Please use the Tread Lightly principles to help keep this open.

All of the blue is pavement. Part of it is Hwy 48. The green is dirt road with creek crossing and a couple of challenging spots.

One section of maybe 2miles closed “signs posted”. Can be rerouted easily. It is not completely closed. Just 1 short section of gravel road.

This is a public roadway and is open to all. Some of the locals have posted signs and trail reports to the contrary to try and stop thru traffic, but it is indeed open. Be respectful of local traffic and homes. Many are located right along the roadway.

We were unable to complete the loop as it now goes through private property. The loop should be re-evaluated in On X. Old Mill Creek was fun. The Blue part of the loop was on asphalt up to the private property!

For those unaware like myself this loop has a lot of pavement. I added a picture of a highlighted route I took to bypass going on some sketchy property, that ultimately was impassable due to heavy machinery and timber in the area.

Great for beginners. The large culvert has been repaired. There is a smaller was shed out culvert that was not difficult to navigate. Could have done the entire ride in 2wd in my stock wrangler.

Quite a few deer. Started at south center entry point and did the west side loop. One slightly steep incline just getting started, and one larger puddle on the trail just before you get to salt lick turn that was significantly deeper than the rest (has an obvious piece of concrete step up on the west end) that wasn’t a problem as long as you maintain momentum. Fun once you get out into the hills and away from houses. Overall only a 1-2 in terms of difficulty 98% of the time