Thunderbunny Trail

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Ride to the park from Athens via the Athens Trail System or Strouds Run Road, or park at the parking lot directly across the street from Thunderbunny Trail (this lot is known as Pioneer Cemetery Lot or the Thunderbunny Lot). Be sure to watch for traffic on busy Strouds Run Road before crossing the road to enter the trail.

You'll do most of the climbing in the first half-mile or so (it is steep and a little technical), before enjoying a twisty ride through the woods with relatively short climbs and downhills. Expect plenty of dips with climbing turns up and out of the dips. Just before the mile point you'll see a sign on your left for Vista Point Trail, which shares the trail with Thunderbunny for a few moments before exiting to the right (marked by another sign, on your right, just before Aztec Rock). At about the mile point enjoy riding past beautiful Aztec Rock (on your right), then enjoy a short climb before more fast singletrack with sweeping turns and switchbacks.

At about the 2.25 mile point, you'll see a trail sign indicating that Thunderbunny continues on straight, and Vista Point trail, which again has been sharing the trail with Thunderbunny after merging in a while back, takes a right down to the Strouds Run State Park campground (a quick out if necessary). From there Thunderbunny offers a couple of more fun switchbacks and a creek crossing before intersecting with State Park Road (the road parallel the campground). Be sure to slow down and watch for traffic before exiting Thunderbunny Trail onto the road.

Note: If you like to stop and enjoy views, it is worth leaning your bike on a tree near the first Vista Point Trail intersection (on your left, just before the 1-mile point on Thunderbunny) and hiking up a short way to Vista Point for a great view of Dow Lake. If you get to Aztec Rock and see a sign indicating that Vista Point travels downhill to the right, you have gone too far. However, it is good to know that this second section of Vista Point Trail (the one that intersects Thunderbunny at Aztec Rock and heads downhill to the right) is a short trip (approximately 0.2 mile) down to the campground, in case someone needs to get out of the woods quickly. Vista Point is a No-Bikes trail.