Thomson Red Trail

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

The trail starts behind the Thomson Company. Park in the back corner of the parking lot near the fence. It's pretty well marked. There is a large info board and a mail box at the start. Make sure you sign in and fill out a waiver. This keeps it open for the public.

This is a smaller trail system than the other Macon area trails but it's fun and a good change up from Pig Trails or Arrowhead. The trail follows the contours around a creek that flows through the property. There aren't any sustained up hills or down hills really but there is a lot of up and down and some of the short hills are pretty steep. The trail crosses the creek several times and makes use of a few bridges and dives through the creek bottom at least twice. If it's rained recently there will be water in the creek in those spots.

There are some dedicated folks that take care of Thomson and they do a great job. The trail is very well marked now with red, blue, and green arrows. The trail described here is the red (hardest) trail. The blue and green are shorter and make use of sections of the red trail. When there is a long dry spell the trail can be in very good shape and fast as repairs are made. When there is a lot of rain it can be very rough with a lot of exposed roots and small washed out drop offs. To make things more fun, a lot of those roots hit you on uphill sections and in corners. It will definitely keep you on your toes and there is not really a spot on the trail until the very end to relax and just cruise. If it's washed out and you ride it hard it can be a pretty risky deal.

Overall it's a great leg of the Macon singletrack trifecta. Try doing Arrowhead, Pig Trails, and Thomson in a day. Just don't do Thomson last...it's the shortest but it can pound the legs a bit.