Red Bank opens Godsey Ridge trail system Chattanooga Times Free Press

There were about as many bikes as there were cars parked outside Red Bank's community center as the city celebrated the opening of the Godsey Ridge trail system.

Red Bank broke ground on the trail in December and, within four months, opened Godsey Ridge to much fanfare from the several dozen people who showed up for the Sunday ribbon cutting. After remarks from officials, cyclists set off along the trail, with hikers following suit.

"This trail system means so much to our community in so many different ways," Red Bank Mayor Stefanie Dalton said in her remarks. "We're opening up access to a public space that has been desired in our community for over six decades. "We're adding diversity to our parks and recreation system through our first-ever set of trails located entirely within Red Bank city limits. And we're protecting a treasured green space, ensuring access to active recreation in the outdoors in perpetuity."

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Godsey Ridge is a thickly wooded tract of land between U.S. Highway 27 and the Erlanger North hospital campus. Decades ago, Red Bank purchased the land to develop for recreation, but trails were left out of the plan due to limited funding.

Photo GalleryRed Bank opens Godsey Ridge trail system

Now, thanks to a state grant that covers the full cost of the project, Godsey Ridge is home to a 1.5-mile trail system, featuring three routes of varying difficulty. Red Bank wanted the system to be welcoming and beginner-friendly, city Parks and Recreation Manager Jeffrey Grabe said in an interview.

"Just down to the west, we have Walden's Ridge, an epic mountain biking space," Grabe said. "We have to the east of us Stringer's Ridge, which is a great multiuse trail, but it's easy to get lost in if you're not familiar with it. And so, we really wanted a space that truly anybody could come and be on this trail, whether they're hiking or biking for the first time."

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The opening brought out hikers and cyclists of all ages, from little ones in backpack carriers to silver-haired adventurers.

For sisters and lifelong Red Bank residents Candace and Samantha West, Godsey Ridge provides more green space in their hometown. Prior to Godsey Ridge's opening, getting outdoors for the sisters meant walking around their neighborhood or going for a planned outing at an area destination like Signal Point or Foster Falls, the pair said in an interview.

"If anything, it's going to be a very frequently visited spot for us," Candace West said. "We will likely be out here every weekend."

"This is going to be a new opportunity to actually have an excuse to be outdoors and it not be, 'Oh, let's find somewhere to go," Samantha West said. "It's just right there, right down the road from our house."

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The opening of Godsey Ridge signals that Red Bank is changing, resident and city employee Michael Pham said in an interview. People want to see and have access to amenities like Godsey Ridge, said Pham, who was one of the inaugural cyclists to hit the trails Sunday.

"I think it means they're taking care of themselves and their families and their community by supporting initiatives like this," Pham said of the people of Red Bank. "It's one of the best features of the community that says, 'Yeah, we want people to be able to be outside and be healthy and recreate.'"

The opening marks just the first phase of the Godsey Ridge plan.

The second phase, taking place in fiscal year 2027, is set to put in a parking lot just for the trail system in addition to redoing the parking lot in front of the community center, said Grabe, the parks and recreation manager. The third phase, taking place in fiscal year 2028, is set to finish the sidewalk along the property as well as add curb cuts and ramps from Tom Weathers Drive on Morrison Springs Road down to Dayton Boulevard, allowing for greater connectivity in the community, Grabe said.

"I hope that people are really proud of this trail system, and they feel like it's theirs -- because it is," Grabe said. "I hope this becomes a true crown jewel of Red Bank."

Contact outdoors reporter Sam Still at [email protected] or 423-757-6579.

Sam Still is the outdoors reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. In this role, Sam focuses on stories about people and their relationship to the regional environment. Sam began his journalism career as an intern for the Times Free Press, writing for the lifestyle publication Chatter Magazine. He joined the newspaper full-time in summer 2023. He received a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he was a staff writer and assistant news editor for the university's student newspaper, The Echo. He is originally from Cleveland, Tennessee.