Tsali Recreation Area is part of the Cheoah Ranger District of the Nantahala National Forest. Overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains, it is one of the premier mountain biking sites in the Eastern United States. The results of a 13-month on-site survey of 1,359 Tsali visitors examine the demographics, behavior, current trip profile, and attitudes toward user fees, current management policies, and future management alternatives. More than 70 percent of visitors were male, 96 percent were white, 85 percent had attended college, 90 percent were between the ages of 20 and 49, and more than 60 percent had incomes over $50,000. Sixty percent of the visitors had four or more years of experience; 16 percent were beginners. Visitors averaged 21 biking trips totaling 59 days yearly, averaging 3 visits to Tsali. Fifty-five percent were first-time visitors, while 80 percent said Tsali was their "favorite place" to ride. Trail surface and congestion were the most important site attributes to visitors. Surfaces rated high in performance, indicating that management practices are successful. Congestion on trails rated slightly less than "good" suggesting management consideration. Site facilities rated "good" or better on average. Parking and security were ranked highly for both performance and importance. Toilet facilities ranked the lowest in performance but high in importance suggesting another area for management consideration. Most visitors (95 percent) agreed that fees are a "good tool to manage public recreation areas," in general and at Tsali. Visitors overwhelmingly supported future management alternatives that proposed more trail miles, even though these were combined with fee increases

Fat-tire enthusiasts will pilgrimage from afar to bike in the Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountains -- the East's off-road bicycle belt. Don't miss this chance to supply these thrill seekers with their sacred text! Veteran mountain bike author Steve Jones covers classic trails in the Holy Land of East Coast mountain biking, including unforgettable technical single-track in North Carolina's popular Tsali Recreation Area. Mountain Bike! The Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountains, Jones' fourth book, is also chockfull of social and natural history anecdotes and light humor.Bikers will find some serious trail mileage on routes in Alabama's Monte Sano and at North Georgia's world class destinations. And if that's not enough, the best trails in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and Virginia's Mount Rogers recreation area make up more trail mileage than you will find in all the existing guides combined. From nearly unridable trails in northern Alabama to nice-and-easy jaunts through tranquil scenery, if it's good riding in the mountains of the East, it's profiled here.

"Tsali ... Recreation Area is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the Southeast. Over 40 miles of trails here wind over rolling terrain along the shore of Lake Fontana, just across the lake from Great Smoky Mountains National Park." -- verso.

Describes and outlines twenty-one bicyle trails from California's Redwood Belt to the Andes to South Africa's Golden Route, and provides information on trip length, cost, lodging, and level of physical and mental challenge.