Hytop Loop

Starting at the Paint Rock Valley High School in the small town of Princeton, this route travels 67 miles over some of the most beautiful and unusual roads in the area. There's little traffic and the pavement is mostly smooth, with the notable exception of some rough chipseal at the middle of the ride. The route is almost continuously up-and-down, mostly gently rolling but it includes several hills and one long climb.

Warning: the rest stop at mile 31 is probably closed, leaving only one rest stop at mile 48.

Route details:

The ride's main climb is 2.7 miles with a 7% average grade, beginning four miles into the ride. After the climb (and a couple of bonus hills) there's a convenience store at the AL-79 intersection (currently closed). The route then heads north on top of the Cumberland Plateau for 22 miles, into Tennessee and the next rest stop (also closed?) before descending into the farmland below.

After the descent the route heads west over rough country roads just south of Winchester, with a few short steep hills. Most of the turns on the course are concentrated in this area, leading to a rest stop in downtown Huntland, Tennessee.

From Huntland the route returns south along one of the most isolated and beautiful roads in the area, rising and dropping along the Larkin Fork Creek and the Paint Rock River, winding its way back to the high school.

The total elevation gain is 2,450', starting at 640' with a maximum elevation of 1,890'.

Cue sheet

Route map

Google Earth file:
KmlHytop.kmz

BikeRouteToaster

Directions to start:

The Paint Rock Valley High School is located about 45 minutes from Huntsville in the small town of Princeton. From Huntsville take I-565 east to US-72...

Travel East on US-72 15.4 miles to AL-65 (two miles past Gurley, just as US-72 curves to the right) and turn Left/North. Travel North on AL-65 14.5 miles to Princeton. In Princeton, as the road curves sharply the right just past the Princeton Post Office, turn Left on AL-3 (no sign). The high school is located on the left, 250 feet after the turn.

Google Maps driving directions