Explore Franklin - view hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.
reviewed Bartram Trail: Hickory Knoll Road to The Pinnacle
February 25, 2021Wonderful climb! Well maintained trail, beautiful views (Feb. 25) and gorgeous temps for late winter. Saw no one on the trial. Even has a classy parking area!
Well it it mostly uphill going in I went three miles in and turned back I actually passed the pinnacle but it is not marked in any way. There is a rock outcrop about 2.4 miles in so I guess that is the pinnacle In January there are good views of surrounding ridge lines and large valley where us23 is My legs got tired going in mostly uphill
reviewed Bartram Trail: Hickory Knoll Road to The Pinnacle
January 24, 2021Go past Pinnacle and whack up West Double Top for a good view.
The 1st mile of this one is brutal on your calf muscles
November 22, 2020I had the trail to myself and it was everything I expected. Decent workout and a beautiful walk through the woods. I got called out early due to some sketchy weather. The tips about parking and where to start were key.
My wife and I did this on a beautiful Saturday morning in the late fall. We traded off carrying a 20 pound baby in the baby carrier. We thought the views were awesome, although I can see how in summer you may not have the same views. Trail is well kept and easy to follow (a little more overgrown at the top but still very obvious). Even though it was a gorgeous Saturday morning, we only saw two other people the entire time so I agree it is lightly trafficked based on our experience. Appreciated the other comments on parking or trail access or it may have been tricky to find. Overall a lovely walk in the woods and we would do this again for sure.
Nice hike, well traveled until the last bit. Went 2.5 miles in and back. It took about 3 hours with a few stops. the views were nice since the trees were bare. I could see it not being as nice in the summer. Not sure if we made it to the Pinnacle or not. there wasn't a true landmark.
This hike is a good workout, but overgrown in summer. As others have said, there are better views elsewhere
July 12, 2020First .75 mile is steady incline. Next 1.25 miles is mostly incline. Good exercise. Whole trail is pretty much shaded. A few sections are overgrown a bit but no big deal. Only a couple good distant views of surrounding mountains but a nice walk through the forest. Never really found a pinnacle. Trail continues on beyond the end described here. Ended up going in 2.5 miles. Only knew due to recording my hike. Aesthetically, I’d give it a 3.
I came in from Franklin and navigation said “you have arrived” saying the trail head was on the LEFT. The problem is you can’t see the trailhead on the left from the road and so i missed the small sign on RIGHT for parking. The trail is a mixed bag of maintenance. Lots of uphill going out!! I never found the Pinnacle and saw that the red GPS on this app said i has passed it but i still had more uphill in front of me so????!
reviewed Bartram Trail: Hickory Knoll Road to The PinnacleJuly 7, 2020Not a bad hike! Parking is across the street from the beginning of the trail. Orange flags in the woods will lead you to the beginning of the trail. There are also some stairs on the adjacent driveway, but I didn’t want to go through someone’s property. Despite some parts being overgrown, the trail is in good shape. Just wear long pants and you should be ok. View was nice, but will be better in the fall once leaves aren’t blocking the view. Went on a Tuesday morning, saw exactly zero other people.
Not a bad hike. The view isn't necessarily worth it as there are better views in the area you can hike to. Very overgrown about a mile in and the last 1/4 mile. I'd rate this on the moderate-hard scale. Nice little parking area and just a short walk to the actual trail. If you have the time I highly recommend driving another half mile down the road and hiking the Tessentee Bottomland trail as well.
If you like solitude, this is a great spot. Nice trail that is lightly trafficked. Follows the Bartram from a brand new trailhead and parking area. I was only car there and never saw another person on the 2.3 mile hike up to the Pinnacle. It’s tough going up. But nice coming back down! Views are solid even in summer. Finding the actual “Pinnacle” rock outcropping took some doing in the summer. But I found it and had a nice breakfast on the rock and enjoyed the views.
Single track switchbacks up the mountain. Good views even in the spring/summer when there is greenery. Fairly tough hike up. There is an actual gravel parking area now too that has 10 spots. As others have said the trail head is just a few feet up the paved driveway across from the parking area.
could not even find a marking for the trail head
First to ReviewIt was a beautiful fall morning. Started around 38° and ended around 48° so it was perfect weather for a hike like this. The start was weird, park across the road from the start and then start across the road and you will see a driveway, don’t panic, you aren’t going far up the drive before hitting stairs up past the Bartram trail sign. There is a yellow blaze sign on a tree where the driveway and road meet. With a majority of the leaves off the trees it exposed the trail more so the hiking was “warm”. The leaves off of the trees covered the trail but it was still easy to follow, the “blazes” which are metal yellow signs nailed to trees were plentiful but not overkill where it took away from the natural. I think because the leaves were off of the tree there were more views than normal. This recorded trail is sort of weird though... it just stops in a valley on the total trail. If you follow our recording, You will see we took a small trail that isn’t marked at all. If you follow it for a couple hundred feet you can see some rocks up to the left... go off trail and climb to the rocks, the view is great. Not sure how it would be in the summer. A nice walk in the woods but not much reward. Oh and there is a tree down on the trail about a half a mile or so in, you can just sneak around on the right side by ducking under some branches! Hike your hike and enjoy!!
