Cravens House Loop Trail is a 4.5 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Chattanooga, Tennessee that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
birding
hiking
nature trips
trail running
walking
views
wild flowers
rocky
To start this loop, park at the Craven's House (entrance road above Ruby Falls). Start by going right and back right onto "Rifle Pits Trail" .62 at first split. Turn left onto "Upper Truck Trail" .73 where you can explore the remnants of the old CCC Camp Demaray that housed 200 men complete with Barber Shop and Tennis Courts in the 30's. Next intersection stay left onto "Gum Spring Trail" .63 the roughest part of the trail, this will lead you to Sunset Rock .02 if you desire or stay left onto "Bluff Trail" for .066 mile for a left onto "Craven's House Trail" .52 and back to your vehicle. While at the Craven's House there are several old structures to explore like the Hardy house to the left, a turn of the century Tudor.
Great trail! Gorgeous day and although it got pretty warm, you didn’t notice in the shade of the trails. Sunset Rock was amazing! I could have sat there forever!
If you have weak legs, bad knees, hips or ankles, you might want to the whole loop. Perhaps to Sunset Rock and directly back. This has some strenuous spots on the loop especially Gum Springs and Rifle Pits. Gum Trail and Rife Pits had quite a bit of overgrowth making it narrow although the path was clear.
Suggestions: good comfortable hiking shoes, water and a walking stick or walking poles.
Awesome view at the top.
Loved it! Links up to several other rad trails as well
Enjoyable hike close to downtown. It is true that there are a couple spots where the trails are not clearly marked, but if you follow the directions in the trail description above navigating the loop is easy. Plus several of the intersections are marked well with signs.
It is definitely worth splitting off the loop to see the beautiful view from Sunset Rock.
I would definitely recommend this hike.
A good hike, excellent views and many good trails to add to this hike. The trails are not well marked.
Print out a map, take a pic at the trailhead with your phone, or keep the instructions close by. Great loop, but cutting across so many trails can be tricky! We got confused around Sunset Rock when looping for Cravens trail on the way back, but a local got us straightened out. Speaking of Sunset, views are amazing. Not a hard trail, per se, except the 6/10 mile on Gum Trail - straight uphill. Enjoy this great trail. Make sure you drive around at the top - nice homes to look at, if that’s your thing.
I loved this hike. Wasn't very hard, leads to a PHENOMENAL view overseeing the Tennessee river and surrounding area. Lots of cool historical information pertaining to the civil war available as well at the top.
Perfect before/after work trail run loop.
Great views!
We had a great time on this trail! It can however be very confusing. Luckily I found a website that walked us through the whole thing with pictures and all. I would recommend sticking to it to a T if you don't want to get lost. Here's the link.
http://npplan.com/parks-by-state/georgia/at-a-glance-chickamauga-and-chattanooga-national-military-park/hiking-trails-chattanoogalookout-mountain-battlefield/sunset-rock-cravens-house-loop-trail-chattanoogalookout-mountain-battlefield/
Good morning hike. Great for families and easy to follow the trail.
Trail had one good view and was very challenging physically as it is straight up and straight down for the most part. The trail is very poorly marked. I would recommend bringing your phone with this app if you don't want to back track a lot. Altogether an okay day. If you take the time, there are lots of historical places to venture off to.
Beautiful hike however without the GPS to guide would have gotten turned around. Trails are not marked well at all, we actually went 1 mile past our trail and had to back track. With that being said it was a beautiful hike and we did enjoy it.
I would not say this was hard, but maybe more moderate. I don't hike much, but am in decent shape, but it just wasn't a hard trail for my buddy and me. Loved the scenery and boulders all throughout. Some good pics from Sunset Rock, which is right off the CH trail.
This trail was NOT marked well at all. If it weren't for my phone and following GPS of someone's previously posted hike of the loop, we'd still be in the woods. Terrible job marking this trail in my opinion.
Great hike! Views are beautiful! The hike up was challenging but a great workout! Very rocky. Don't suggest tennis shoes for this trail!
Hard going up to the right. At the top turn right and go up the metal stairs to the park. Going back go right at the stairs and then bear LEFT at the fork. 4.68 mile loop. Careful on the way down--easy but precariously skinny goat trail on a bluff requires you pay attention to your foot work. Safety first.
did this with some young boy scouts, nice trails, cool civil war history, trail signs need some repairs.
I did this trail about 10 years ago. I still remember the views and the somber history surrounding the Civil War that occurred here. The whole park is worth the visit.
Great, challenging trail with some interesting wildlife and scenic views. Saw several rock climbing teams along the way. Was able to accomplish the entire loop in under two hours.
This trail was my favorite !!! Overlooks were amazing ... Trail was easy to moderate and extreme... Climbers along the way!!!