Best Trails in Tennessee

Beautiful day for a walk in the woods with my daughter!!
What views on top!!

A great hike with an amazing view. Walking up a creek/spring along a couple points at the beginning of the trail. A solid elevation gain with some roots and mostly leaves and dirt. The view is wonderful! More secluded and not as used. Easy to find. A must!

Waterfall was gorgeous!

Multiple options for hikers looking for a casual hike to the cardiac workout that comes with elevation climb. Trails are well marked and better yet there is a rope climb and a bell to ring at the top on the West Slope.

Great hike though I can easily anticipate the trail being over-run with Rodo’s and other plants by mid summer. Lovely rock croppings along the AT and a beautiful falls along the Coon Den trail.

It was so pretty even for a dreary cold day. It was pretty intense in some places. I loved all of the water features and views of the huge open valleys.
The flowers were just starting to bloom but it was unusually cold on this particular day. We were the only people out there and my dog also had a blast! Super fun day despite the cold.

Easy trail. It was well kept and great for all ages!

The Falls are amazing... The BF and I went on a mid to late Friday afternoon and it was almost empty. The hike is super easy if you like to hike, but overall a moderate with slight hills.. The trails are kept up so nice and the bridges are new. I would say is be careful when going into the old building that has fallen down. I got a nail in my shoe from stepping on something.

Trail was nice. 2.5 miles to a small waterfall. nothing to brag about.

I loved this trail the waterfall was amazing

Beautiful Hike! I have hiked this several times

I these trails are underrated for everyday riding....I've ridden mtn bikes for years all over the US. these trails offer lots of high quality fast single track. no big jumps or extreme technical sections. well maintained and usually not crowded.
lots of parking, restrooms and changing facilities....nothing fancy, but more than adequate.

Hard hike but worth it. We went at a pretty fast pace so probably wouldn’t have been as hard if we had slowed down. Lots of ice in places that made for very slippery footing. Starts with a beautiful mountain stream. Views are absolutely breathtaking. Guide cables at the top near icy areas and shear cliffs. Make sure to hike the extra mile and a half out and back to Myrtle point once at the top as well as the short hike to Cliff tops. Definitely my favorite smokies hike.

Great hike past multiple waterfalls! The majority of the hike is uphill but not too steep with several stretches of flatter ground to break it up. Plus there are so many nice breaks along the creek that it’s nice to stop. There are really two falls on this hike, so after you pass the first large waterfall keep going further to an even better one!! Heard from other hikers that it’s even cooler to go during the winter time because the waterfalls completely freeze over! Will be back to see that. Also wear waterproof shoes during the spring season because you have to cross the creak four times, not difficult but will get regular sneakers wet.

We did this hike in April. If you go counter clockwise then campsite #2 is pretty much the halfway point. That’s where we stayed. It’s a pretty nice area, and there is a well there, but we still filtered the water just to be safe. The only really difficult part of the entire loop was hiking up out of Cane Creek gorge. It wasn’t all that bad, but it was fairly steep in some spots. Altogether you cross 3 suspension bridges on this loop, so that’s cool.

We only hiked to Alum Cave due to a late start in the day. Boy was it foggy— I guess that’s why they call it the Smokys! Alum “cave” is still low enough that we had a nice view to relax and eat a snack. We felt lucky because we met hikers coming down from the top and they said they couldn’t see a thing from up there on a foggy day. Pretty gentle trail for a slow climb of 1250 feet gain! Loved following the creek up... rare rocks/roots making it easier than a normal climb of the same elevation gain.

I am partially handicapped and my hiking is now rather limited, but I was thrilled to be able to walk to the first overlook. With the help of my cane and the stabilized pathway, I was able to see the first waterfall and sit down on a bench and enjoy the sound of the water splashing down the falls. Thank you, National Park Service for giving me access to this waterfall.

Great hike for families, kids, and dogs. There are a few trails and loops to take and all are clearly marked. There were a lot of wildflowers. Would be a great place to hang out all day with the family and a picnic. Watch out for ticks.

A very short but steep climb down rocks to get to the incredible waterfalls and swimming hole. We had a large group with dogs and kids so they had to stay behind. My 10 year old niece was able to climb the rocks easily. We did jump in but the water was freezing! We had to help each other get out of the water. I would not recommend for dogs or young kids.

What a beautiful waterfall.

Easy in, easy out. Definitely one of the easier hikes near Chattanooga for the reward at the end. You’ll cross the stream twice before you make it to the falls, so be prepared to walk they water in worst case scenario. Round trip can be done in less than two hours for average hiker.

The route is quite challenging, though there is never a part of it that is overwhelming or very steep. It just steadily climbs and climbs and climbs. It gains over 4000 ft, and that’s rare to find among trails. The view at the top is amazing, like something out of lord of the rings. When I hiked, the upper elevations were sans leaves, but wildflowers were coming through. The one thing I wish were featured was a greater variety of landscapes. Most of it was through similar looking forest until the Appalachian trail. I would do again for the challenge. Plan accordingly: I would allocate 6-7 hours if you want a nice break at the top.

This trail is definitely rated appropriately.. My husband and I did it yesterday and it kicked our butts! The first half to alum cave is not as bad and quite scenic. It gets considerably colder and drippy from there on to mount leconte. The sun was out and several large icicles above the cave area were melting and falling - watch your head! Wear plenty of layers and water resistant clothing for the second half of the trek. Appropriate hiking shoes are a must as this has a lot of tricky footing and wet areas. The majority of the trail is wet in fact. At the top it was probably at least 30 degrees colder with lots of snow still, but you can warm up inside the Mt leconte lodge dining hall before heading back out. We hiked back down around 4p and the trail is very shady and cool at that time with little sun until the last mile. Overall excellent challenging trail with breathtaking views!

My wife and I loved this place, Cane Creek falls was gorgeous!!

I absolutely love this trail. Easy to hike awesome scenery. Walked it is the pouring rain also was fun.

A fun little hike and beautiful waterfall. Be careful walking down the steps lol because I wasn’t. Can be crowded at times.

Nice hike on old railbed. This trail offers views of the gorge, railway tunnels, wildflowers, the sound of gushing Doe River along the way. Well kept by owners.

Beautiful short trail. Easy hike. Lots of wild flowers in bloom. Went on a Saturday afternoon in the 70s and only met three other people on the trail.

Not scenic, popular with horse riders and a short easy hike close to Murfreesboro and Smyrna. Research abandoned town of Jefferson for history on the location.

Good day hike for some time in the woods. Not much to it, kid friendly but not recommended if it has rained recently. Expect wet/muddy conditions in several spots.