Johnny Molloy - Five-Star Trails: Knoxville: Your Guide to the Area’s Most Beautiful Hikes

Five-Star Trails Knoxville Your Guide to the Areas Most Beautiful Hikes

Copyright 2011 by Johnny Molloy

All rights reserved

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Printed in the United States of America

First edition, first printing

Cover design by Scott McGrew

Text design by Annie Long

Cover photograph by Harold R. Stinnette Photo Stock/Alamy; view of the Smokies

Author photograph by Pam Morgan

All interior photographs by Johnny Molloy

Cartography and elevation profiles by Johnny Molloy, Steve Jones, and Scott McGrew

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Molloy, Johnny, 1961.

Five-star trails, Knoxville: your guide to the areas most beautiful hikes/Johnny Molloy.

p. cm.(Five-star trails)

Summary: No one knows Knoxville better than veteran outdoor-adventure author Johnny Molloy. Each hike text displays one- to five-star rankings in five categories: Scenery, Difficulty, Trail Condition, Solitude, and Appropriateness for Children. Each entry includes directions to the trailhead, at-a-glance info, a user-friendly map, GPS coordinates, an elevation profile, and a brief overviewProvided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-89732-922-4 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-89732-922-8 ()

1. HikingTennesseeKnoxvilleGuidebooks. 2. TrailsTennesseeKnoxvilleGuidebooks. 3. Knoxville (Tenn.)Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.T22K666 2011

917.6885dc23

2011022117

Menasha Ridge Press

P.O. Box 43673

Birmingham, AL 35243

menasharidgepress.com

DISCLAIMER

This book is meant only as a guide to select trails in and near Knoxville, Tennessee. This book does not guarantee hiker safety in any wayyou hike at your own risk. Neither Menasha Ridge Press nor Johnny Molloy is liable for property loss or damage, personal injury, or death that result in any way from accessing or hiking the trails described in the following pages. Please be especially cautious when walking in potentially hazardous terrains with, for example, steep inclines or drop-offs. Do not attempt to explore terrain that may be beyond your abilities. Please read carefully the introduction to this book as well as further safety information from other sources. Familiarize yourself with current weather reports and maps of the area you plan to visit (in addition to the maps provided in this guidebook). Be cognizant of park regulations and always follow them. Do not take chances.

Dedication

This book is for all of the Tennessee Volunteers.

We are blessed with abundant beauty.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all of the people who have constructed, maintained, and advocated trails and hiking in Knoxville and East Tennessee. And thanks to all of the people who accompanied me on the trails. My companions include but are not limited to John Cox, Steve Devo Grayson, Pam Morgan, Bryan Delay, Karen Stokes, and Tom Lauria.

THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS RISE PROUDLY ABOVE KNOXVILLE.

Preface

Knoxville is a hikers town. People like this sport in higher percentages here than in your average city, that is for certain. If somebody is not an avid hiker, they know someone who is.

Talking about trails in Knoxville is as common as conversation about our beloved Tennessee Volunteers sports programs. Knoxville offers an inordinately large number of stores that cater to the outdoors, far above what you think its population could support. Why is that? The answer is partly geographic and partly cultural.

Geographically speaking, Knoxville couldnt be better situated for terrain and trails on which to trek. The master chain of the Appalachian Rangethe Great Smoky Mountainsrises within sight of Knoxville. This span is simply the highest, wildest contiguous plot of rushing streams, rugged ridges, huge trees, colorful wildflowers, and abundant wildlife in the eastern United States. Protected as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this area has more than 900 miles of hiking trails within its boundaries. Most of the trailheads on the Tennessee side of the park are within an hours drive of Knoxville, so residents flock to the Smokies. In fact, if you did a man-on-the-street interview and asked people to say the first thing that came to mind upon hearing the word hike, the word Smokies would likely be chosen most often. So the Smokies sets the stage for hitting the trail and is the backbone of our hiking community in the heart of East Tennessee.

But there are many more places for a trail treader than that magnificent park. The Cumberland Plateau rises to the west of the Tennessee Valley. The Plateau, as it is known in these parts, offers distinctly different terrain with correspondingly unique hiking experiences. Water-carved gorges slice through this elevated table of land, exposing rock walls and creating rock houses, sheer bluffs, and other geological features that complement the green expanse of the Smokies.

And then there is the ridge-and-valley country north of town, a sort of blending of The Plateau and the high ranges to the east. Here, in places like Norris Dam State Park, narrow hollows are flanked by tightly packed ridges (imagine a rumpled carpet), never particularly high, but nonetheless creating an attractive landscape over which to walk.

No flatland itself, the Tennessee Valley embraces the hilly town of Knoxville. And with citizens interested in hiking, it is only natural that trails and greenways aplenty have been created in the greater metropolitan area. They make going out on a walk not only inviting but also convenient.

So hiking in Knoxville can mean a ramble through the wilds of the Great Smokies, a trip to a geological formation on the Cumberland Plateau, a walk in the deep dark hollows of the ridge-and-valley country, or a quick escape on a greenway near your house or lodging. It all depends on your mood, company, and desires. It does not necessarily depend on the weather: You can hike year-round in Knoxville. In the heat of summer, you can escape to the high country, and in the chill of winter, you can still enjoy the trails of the Tennessee River Valley.

The variety of hikes in this book reflects the diversity of this region. Day hikes cover routes of multiple lengths, ranging from easy to difficult. Trail configurations include out-and-backs, loops, balloon loops, and even double loops. Destinations vary from downtown Knoxville to the back of beyond in the Smokies. The routes also befit a range of athletic prowess and hiking experience.

Simply scan the table of contents, flip randomly through the book, or utilize the . Find your hike, and get out there and enjoy it. And bring a friend, too. Enjoying nature in the company of another is a great way to enhance your relationship as well as to escape from television, e-mail, Internet, and other electronics that bind us to the daily grind.