Pickett State Park

Pickett State Park

Hidden Passage Loop

Monday, March 21, 2011

2024 NOTE: The sign at the trailhead indicates that this loop hike is only 7.6 miles. It's much longer - it's eleven miles long!

This is my favorite hike in creation but in 2024 I was able to confirm that it's much longer than commonly accepted. On a Monday I hiked the 9 mile Rock Creek Loop. That took me 4 hours and 15 minutes which makes the 9 mile marker at that trailhead seem about right given my pace of just over 2 miles per hour when I'm hiking. This hike, taken two days later for a close comparison, took me over 5 hours to complete. That's either a solid 11 miles or very close. Please don't underestimate this one or a sublime experience could turn into a tedious trek. Eleven miles is a long way if you're expecting only about 8!

Why is this my favorite hike? Well, an outdoor enthusiast might believe they’d died and gone to heaven on this one! I always find it to be a truly magical experience and I now try to do it every Spring. You start out with what looks like a pleasant walk through the woods and - presto! – you’re walking around and then under a rock house, complete with a dripping water roof. Then – chango! – you’re walking where eagles and hawks soar on the precipice of a mountaintop, complete with stunning vistas! Then, just when you think you've seen it all, something else is thrown at you. It's simply amazing. In fact, this excursion reminds me of a combination of 3: one part Red River Gorge in general, one part Sand Gap Trail at Natural Bridge, and one part Van Hook Falls in the Rockcastle Narrows area.

Again, however, I must reiterate that while this is a positively mesmerizing experience it’s also a potentially dangerous one. In addition to the length there are some sections which lead you near the edges of sheer drops where you could plunge to your death fairly easily. You could also encounter snakes, bear, and other possibly dangerous wildlife. Thus, as an added measure of protection on this hike (and on all other remote ones) I always wear my can of pepper spray along my waist such that it'll clank against my belt with each step – something that’s said to warn away many animals. Anyhow, please be careful – and I would not recommend hiking here alone.

Let’s back up a little at this point for a quick overview. This trail lies within Pickett State Park in Tennessee just over the border from Kentucky. They’ve apparently got 58 miles of hiking trails here along with a 12 acre lake and a swimming pool. They also offer cabins to include accommodations for large groups. As for directions to the park, they’re on the website but specific directions to this particular trailhead are below. Incidentally, this trail coincides with the southernmost end of the Sheltowee Trace, a 290 mile trail that runs almost all the way through Kentucky and nearly to Ohio.

Anyway, to start your trip you'll have a little descent into the woods – a woods which will seem to become a little more lush and dense with each step you take. In not too long you'll meet with your first trail intersection that leads left to the group camp. This is actually where you'll come out in about 5 hours as the remainder of this hike is a loop back to this very spot.

Next you’ll make a left turn to find yourself in a completely different environment, walking on a sandy trail along the edge and near the top of a mountainside. Make another little descent and you’ll be walking alongside a rock face which has an interesting column of stone carved out and a nice bench to sit on.

This is followed by a stroll under and through a large rock overhang. At first it doesn't seem like you'll be able to get through given all the fallen rocks, but you can. The path meanders all the way back through this maze of rock to resume on the other side. Note that on both sides you'll find signposts which indicate that this is a Cumberland Sandwort Protection Area. Sandwort (seen in the third photo below) is a pleasant little plant that is endangered. It’s apparently only found in this area of the country and it’s got a very delicate root system.

The “wow” factor isn't over yet. A second trail intersection will soon come up just before you reach a little set of stone steps. You'll definitely want to take the time to head to the right here and be led a very short distance downward to the sweetest little waterfall I think I've ever seen. It's not only that it's so pretty, it's also that you're able to get so up close and personal with it. Hopefully the rainbow shows up in the picture? I always have a hard time leaving this spot. It's encounters like this that have me making the sign of the cross in thanksgiving to God for the wonders of creation.

Once having taken all this in you’ll want to retrace your steps back up to the main path. You'll then take a right to climb the aforementioned stone steps. Soon you'll begin arcing around to your right along the edge of a rock precipice – the same one which runs directly over the waterfall you just witnessed. It's in this area that you’ll want to begin watching your steps VERY carefully! Just look at this drop – only one step off the path!

Anyway, once you've completed this arc you’ll curve left to begin walking along a sandier path. I found the pine scents in here to be particularly wonderful. At one point, however, I thought I detected a different kind of odor… “Could I be walking near the lair of a large animal?” I imagined. I didn’t linger for both that and for another reason - bumble bees. One always seems to be around at this time of year in these sandy areas, buzzing up and then back down the path. I can handle this for a little while but if it's persistent it becomes a little disconcerting. Often one bee will lose interest and then another will soon gain it. I haven't yet had a problem on this front, but I do keep on walking - and sometimes at a little faster pace! :)

Soon the path will deposit you into a forest at the top of the mountain where the trail immediately crosses what looks like a seldom used back-country road. It then continues straight across on the other side, and what ensues is a nice stroll through the woods for the next little while. One time I got a bit confused in this section though. You see, the path seemed to lead to a little rock overhang but – being distracted by said overhang – I missed a sharp right turn in the path. All the foliage on the ground had it pretty well camouflaged. I found my way again by retracing my steps.

Soon you’ll begin to descend again into a lusher environment where you’ll get views like this…

…followed by an encounter with a cool (literally), dripping rock house where you can rest a while and take in the beautiful surroundings.

Let me also just mention here (so as not to bore the reader with constant scene-shift descriptions) that from this point to Pinnacle Overlook the scenery will again be in constant flux. You’ll always be hugging the edge of the ridgeline, but at the higher and more open points you’re apt to get the feeling that you’re walking among the nests of eagles on the sandy path. This area (several photos below) is also so open to the elements that many of the trees have been charred by lightning strikes. No wonder they say not to walk along a ridge top in a thunderstorm!

Meanwhile – in the other more sheltered and receded areas you’ll again be walking amongst the boulders and rock ledges in a very lush, green environment. Another caution, however: I’d not chance walking off the beaten path at all out here. The snakes must absolutely LOVE it! In fact, I think I probably miss quite a bit on hikes like these because I’m constantly looking down to avoid them. And, if I do stop – even just to take a picture - it’s not before I’ve thoroughly checked the ground all around me.

Now I’ll be honest and mention that when I got to the Double Falls Trail intersection I decided to bypass it – for today, anyway. I’ll explore it in the next section of the Sheltowee to coincide with a hike of the John Muir Trail. I’ve absolutely gotta do that one! How could any hiker worth his boots possibly pass up a trail named after the legendary John Muir?!?

…and while I’m being honest, I’ll also sheepishly mention that by the time I got to Pinnacle Overlook I actually found it to be somewhat anticlimactic! Can you believe it?!? Yes, I’m embarrassed!!! It’s an absolutely stunning spot, but I guess I’d seen so much already that I was suffering from sensory overload. That’s the only way I can explain it. The overlook is actually a large rock outcrop with a magnificent view of the Thompson Creek Gorge below and it would be a great spot for a picnic lunch. In fact, there is a road which leads up here, but I believe it’s a park road closed to traffic.

Anyway, once you’re done taking in the view you’ll turn around and look to the right of the road. This is where the path continues. A single little wooden sign on a tree stump marks the way, but I was to find that after one more open mountaintop view (below) it would be my last of the day. The bulk of the remaining time on this path was essentially a walk through the forest and for me this was a nice break. It finally gave me the perfect environment in which to relax, contemplate and digest what I’d seen this day – and was continuing to see.

You’ll quickly reach a couple more trail intersections now in fairly rapid succession. Both are essentially connector trails to the Rock Creek/John Muir Trail combo, but the first is particularly significant because it’s the continuation of the Sheltowee Trace. Let me be clear: on this particular hike I’m doing the Hidden Trail Loop, a hike which incorporates the first few miles of the trace before it veers off to return to the Traces’ origin. If you’re doing this too, you’ll want to proceed left at this intersection. However - if you wanted to follow the Sheltowee in it’s entirety you’d head right.

Meanwhile, the second intersection you’ll reach is for the Tunnel Trail and here again you’ll want to proceed to the left, but today something seemed to be amiss... Tunnel Trail was the one marked with Sheltowee Turtle signs... (Sheltowee, by the way, is a Shawnee Indian name which means “Big Turtle”, and since this was the nickname they gave to Daniel Boone, the Trace is actually named for Mr. Boone – something one might not realize. I didn’t at first).

Soon you’ll see an open area up ahead and this is actually a swath of forest that’s been cut away to allow for some power lines. It’s not immediately evident where the path continues here, but if you walk toward your 1 to 2 o’clock point you’ll connect with it again on the other side.

Next you’ll reach a dirt and gravel road that you’ll follow to your right to soon arrive at the group camping area of Pickett State Park. What you’ll want to do here is walk around the left side of this area and then, once you’re almost all the way through the camp, you’ll look to the woods on your left and see that the path continues again through the forest. This little section will be your last, but make sure that you take a right at that final intersection you come to; otherwise you’ll be taking this hike all over again! Not that that would be a bad thing! This is one hike I’d definitely take again and again – just not right away!

DIRECTIONS:

This is a pretty remote park and there’s really no easy way to get there, although there are a few different ones. Personally, I took I75 south from Lexington and got off at the TN63 exit (#141 – and from this point it took me just over an hour to get to the trailhead). Heading east on 63 I passed through the city of Huntsville just before the route dead-ended at U27. Then taking a right, I traveled a short distance to the town of Oneida before taking a left on TN297. There was one point where I went in the wrong direction on this route - when you see a group of 4 site markers (I believe they were colored brown) you’ll want to make a left instead of heading straight.

From here it’s pretty easy – and pretty – because you’ll dive down into a valley and cross over a beautiful looking Leatherwood Ford and while it does seem like the drive is taking a while, you’ll soon reach a dead-end at route 154. Take a right, go about 3 miles, and just after the main Pickett State Park entrance on your left you’ll come to the trailhead a little further ahead on the right. You’ll see signs which clearly mark it and you’ll turn into a parking lot with room for about 5-6 vehicles.