Signal Mountain – Page 2 – Seeing the Scenic City

Shakleford Ridge Park

Shakleford Ridge Park is a park located in Signal Mountain. We hiked here last weekend. This was actually our second attempt to go here. Our first time wasn’t meant to be because there was a running race happening at the time, so the trails were closed down.

I am glad that we waited to go though, because there was a lot of color in the woods. We walked through a lot of beautiful scenes. Fall foliage always puts me in a good mood, after not experiencing it in Houston for three years.

It’s a woodsy park, with a couple of different trails. The main trail is the blue loop, which is a 2.7 mile round trip. It’s not too difficult of a trail, but there are some steep uphill parts.

There are some streams that run through the park, so there are quite a few bridge crossings.

We admittedly did not finish the whole 2.7 miles, but we did get close; we did over 2 miles. We came across the edge of the parking lot and we were both tired and hungry at that point, so we just cut across to our car. If we do this again I might consider packing a lunch and resting half way.

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping3 — The first bridge at the start of the blue loop was a swinging bridge.

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping21 — The only covered bridge on the trail.

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping7 — More bridges!

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping24

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping26 — This is my favorite picture I took during the hike. A path to a photographer’s paradise!

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping27

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping30

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping36

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping37 — The Prayer of the Woods – a sign with a nice poem that someone left behind.

McCoy Farm trail

McCoy Farm is in the town of Signal Mountain. It’s a historic house and grounds that dates to before the Civil War. The woman who lived in the home last, passed on down through the generations of her family, bequeathed the house to the town in her will.

Now, the town holds public events there, such as 4th of July picnics. They also hold private events. The day that we were there, they were setting up for a wedding.

On weekends the public is allowed on the grounds. I am sure this rule is amended if there are scheduled private events, such as when we were there, so we did not check out the house and buildings. There is also a blacksmith building and a barn.

There is a one mile walking trail that makes a wide loop around the grounds, which is open to the public every day. Last weekend we walked the trail.

It is a woodsy trail, and I enjoyed seeing some of the trees changing colors. There is also a swinging bridge to cross. It is a simple trail, but it truly felt like we were in the wilderness, and not just a few miles from downtown.

McCoy Farm trail3 — This is my favorite picture I took on the trail. I love the texture and shapes in the front, and the pop of color from the leaves in the back.

McCoy Farm trail31 — The swinging bridge.

McCoy Farm trail34 — Bright red leaves in the fall are my favorite!

McCoy Farm trail37 — The McCoy Farm main house.

Fairmount Orchard Apple Shop

I have been looking for fall related things to do. I found some you-pick apple orchards that are farther north of us, but I thought those could be saved for next fall.

Closer to home, I found the Fairmount Orchard Apple Shop on Signal Mountain. It is not an orchard that you can visit, but it’s the orchard’s shop where they sell their items that they have produced.

It was a small store, but worth the visit. The shelves were admittedly a little empty, but we had seen a recent post on their Facebook page that this was due to the on-going heat wave. I am sure now that it’s cooled down more apples will be coming in.

There were different apple varieties to choose from, in bags of different sizes. We got a small bag of Jonagold, because it is a kind that we had never had before.

Aside from apples, there was also apple butter and apple cider to sell. We bought both kinds. We had some of the apple cider last night and it was delicious.

The store also carried items like honey, soup mixes and dip mixes.

We will definitely make this shop a stop any time we are up on the mountain.

Driving up Signal Mountain

We live near the base of Signal Mountain, a community on top of the mountain. We have driven up there a few times, and have found some new places to explore and visit. It’s a short drive up there, only a few miles, but since it goes up the mountain, there is a section with some steep hairpin curves.

We first went up the mountain when my parents visited a few weeks ago, when I had only been officially living in Chattanooga for a few days. We drove around to get a feel for the area, and checked out some shops. On the way back down, I took a video of the hairpin section, plus some of the gorgeous views.

I already have quite a few Signal Mountain related things that I would like to write about, but I thought I would backtrack and show readers the drive first.