This past weekend Derek and I hiked the Glen Falls Trail.
This trail is located about halfway up Lookout Mountain, on the Tennessee side. This hike has varying lengths, depending on how long you want to make it. Our hike ending up being about 1.5 miles.
There is a small parking lot on the side of the road at the trailhead. The trail is an easy one, not too much elevation, not too rocky.
Your first glimpse of the falls is across the way while you’re on the trail. The trail leads to a small wooden bridge. The view of the waterfall is hidden from here, behind the rocks, but if you choose to keep going up, you have a better view of the waterfall from above.
The trail splits after the bridge. You can go straight, which I believe ends up at another parking lot, but we went to the right, up stone steps. You go through a small cave like tunnel. The trail follows the stream/creek, to the upper portion of the falls. I was not able to find out what this body of water is called.
You can get quite close to the upper falls, by walking across the stream of water. Be careful though! We found out the hard way that rocks covered by rushing water are extremely slippery!
From there, we also decided to climb up a bunch of rocks that offered a really nice view. This is not technically part of the trail, but this area does offer a lot in the way of exploring.
We were excited to go on this hike because last week we ordered hiking shoes. All this time we were wearing footwear that wasn’t really appropriate for trails. We both got Columbia shoes. I have always wanted hiking boots with red laces! Crossing the stream put the shoes to the test, and yes, they really are waterproof!
We have now seen five waterfalls on four different trails in the span of a month. When we first set out to hike in the fall months, I never expected that I’d be able to see so many different waterfalls, or any at all, for that matter!