The Southern Trails

It has been a while since I published my first blog post here. I started out excited and happy to begin a new hobby that involved another love of mine, hiking. I found myself to be too busy to find the time to write on here, and never gave the effort to start it. As the new year begins, I want to start posting more on here and make my dream a reality. Since that first post in 2020, we have been on many more hikes and one has stood out as an obvious favorite.

Located in Jamestown, Tennessee, Pickett State Park is filled with tens of thousands of acres of trails for every type of hiker. Whether you’re with your family or an avid hiker, Pickett is sure to have a trail that suits your needs. The trail we chose was the Natural Bridge Trail. We chose this trail, because we knew we also wanted to visit Pogue Creek Canyon after and this was a short but rewarding trail.

If you are using the AllTrails app, the trail is named “Hazard Cave and Natural Bridge Trail” as it combines two trails making it a total of a 2.3 mile loop trail. Doing it this way will also allow you to see one of my most favorite things in the park, the swinging bridge over a picturesque lake.

The Hazard Cave and Natural Bridge trail is a wonderful hike that you can include your dogs on too. We took our dog Kona, and she had a blast! These trails were well maintained and included some challenging up and downs, but nothing too difficult. This trail has beautiful scenery including amazing rock formations and of course, the Natural Bridge. Do not take the “Over Bridge Shortcut” if you do not want to miss the bridge. There is a spot that you can climb up onto the other trail to get onto the bridge if you wish to see both on the bridge and under. My jaw dropped when we came upon the bridge. I was so excited to finally see it. It truly is amazing what nature can create.

Our next stop was Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area. Located within a four minute drive of Pickett State Park, Pogue Creek Canyon is a 3,000 acre natural area located on the northern Cumberland Plateau. This place is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is one of our most memorable hikes that we have done. We chose to do the Pogue Creek Canyon Overlook Trail, a 1.5 mile lightly trafficked loop trail that contains some of the most beautiful scenic views and is great for all skill levels. Dogs are also allowed on this trail, but must be kept on a leash. It is well kept trail and features some cool wooden bridges and caves as well.

This hike was beautiful to say the least and very rewarding. It is a fantastic short trail that includes many amazing rock features and one of the most beautiful overlooks I have ever seen. This hike was so empty of people, it felt like we had the whole overlook to ourselves. We stayed at the overlook for quite a while just taking in the scenery and enjoying the crisp air on top of the plateau.

These two trails make for a great day in Jamestown, Tennessee. I absolutely recommend this day of hiking as it still remains, till this day, one of our favorite memories together and our all-time favorite Tennessee State Park.