Trail: Gee Creek Campground Loop
Hike Location: Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park
Geographic Location: south of Etowah, TN (35.23775, -84.55063)
Length: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: March 2025
Overview: A lollipop loop around Gee Creek Campground and along the Hiwassee River.
Park Information:
https://tnstateparks.com/parks/hiwassee-ocoee
Hike Route Map:
https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=981312Photo Highlight:
Hike Video: (coming May 26, 2026)
Directions to the trailhead: From Etowah, take US 411 south 6.4 miles to Spring Creek Road and turn left on Spring Creek Rd. Drive Spring Creek Rd. east 0.8 miles to the park office on the right. Park in the large blacktop parking lot beside the park office.
The hike: Early European explorers wrote of 2 major rivers that flowed west out of the mountains and into the great valley in present-day southeast Tennessee. The first river was a quaint river that can be crossed almost anywhere almost anytime. The second river was a raging beast of a river that can be crossed almost nowhere and almost none of the time. Today we call the quaint river the Ocoee River, and we call the beastly river the Hiwassee River.
A few miles up the Hiwassee River from the confluence of these 2 rivers lies a park named for both rivers: Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park. At present the park is located only on the Hiwassee River, but future plans call for adding acreage and splitting this park into 2 parks, one along each river. The present site is surrounded on 3 sides by Cherokee National Forest, and it features only the Gee Creek Campground with 47 developed sites, Hiwassee River access, and the short hiking trail described here. While definitely not the best trail in this area, the Gee Creek Campground Loop offers good Hiwassee River views, and it makes a nice add-on if you are camping here or hiking in nearby Cherokee National Forest.
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| Fort Marr blockhouse |
You can start the trail from either the campground or the park office. I was not camping here, so I started at the park office. Beside the park office stands an interesting historical landmark: the Fort Marr Blockhouse. Fort Marr was built in 1814 to protect the area from the British during the War of 1812, but it soon became the center for military operations to remove Cherokee people from Tennessee to Oklahoma. The fort was abandoned in 1838, and the blockhouse was moved twice to reach this location, which is about 15 miles from the original fort. This blockhouse is this region's only remnant of any fort from that era.
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| Trailhead at park office |
After viewing the blockhouse, walk east across the parking lot to find where the single-track dirt trail enters the woods. A small wooden sign that says "Loop Trail" marks this trailhead. The trail heads east through young forest with a dense shrubby understory. Plenty of sweet gum trees live in this forest, as do some old dying red cedars. This land is persistently flat, and the total elevation gain on this hike is less than 100 feet. |
| Trail splits to form loop |
At only 0.1 miles, the trail forks to form its loop around Gee Creek Campground. I angled left and used the trail going right as my return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise. The trail continues its southeast course, and just past 0.2 miles it crosses the campground entrance road. The section of the trail north of the campground passes through a wetland area with a ditch, and a few minor wet areas will need to be negotiated if it has rained recently. I did some good bird viewing here that included some cardinals and a woodpecker. |
| Hiking north of the campground |
Just shy of 0.5 miles, the trail crosses the ditch on a footbridge and heads around the east end of the campground. Although the campground is fairly close on the right, dense woods keeps the campground out of your field of vision most of the time. Just past 0.6 miles, the Hiwassee River comes into view on the left for the first time. The river was high and raging on my visit due to recent rains, but the water was still remarkably clear.
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| Hiwassee River |
The riverside segment is the most scenic part of this hike. At 0.9 miles, you cross over a riverside bluff and pass the park's boat ramp. The southwest corner of the loop was somewhat overgrown on my visit, and I had to negotiate several blowdowns across the trail. Look for the white plastic shield-like trail markers to make sure you are still on the trail.
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| Primitive campground |
Just past 1 mile, you come out at the park's primitive campground. Angle right to walk along the gravel primitive campground road and then look to the left to find the continuation of the trail. A few hundred feet later, you close the loop. Angle left to return to the park office and complete the hike.
