Frozen Head State Park: Judge Branch Loop (Blog Hike #214)

Trails: Interpretive and Judge Branch Loop Trails

Hike Location: Frozen Head State Park

Geographic Location: east of Wartburg, TN (36.12707, -84.50035)

Length: 2.6 miles

Difficulty: 6/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: May 2007, October 2017

Overview: A long, moderate climb along Judge Branch followed by an equally long, moderate descent.

Park Information: https://www.tnstateparks.com/parks/frozen-head
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=721273
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of SR 62 and US 27 in Wartburg, take SR 62 east 1.5 miles to Flat Fork Road and a brown sign for Frozen Head State Park.  Turn left on Flat Fork Road.  Flat Fork Road becomes the park road at the park entrance.  Continue to follow the main park road past the Visitor Center and over a one lane bridge to the Judge Branch Trailhead, which is accompanied by a large blacktop parking lot and picnic shelter on the right.  Park in this lot.

The hike: The Morgan County Correctional Facility you passed driving up Flat Fork Road into the park looks frightening and ominous, but it gives a larger indication to this land’s past than you might think.  Frozen Head’s recent story starts innocently enough, as in 1933 it became the site of Tennessee’s first CCC campground.  Unfortunately, the tranquility did not last, as during and shortly after World War II the land was logged extensively.  The logging combined with a massive fire in 1952 left the land a barren, desolate wasteland.

            The barrenness combined with the fact that mountain wilderness surrounded the land on two sides made the site perfect for a prison, and the land became part of the Brushy Mountain State Prison.  For the next 18 years, the forest slowly reclaimed the land, and in 1970 the property was transferred to the Parks Division to create Frozen Head State Park.  Additional transfers from the Department of Corrections bring the park to its current total of 11,869 acres.

            In 1988, all but 330 acres along the creeks were designated a natural area, meaning that most of Frozen Head will never again be subject to development and exploitation.  Today, the main feature of the park is 3324 foot Frozen Head Mountain, so named because this mountain retains its snow cover much longer than the lower surrounding hills.  A lookout tower at the summit, reached by several hiking trails, gives commanding views of the surrounding area and, on a clear day, of distant points such as the Smoky Mountains.

            For those not wishing to attempt the 4 mile 2000 foot climb to the tower, two excellent hiking opportunities can be had in the lower elevations.  The Panther Branch Trail (not described in this blog) leads to a pair of excellent waterfalls, and the pair of loop trails that comprise this hike yield a scenic journey up Judge Branch.  Ideally, two visits to this park are in order, one during wet season for best waterfall viewing, and one during dry season for the easiest hiking along Judge Branch.

Main trailhead at Frozen Head State Park

            The Interpretive and Judge Branch loops form a figure-eight with the trailhead at the bottom of the 8.  Begin at the information board where the wide gravel trail, which appears to be an old road, heads into the woods.  After only 200 feet, the Interpretive Loop Trail and the green-blazed Chimney Tops Trail exit to the right.  Turn right to begin the Interpretive Loop.   The dirt trail descends almost imperceptibly to reach the north bank of Judge Branch, where the Chimney Tops Trail and Interpretive Loop part ways.  The Chimney Tops Trail crosses Judge Branch on an excellent wooden footbridge, but you should turn left to stay on the Interpretive Loop, which heads upstream along the north bank of Judge Branch.

            The trail heads west with the stream gurgling along on your right.  Hemlocks tower overhead to create a cool, dark, moist streamside environment, a welcome relief on warm summer days.  At 0.25 miles, the trail passes a waterfall created by a tributary flowing over a shale rock ledge as it enters Judge Branch.

Tumbling stream on Interpretive Trail

            At 0.3 miles, the trail curves left away from Judge Branch and ascends gradually to intersect the old road bed, which is now the yellow-blazed South Old Mac Trail.  Turn right to continue this hike.  Note that turning left would allow you to hike just the Interpretive Loop, creating a short 0.8 mile nature hike.

            After only 200 feet along the road, you arrive at the beginning of the Judge Branch Loop, as the South Old Mac Trail exits to the left.  This description will hike the loop counterclockwise, using the South Old Mac Trail as the return portion of the loop.  Curving to the right, the trail stays on the old road as it crosses a sturdy wooden footbridge over Judge Branch.  Notice this bridge’s stone foundation, an indicator that another bridge stood here long before the one you are walking on was erected.

Crossing Judge Branch

            0.7 miles into the hike, the trail forks.  The purple-blazed Spicewood Branch Trail continues to follow the old road as it exits right, but the white-blazed Judge Branch Loop you are following turns left off of the old road to stay along the banks of Judge Branch.  For the next 0.8 miles the trail climbs moderately with Judge Branch on your left and the hillside rising to your right.  The hemlocks from the lower elevations are gone now, replaced by younger beech-maple forest that allows plenty of sunlight to sneak in.  Thus, the understory is dense and contains some nice maidenhair ferns. 

Just when you start to get winded and hope the trail doesn’t climb any more ... you get your wish!  The trail tops a rise and descends steeply using some stone steps to reach the bank of Judge Branch, which it crosses.  When I hiked this trail during a drought, the creek could be easily rock-hopped using stepping stones.  During times of higher water, this crossing would require some wading, so save this trail for the dry season and enjoy the waterfalls found elsewhere in the park during the wet season.

Stone steps on Judge Branch

            Across the creek, the trail climbs moderately with only one short steep section to intersect the South Old Mac Trail as it enters from the right.  This intersection marks the highest point on this hike.  Note that the South Old Mac Trail is the easiest trail to the tower on top of Frozen Head Mountain, and turning right at this intersection would take you to the tower in another 2 miles.

As the cliché goes, it’s all downhill from here.  The trail begins descending the south side of Old Mac Mountain with Judge Branch now some 100 feet below you on the left.  The descent is a little rocky, but careful choice of steps will get you to the bottom with no major difficulty.  On a couple of occasions the trail darts to the right to cross a small tributary of Judge Branch on stepping stones, but the general direction is always down.

Rock beside South Old Mac Trail

            2.3 miles into the hike, the South Old Mac Trail makes its final left turn to intersect the old road you came in on and close the loop.  A 0.3 mile hike down the old road is all that remains to complete the hike.