Indian Mountain State Park (Blog Hike #235)

Trails: Ballard Lake Loop and Creek Trails

Hike Location: Indian Mountain State Park

Geographic Location: Jellico, TN (36.58561, -84.14162)

Length: 1.75 miles

Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: March 2008, June 2013

Overview: A flat hike over a reclaimed strip mine.

Park Information: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/indian-mountain

Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=189013
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Near the Kentucky/Tennessee border, take I-75 to SR 297 (exit 160).  Exit and head south on SR 297.  Take SR 297 through downtown Jellico to London Ave. (there is a state park sign at this intersection).  Turn right on London Ave.  Immediately after crossing the first railroad tracks, turn left on Dairy Ave. After following Dairy Ave. for 4 blocks, angle right to enter the park.  Pass the park office and park in the first large blacktop parking area on the left.  The trail starts on the opposite side of the road.

The hike: Indian Mountain State Park may look more like a city park than a state park, but there are good reasons for that.  Not too long ago the land currently comprising Indian Mountain State Park was subject to strip mining for coal.  As is usually the case, many years of these activities left the land desolate and featureless.  Fortunately, unlike many other strip mines, this one did not stay that way, as the state of Tennessee undertook innovative action by taking over the land and transforming it into a state park.

            Today we see the result of that action.  While this park still looks like the young, immature park that it is, the 200 acres comprising Indian Mountain State Park once again have productive value: productive in terms of recreation.  The park contains 3 large picnic shelters, several ponds for fishing, a swimming pool, and a 49 site campground.  In terms of trails, the park has a paved 1 mile walking trail that provides nice views of the fishing lake and 2 miles of unpaved trails that explore the natural areas of the park.  This hike will feature the unpaved nature trails and use part of the paved trail at the end.

Bridge at trailhead

            Start by crossing the park road and looking for a sign beside a bridge that says “Ballard Lake Loop 0.75 miles.”  Cross the bridge and immediately come to the fork that marks the intersection of the Ballard Lake Loop Trail.  For reasons to be seen later, I suggest turning left here.  The wide grassy trail proceeds through the young woodlands with a pond on your right and a creek downhill to your left.  Notice how the brown runoff water in the creek contrasts with the stagnant blackish water in the pond, a reminder that coal lies underneath this land.  In fact, the black stones near and under parts of this trail give further evidence of this land’s past.

            The trail curves continually to the right as it heads around the lake.  Ignore the first two side trails that exit left; the first one provides a shortcut to the Creek Trail, the second half of this hike, and the second one leads to a nearby city park.  The water in the pond looks ugly, but the pond provides some nice bird viewing opportunities.  On my visit, in addition to the usual woodland songbirds, I saw about 20 to 30 vultures perched in a cluster of trees in an island in the center of the pond.

Ballard Lake

            The trail continues curving to the right, providing more nice views of the pond.  Just before closing the loop, turn left down a short but fairly steep trail that connects the lake loop to the Creek Trail.  If you reach the bridge, you have traveled about 20 yards too far.  The Creek Trail parallels the creek for its entire length and goes both left and right from this intersection.  This hike will turn right; turning left leads an uneventful 0.3 miles to an unmarked trailhead along the park entrance road.

            The Creek Trail passes under the bridge you entered on and continues northeast with the creek on your left and some young forest on your right.  The developed area of the park is visible across the creek during the leafless months.  Since the trail runs very close to the creek, there are some muddy areas during the wetter months, and some parts of the trail may be underwater when the creek floods, so make sure to plan your hike accordingly.

Creek Trail

            At 1.4 miles, after a particularly wet area, the trail comes out on the west side of London Ave.  To continue, turn left, use the road bridge to cross the creek, and pick up the trail which reenters the woods on the same side of the road.  This trail stays in the woods for only a short period of time before emerging at a grassy area near the rear of the campground.  Angle right through the grassy area to arrive at the paved campground road, which soon intersects the main park road.  You can walk back to the parking lot along the main park road, or you can pick up the paved walking trail which forms a loop through a mowed grassy area between the road and the pond.  Raindrops were starting to fall as I reached the paved trail, so I took a shortcut through the grass to return to my car and complete the hike.

Grassy area near campground