Frozen Head State Park: Debord Falls and Emory Gap Falls (Blog Hike #1063)

Trails: Panther Branch and Emory Gap Trails
Hike Location: Frozen Head State Park
Geographic Location: east of Wartburg, TN (36.13641, -84.48775)
Length: 2.6 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: March 2025
Overview: An out-and-back past 2 nice waterfalls.
Park Information: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/frozen-head
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=981425
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming June 5, 2026)

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 Rd.  Flat Fork Rd. 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 its end at the Panther Branch Trailhead, which has a large blacktop parking lot that will hold about 25 cars.  Park in this lot.

The hike: For my general comments on Frozen Head State Park, see my previous hike on the park's Judge Branch Trail, which is described elsewhere in this Trail Journal.  The hike described here heads up Panther Branch, and it is the most popular short hike in this large park because it leads to 2 scenic waterfalls: Debord Falls and Emory Gap Falls.  Even better, the trail stays near Panther Branch or its tributary Emory Gap Branch most of the time.  Thus, although this hike gains about 450 feet of elevation, it does so on easy and moderate grades.

Panther Branch Trailhead

            At the rear of the parking lot, pick up the Panther Branch Trail as it heads up through the ravine of its namesake creek.  A large sign with a park closing time marks this trailhead, and the Panther Branch Trail is marked with blue trail markers.  Broadleaf trees including some sweetgums dominate this forest, but a few pine trees grow along the trail.

Panther Branch

            The wide two-track dirt trail climbs gradually with the creek 20-30 feet downhill to the right.  Careful observation will lead you to conclude that this trail is an old road: the stone walls used for footbridge supports today are much larger than would be required for a footbridge and hence are probably from a former road bridge.  Just past 0.5 miles, you reach the signed spur trail for Debord Falls, which exits right.  Only a couple hundred feet later, you descend some steps and arrive at the base of Debord Falls, where a viewing area gives a great view of the waterfall.  Debord Falls is a common 10-foot ledge-type waterfall with a large plunge pool, and it adds some extra scenery to this creekside hike.

Debord Falls

            Back on the main trail, continue upstream to reach a trail intersection at 0.9 miles.  The Panther Branch Trail exits right and leads to some backcountry campsites and eventually to the trail that leads to the top of Frozen Head Mountain.  This hike angles left to leave the Panther Branch Trail and begin the Emory Gap Trail, still following the old dirt road but now with white trail markers.

Hiking on the old road

            Just past 1 mile, the old dirt road seems to end, and a pair of switchbacks lifts you higher up the hillside.  The switchbacks are steeper and rockier than the old road, but taking your time with careful stepping will get you up the switchbacks.  At 1.35 miles, you reach the base of Emory Gap Falls.

Emory Gap Falls

            Emory Gap Falls is taller and much less standard than Debord Falls: a single drop of about 10 feet is followed by a myriad of cascades through a boulder field.  Also, finding a good spot to view and photograph this waterfall can be a challenge due to the boulders.  The Emory Gap Trail ends at Emory Gap Falls, so after enjoying the waterfall your only option is to turn around and retrace your steps to the parking lot to complete the hike.