Fiery Gizzard State Park: Grundy Forest Day Loop (Blog Hike #1119)

Trail: Grundy Forest Day Loop
Hike Location: Fiery Gizzard State Park
Geographic Location: Tracy City, TN (35.25186, -85.74755)
Length: 2 miles
Difficulty: 7/10 (Moderate/Difficult)
Date Hiked: March 2026
Overview: A loop hike with many rocky areas passing 2 waterfalls.
Park Information: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/fiery-gizzard
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming January 22, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: At the top of the Monteagle grade, take I-24 to exit 135.  Exit, go north on Dixie Lee Avenue for 0.6 miles, then turn right to begin heading south on US 41.  Drive US 41 south 4.5 miles to 3rd Street in Tracy City and turn right on 3rd St.  Drive 3rd St. for 0.4 miles to Marion Street and turn right on Marion St.  Drive Marion St. 0.2 miles to Fiery Gizzard Road and take a sharp right on Fiery Gizzard Rd.  Fiery Gizzard Rd. deadends at the parking lot in less than 0.1 miles.

The hike: Located on the top of Monteagle northwest of Chattanooga, Fiery Gizzard State Park has a long and interesting history as parkland.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp here from 1935 to 1938.  The CCC dug several lakes, worked to prevent forest fires, and built the difficult 12 mile Fiery Gizzard Trail for which this park is named.  The park became known as Grundy Forest at that time, and the Fiery Gizzard Trail gained a reputation as one of Tennessee's best backpacking trails.

            In 1978, Grundy Forest was one of 8 distinct areas that became part of the vast 30,000 acre South Cumberland State Park; nearby Savage Gulf was another one.  By the early 21st century, park leaders began to realize that South Cumberland State Park was too large, varied, and geographically diverse to manage as a single park.  Thus, in the early 2020s South Cumberland State Park was split into 3 separate state parks: Savage Gulf State Park, Head of the Crow State Park, and of course Fiery Gizzard State Park featured here.  The park's name comes from the fiery, or turbulent, stream that travels through its midst and the plentiful American gizzard shad fish that inhabit that stream.

            Today the Fiery Gizzard Trail remains this park's main attraction, but the park also offers primitive camping, a swimming beach, and a playground.  The Fiery Gizzard Trail is a very rocky and difficult trail, and it should only be attempted by fit hikers with adequate preparation.  For people wanting a miniature version of the Fiery Gizzard Trail, the Grundy Forest Day Loop described here is a good option.  Parts of this trail offer the same rockiness and scenery as the full Fiery Gizzard Trail, but at less than 2 miles long it does not peg the length or difficulty meters: it can be hiked in only a little over an hour.

Grundy Forest Trailhead

            The trailhead is located beside the restroom building; a large sign with various mileages marks the trailhead.  The trail immediately enters the woods, and in only a couple hundred feet it forks to form its loop.  To do the most scenic and most difficult part first, I turned left and used the right trail as my return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise.  White aluminum diamonds mark the trail, as do distance markers at 0.25 mile increments.

Initial segment along gorge rim

            The first part of the loop stays in a narrow strip of forest between a gorge dropping to your right and the parking lot through the trees to your left.  The initial segment is pretty easy, but at 0.2 miles the trail curves sharply right to descend into Little Fiery Gizzard Creek's gorge.  While this trail is seldom steep, the section through the gorge is very rocky and rooty with very poor footing.  The gorge is also very scenic: a nice rock shelter welcomes you to the gorge at the base of the short initial descent.

Small rock shelter

            The trail heads downstream with cascading Little Fiery Gizzard Creek usually 10-20 feet below you to the left.  After passing a small unnamed waterfall, you reach Blue Hole Falls at 0.6 miles.  Blue Hole Falls is a ledge-type waterfall 9 feet in height; as its name suggests, it has a large and attractive plunge pool.  A CCC-built pump house used to stand near this waterfall's base.  Only the pump house's foundation remains today, but that foundation makes a great viewing platform for the waterfall.

Blue Hole Falls

            Continuing downstream, you reach a steel bridge and a trail intersection at 0.75 miles.  If you want to extend this hike, you can turn left, cross the bridge, and continue further down Fiery Gizzard Creek.  Such a choice leads to 2 more waterfalls within the next 0.75 miles.  Initially I had planned to do the extension, but my older knees and ankles were not taking this trail's rockiness well.  Thus, I skipped the extension and stayed right to continue around the Grundy Forest Day Loop.

Steel bridge to hike extension

Rocky trail in Fiery Gizzard Gorge

            The trail continues clinging to the north wall of the gorge as a gradual climb begins.  Soon Little Fiery Gizzard Creek is replaced by Big Fiery Gizzard Creek just above their confluence, and you begin heading upstream with Big Fiery Gizzard Creek downhill to your left.  1.1 miles into the hike, you reach Hanes Hole Falls.  Hanes Hole Falls has a more angular look than Blue Hole Falls, but it is also 1 foot taller, has more water volume, and has an equally large plunge pool.  The trail stays well above the waterfall, but gaps in the trees provide excellent views.

Hanes Hole Falls

            Just past Hanes Hole Falls, the trail curves sharply right and climbs a couple of short switchbacks to exit the gorge.  The balance of the hike follows a rim-top course through forest that is a mixture of pines and broadleaf trees with lots of holly.  While this section is not as scenic as the outbound section through the gorge, the dirt trail is mostly flat, rock-free, and easy.

Old CCC camp area

            At 1.45 miles, you reach the site of the old CCC camp; a short loop trail tours what remains of the campsite.  Interpretive signs tell about the CCC's history, and markers indicate where various structures stood.  Another 0.5 miles of hiking along the rim closes the loop, and a left turn quickly brings you back to the trailhead to complete the hike.