Daniel Boone National Forest, Bald Rock Picnic Area: Sugar Tree Hollow Trail (Blog Hike #853)

Trail: Sugar Tree Hollow Trail (Daniel Boone National Forest Trail #407)

Hike Location: Daniel Boone National Forest, Bald Rock Picnic Area
Geographic Location: west of London, KY (37.03296, -84.22387)
Length: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: June 2021
Overview: A short loop through steep ravines passing several small cascades and sandstone cliffs.
Area Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/danielboone/recreation/bald-rock-picnic-area
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In southern Kentucky, take I-75 to SR 192 (exit 38).  Exit and go west on SR 192.  Drive SR 192 west 9.6 miles to the signed Bald Rock Picnic Area on your right.  Turn right to enter the picnic area, and park in the small gravel lot near the restrooms.

The hike: Often overlooked in favor of Daniel Boone National Forest's more famous nearby hiking destinations such as Natural Arch and Bee Rock, Bald Rock Picnic Area occupies the ridgetop site of the former Bald Rock Fire Tower.  The tower was staffed by trained fire watchers until the 1970's, at which time fire watching from aircraft began.  Today only some small pegs from the tower's foundation remain, and they are visible beside an interpretive sign in the middle of the picnic area road's small loop.

            For hikers, Bald Rock Picnic Area is the jumping off point for two trails.  The Cane Creek Trail leads several miles along its nearby namesake creek, and it offers both hiking and backpacking opportunities as well as backcountry fishing in Cane Creek.  The only route from the picnic area to the Cane Creek Trail is the Sugar Tree Hollow Trail, the short 1.5 mile loop described here.  The Sugar Tree Hollow Trail offers a sample of hiking through the rugged hollows of southern Kentucky without pegging the length or difficulty meters, and it makes a scenic but primitive after-picnic hike.

Picnic area trailhead

            From the gravel parking lot, walk downhill behind the restroom building and look for the signed start of the trail at the edge of the woods to your left.  Marked with white plastic diamonds, the narrow primitive trail heads steeply downhill over a rooty and eroded course.  At one point the small stream and trail seem to converge, and the footing is very tricky on this initial segment of trail.

Descending on eroded trail

            As you approach the bottom of the ravine, the footing improves as the trail assumes a hillside course a few vertical feet above the stream.  The forest in this ravine features some large tulip poplar and beech trees with some small hemlocks and many paw paw bushes.  A couple of small side streams need to be stepped across, and these small streams contain some equally small waterfalls.

Stepping across a creek

2 talus boulders

            The trail weaves around some large and interesting talus boulders before the connector trail that leads to the Cane Creek Trail exits right at 0.7 miles.  Angle left to continue the Sugar Tree Hollow Trail.  The climb back to the picnic area now begins as the trail heads up another tight side ravine.  The difference in elevation between the picnic area and the bottom of the ravine is only about 230 vertical feet, but the damp hollow and primitive trail make the going more challenging than you might expect.

Sandstone cliffs

            This ravine features some nice exposed sandstone cliffs above you and to the left, and decent numbers of ferns carpet the forest floor.  After exiting the top of the ravine, the trail curves left to exit the woods near Bald Rock Picnic Area's entrance.  Turn left and walk past some picnic tables to return to the parking area and complete the hike.

Reelfoot Lake State Park: Cypress Boardwalk and Keystone Trails (Blog Hike #852)

Trails: Cypress Boardwalk and Keystone Trails

Hike Location: Reelfoot Lake State Park
Geographic Location: Tiptonville, TN (36.36311, -89.43276)
Length: 1.5 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: May 2021
Overview: A pair of short nature trails along the shore of Reelfoot Lake.
Park Information: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/reelfoot-lake
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight: 

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: The Cypress Boardwalk starts at the Reelfoot Lake State Park Visitor Center, which is located on the north side of SR 21 3 miles east of Tiptonville.  The park's Keystone Trail/Keystone Access is located on the north side of SR 21 2.1 miles east of Tiptonville behind the Sportsman's Resort.

The hike: Tucked in the oft-forgotten northwest corner of Tennessee, Reelfoot Lake State Park is perched on the southwest corner of its 15,000-acre namesake lake.  Reelfoot Lake has a unique history: a series of massive earthquakes on the nearby New Madrid Fault in 1811 and 1812 caused the Mississippi River to flow backward for a short period of time, which created the lake.  The New Madrid Fault is still an active seismic zone today, and in 2009 the United States Geological Survey predicted a 7-10% chance of another 1811-12 size earthquake occurring within the next 50 years.

            The park itself occupies only 280 acres of land, and it is part of a much larger 25,000 acre wildlife refuge, some of which is maintained by the federal government and some of which is maintained by the State of Tennessee.  Hunting and fishing are the area's most popular attractions, but the park offers several short hiking trails that explore the area around the lake.  Two of those trails are described here: the 0.25 mile Cypress Boardwalk loop and the 1.25 mile out-and-back Keystone Trail.

Start of Cypress Boardwalk

            The Cypress Boardwalk forms a loop behind the park's Visitor Center, and even though it is only 0.25 miles long, it might be the park's best trail.  An asphalt approach trail soon reaches the start of the wooden boardwalk, which splits to form its loop.  I turned right and used the left boardwalk as my return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.

Hiking the Cypress Boardwalk

            As you walk the boardwalk, the type of wetland below you changes from swamp meadow to bald cypress forest to Reelfoot Lake itself.  Parts of this boardwalk were fairly old and in need of repair, but it got me across the wetlands safely.  I saw several herons and egrets while walking across this boardwalk, and bird watching would be excellent here during the migration season due to the lake's location in the heart of the Mississippi flyway.  An observation pier carries you a short distance out of the cypress forest and onto the open waters of Reelfoot Lake.  The water was rather choppy with a nice breeze blowing on the warm late May morning when I came here.

Reelfoot Lake

            Too soon the boardwalk curves left and returns you to the rear of the Visitor Center.  You can check out the eagle and raptor flight cages in the nearby aviary, but if you want to do a little more hiking, drive a short distance north to the park's Keystone Access where the 1.25 mile round-trip Keystone Trail begins.  From the signed trailhead at the far end of the parking lot, the dirt Keystone Trail heads north with the lake through the trees a couple hundred feet to the right.  Wooden plank bridges take you over some small waterways that feed the lake.

Hiking the Keystone Trail

            Although the Keystone Trail offers no broad lake views, some large trees live here including sycamore and basswood.  The understory includes a dense carpet of stinging nettle, so you have to make sure you stay on the trail to avoid this irritating shrub.  Because the Keystone Trail is an out-and-back, you can hike as far as you want and then turn around.  When I hiked here, several downed trees impeded my progress, so I hiked until I met a downed tree that was not worth trying to get around before turning around and heading back to the parking lot to complete my hike.