Sycamore Shoals State Park, Elizabethton, TN

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/24/2025	1.8 miles	52 minutes	15'	2.0 mph	320.3

Parking: 

• Picnic shelters, by Franklin Club Drive

Map:

• Sycamore_Shoals_web.png (3300×2551)
• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• We tried continuing from the parking lot to the Loghunters Loop Trail but quickly ran into a sign saying that the trail was closed. We turned back and took a road to the right that said Authorized Vehicles Only. This turned into a trail that goes along the Watauga River (Gaia shows more trails than the park map). We followed the trail along the river to the end of the trail. On the way back, we took two short loop options to the right. We turned right to head to a parking lot and stopped to look at Fort Watauga. We turned around and then took our first right and then again, a right back to our parking area.

On our way back from a trip to Kingsport, TN, we stopped at Sycamore Shoals State Park. I have to say the hiking in this park is boring. It's one step up from walking our dog in our neighborhood. One of the trails was closed. The other trail is a gravel trail - at least I didn't have to worry about tripping. There were lots of dog walkers out. The river has some pretty rapids, and we saw some geese and a heron, but you don't feel like you are out in the woods, because it's really an urban environment. We hiked all of the trails that were open, so no need to go back again. The one nice thing I enjoyed was seeing Fort Watauga. I would have liked to have stopped and sketched a building, but we were ready to get back home.

There were many signs with numbers to call in case of an emergency. 
Why??? Maybe one every 100 yards?

He likes holes.

We like practicing jumping up on to all sorts of surfaces, including a moving swing.

It felt like they were celebrating defeating the Cherokee?

What a cool chimney

Warriors' Path State Park, Kingsport, TN

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/24/2025	1.8 miles	1 hour 8 minutes	70'	1.8 mph	318.5

Parking: 

• Hemlock Road parking lot

Map:

• Warriors_Path_web.png (3570×4620)

Directions:

• Rough directions: From the parking lot, walk through the campground. Follow the campground road to the east end of the peninsula. At the end of the road, take the trail straight ahead. When you reach the river, turn left onto the Connector Trail. This turns into the Lakeshore Trail. Hike to Fall Creek Road. Turn around and start hiking back. Turn right on a side trail to return to the parking area.

I had an errand to run in Kingsport, TN again, so we added on a hike at Warriors' Path State Park which is in the same town. The drive there was beautiful with the fall foliage in the mountains. This is our second hike at this park. This time we chose the flatter hike. We started out walking through the campground. There were many people with RV's camping, and they all had Halloween decorations out. It was super fun! It turns out the campground was having a Halloween event tonight. Love it! So many decorations in a condensed area. Many were really creative. I bet the kids in the campground were loving it!

The river view is very pretty with the fall foliage now. Even though the trail was flat, the footing was tricky at times, especially on the Lakeshore Trail. We did let Krumm go for a swim even though it's getting chilly. He shivered afterwards but was happy. We only saw 2 people on the trail. I got a call that my sewing machine was ready to be picked up, so we took a shortcut back to the parking area. 

Trailhead on a campground road.

Warriors' Path State Park, TN

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/20/2025	3.5 miles	2 hours 58 minutes	565'	1.4 mph	316.7

Parking: 

• Childress Ferry Road

Map:

• Warriors_Path_web.png (3570×4620)

Directions:

• Take the orang blazed Fall Creek Loop Trail clockwise. Turn left onto the red blazed Devil's Backbone Trail. Ascend up and then down to Fall Creek Road. Turn around and take the Devil's Backbone Trail back to Fall Creek Loop Trail. Turn left onto the Fall Creek Loop Trail to return back to the parking lot.

I had an errand to run in Kingsport, TN, so we added on a hike at Warriors' Path State Park which is in the same town. The drive there was beautiful with the fall foliage in the mountains. You can do this hike from either Childress Ferry Road (tiny parking lot on a dead-end road) or the larger parking area at Fall Creek Road (where there is also a golf course). 

We started out on the Fall Creek Loop Trail, which had many acorns and black walnuts on the trail. I can't imagine what it would feel like to have a black walnut hit you on your head. Some are as large as tennis balls! I heard this year there is a bumper crop of acorns. We saw 6 deer on our hike. Krumm watched them, but he doesn't attempt to chase them. 

The foliage here is different than where we live. There aren't any rhodies! I felt like I was back hiking in Harriman, NY again. We hiked along a river, small at first. We saw a heron take off, and some other birds flying from the river. The river got wide, and we stopped to let Krumm have a swim.  Then we continued uphill rather steeply. I sort of figured a trail following the river would be flat, but it wasn't. We passed by the edge of a golf course and then ended at a golf course at the road. All along, we hiked next to the river and had nice views. The trail was a bit rocky and rooty along the Devil's Backbone Trail, with lots of leaves on the ground, so it was slow going for me. Trekking poles would have helped. The clasp on Krumm's leash broke, but I was able to hack it to still use it. I let him have a tiny bit of off leash hiking time near the water (something we don't do where we live, because of the large number of bears). We only saw one other hiker on the trail. We let Krumm have a second swim. On the way back, Glen took the longer route on the Fall Creek Loop Trail, and I took the shorter route back to our car. We both really enjoyed this hike - it's beautiful to hike next to the river. There are other trails in this park, many of them short.

Warren Wilson College Trails

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/18/2025	3.5 miles	2 hours 5 minutes	212'	2.0 mph	313.2

Parking: 

• Riceville Road across the street from Berea Baptist Church

Map:

• Gai GPS app

Directions:

• Misc trails

Back in NC, hiking on local trails on a warm day. We almost stepped on a tiny ring-necked snake.

Panther Creek State Park, TN

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/15/2025	3.9 miles	2 hours 50 minutes	544'	1.6 mph	309.7

Parking: 

• Panther Creek Park Road, near Small Man Shelter. Roadside parking. Marked as a picnic area/restroom on the park map.

Map:

• Panther_Creek_park_map_january_2023.jpg (5100×6600)

Directions:

• Walk back down the road to the Lookout Loop Trail trailhead. At the first intersection keep straight. Turn left onto the Point Lookout Loop Trail and hike to the beach area. Turn around. Turn left onto the Point Lookout Trail. Cross a wide horse trail (marked in yellow on the map). Turn left? onto the Sinkhole Loop Trail. We seemed to be going the opposite direction of the signage. There are 7 marked sinkholes - we started at #7 and worked our way around to #1. Return to the horse connector trail and turn left. Before the road crossing, turn right onto the Point Lookout Loop Trail. Turn left to get to the road, and then turn right on the road to get back to the parking area.

Our fourth and final day in Tennessee. We took a detour to this park on the way home. This park had the best beach area of the 4 parks we visited! I was a bit concerned about Krumm cutting his feet on the slate on the beach, but he did fine. The swimming area was otherwise great! A hiker actually went swimming off the beach where we were letting Krumm swim. We did a loop trail that took us to 7 sinkholes (all numbered). More trails to explore in this park!

Photos in reverse order.

Checking out a sinkhole.