Piney Falls State Natural Area

Piney Falls State Natural Area is a 440-acre wilderness set aside by the State of Tennessee in 1973.  It contains two waterfalls and has also been designated a National Natural Landmark for the old growth forest on the slopes of the gorge below Lower Piney Falls.  This forest includes white pines that are over three feet in diameter and 100 feet tall.  Lower Piney Falls is approximately 40 feet high and Upper Piney Falls is about 80 feet high.  Both falls are on Little Piney Creek.  I visited one afternoon in late May, 2013, just after a thunderstorm has passed through.  The directions to the trail head on the state website are accurate and I had no difficulty finding the small gravel parking area near the community of Grandview.  The initial portion of the trail was obviously built as a dirt road, so it is fairly wide and smooth with one very notable exception.  Parts of the trail are just barren slabs of sandstone, which can become extremely slick when wet.  I would not attempt to view the lower falls without at least one hiking stick as the terrain is very steep and unforgiving of missteps. At one time, the trail beyond Upper Piney Falls continued a loop back to the top of the falls.  While it may still exist, it looked more like rock climbing than hiking to me so I returned the way I came.  I walked a total of about two miles on this hike.  Other than crossing the muddy section and the side trail to the top of the lower falls, this was a fairly easy hike.

Walk around the gate to begin the hike

The trail gets enough use to stay free of dead leaves

Many footprints have scattered the soil, leaving a sandstone surface

A vehicle path crosses the trail leaving a muddy mess

Water doesn't percolate into sandstone very well

The trail to the right goes to the top of the upper falls and
the trail to the left goes to the bottom of the same falls

Mountain laurel blooms

After the junction, the trail narrows to a foot path

The trail skirts a rock ledge...

...before dropping off another ledge

Decisions, decisions...Lower Piney Falls or Upper Piney Falls 

The trail to the top of the lower falls is
very steep and ends at this overlook

The top of Lower Piney Falls

Cascade above Lower Piney Falls

Looking downstream as Little Piney Creek creates Lower Piney Falls

Back on the trail to the upper falls

A rockfall creates a small detour

Approaching Upper Piney Falls

The view after walking behind Upper Piney Falls

A rockfall has made the loop trail more
difficult than I want to tackle

Upper Piney Falls from the end of the trail

Backtracking, the return trip begins along the base of the cliff

The trail then climbs the cliff...

...and continues to climb

The top of Upper Piney Falls

A view of the upper falls and the pool below

The park website is http://www.tn.gov/environment/na/natareas/piney/.

Marine Railway Loop Trail - Norris Dam State Park

The Marine Railway trail follows parts of an old wagon road from US 441 to near Cabin 8 in the west section of Norris Dam State Park.  The trail has two access points.  The first is behind the deluxe cabins, but the main trail head for day use visitors is on US 441 about ¼ mile south (actual compass east southeast) of the park entrance.  There is enough space at the trail head for three or four vehicles to be parked without blocking each other.  I took this hike one evening after work in mid-May, 2013.  There were no other vehicles at the pull out when I arrived, but an SUV pulled up as I as started out.  

The trail consists of two loops with an adjoining segment as well as segments from the trail heads to the loops.  I decided to hike the loops in a counter-clockwise manner.  This kept me near the lake on the old roadbed for the first half of the hike.  However, the second half of the hike required climbing and descending a ridge to the connector before climbing another hill back to my vehicle.

Trail head sign and map

The trail segment to the first loop is wide and relatively flat

Vegetation could quickly overtake the roadbed portion of the first loop

The gentle descent has brought the trail down to the lake

A spur trail to the right leads to a rest area

High water has covered a portion of the rest area 

Driftwood has piled up on the shore of the rest area

The view across the lake from the rest area

The main trail is wide enough for vehicles, but there is only
enough foot traffic to keep one track open

Openings in the forest allow views of the lake

Wildflowers line the trail near the junction
with the connector between the loops

High water forces a detour

The high water detour is a trail and not a road

Back on the main connector trail, the route steepens
and narrows under the power lines

The connector trail opens up again in the woods

Sign marks the junction with the 2.7 mile northern loop

While the trail is still wide enough for vehicles, it has obviously
been some time since one traversed this route

A view of the Cove Creek embayment

The first of two benches is at the start of a long climb up to the cabins

The trail climbs about 250 feet up to the cabins

The second bench is behind the cabins

The trail descends back to the connector through the
grasslands under the power lines

A view of the return path of the southern loop from the northern loop

Ferns grow along the path at the junction of the northern loop and the connector

Back on the connector, a view of the hill climb to come

So close, but still 250 feet to climb in less than 1000 feet of trail!

Other than seeing the people in the SUV as I left the parking area, I only saw one other person on the hike and I saw him and his mountain bike three times.  I met him under the power lines on the northern loop, then he passed me on the connector and I caught up to him as he was loading his bike at the trail head.  He told me that he took the longer, more gradual path along the southern loop as the route under the power lines was way to steep to ride in either direction.

The park website is http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/NorrisDam/.