Tennessee trails · Benton-Mckaye
Benton-Mckaye
A 99.0-mile network in Tennessee, with 3,462 ft of climbing. Reaches Double Spring Gap and other lake/pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 22,104 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Double Spring Gap (pass)
- Unicoi Gap (pass)
- Big Frog Mountain (summit)
- Ocoee Number Three Lake (lake)
- Chimneytop (summit)
- Deep Gap (pass)
- Brock Mountain (summit)
- Big Rock Island (summit)
- The Narrows (pass)
Getting there
UNICOI TURNPIKE TRAILHEAD — parking nearby. About 1 h 04 min drive (38 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Athens. 35.22534, -84.28983 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:16 a.m., the sun rises at 7:42 a.m. and sets at 7:03 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:29 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 21 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 99.0-mile route works out to roughly 38 h 25 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- BENTON-MCKAYE + UNICOI MOUNTAIN HIKING TRAIL — 8.1 mi loop, 2,548 ft gain
- UNICOI MTN MOTORCYCLE TRAIL + Unicoi Mountain Trail + BENTON-MCKAYE — 15.4 mi loop, 4,660 ft gain
- POPLAR HOLLOW + BENTON-MCKAYE — 2.7 mi loop, 794 ft gain
Nearby trails
- John Muir National Recreation — 11.6 mi
- Licklog Ridge Trail — 16.2 mi
- Big Frog Mountain Hiking Trail — 16.7 mi
- Grassy Gap — 19.4 mi