Tennessee trails · Chestnut Top Trail

Chestnut Top Trail

A 12.8-mile loop in Tennessee, with 1,224 ft of climbing. Reaches Chestnut Top Lead and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.

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Length

12.8 mi

Elevation gain

1,224 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

18%

Steepest mile

+528 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

4.6 mi

Shape

loop

Bikes

Horses

Managed by

National Park Service

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the first third: 45% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 4.3. It gives back about 1,964 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Chestnut Top Lead (summit)
Bryant Gap (pass)
Chestnut Top (summit)

Getting there

Chestnut Top Trail Trailhead — parking nearby. About 41 min drive (23 mi) from Sevierville. 35.66047, -83.70892 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:14 a.m., the sun rises at 7:40 a.m. and sets at 7:00 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:26 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 21 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 12.8-mile route takes roughly 5 h 21 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:00 p.m. — 6 h 00 min before sunset.