Tennessee trails · Cumberland Trail
Cumberland Trail
A 52.1-mile network in Tennessee, with 2,203 ft of climbing. Reaches Anderson Mountain and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 11,910 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Anderson Mountain (summit)
- Chambers Gap (pass)
- Big Creek Gap (pass)
- Grassy Gap (pass)
- Bunch Gap (pass)
- Lawson Mountain (summit)
- Hawk Gap (pass)
- Bruce Gap (pass)
- Rogers Gap (pass)
- Indian Fork Gap (pass)
Heads up
Getting there
Cave Branch Trail access. About 1 h 20 min drive (40 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from La Follette. 36.24514, -84.40965 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:17 a.m., the sun rises at 7:43 a.m. and sets at 7:03 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:29 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 52.1-mile route works out to roughly 20 h 23 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Cumberland Trail + Rock Creek Loop Trail + CT - Rock Creek Loop Trail — 3.2 mi loop, 729 ft gain
- Cumberland Trail — 2.1 mi loop, 372 ft gain
- Cumberland Trail — 8.9 mi loop, 940 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Lookout Tower Trail — 8.6 mi
- Chimney Top Trail — 9.8 mi