Tennessee trails · Lookout Tower Trail
Lookout Tower Trail
A 3.7-mile network in Tennessee, with 451 ft of climbing. Reaches Peach Orchard Gap and other pass/spring/summit destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 727 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Peach Orchard Gap (pass)
- Frozen Head (summit)
- Frozen Head Mountain (summit)
- Emory Gap (pass)
- Panther Gap (pass)
- Cherry Log Gap (pass)
- Little Fork Mountain (summit)
- Tub Spring (spring)
- Old Mac Mountain (summit)
Getting there
South Old Mac Trail access. 36.12661, -84.45834 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:42 a.m., the sun rises at 7:08 a.m. and sets at 8:07 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:33 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 59 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 3.7-mile route takes roughly 1 h 36 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 8:44 a.m. — 11 h 23 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Lookout Tower Trail — 6.1 mi loop, 935 ft gain
- Lookout Tower Trail + North Old Mac Trail + Old Mac Trail — 7.6 mi loop, 2,408 ft gain
- Coffin Springs Trail + Cumberland Trail + Lookout Tower Trail — 8.0 mi loop, 1,234 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Chimney Top Trail — 0.0 mi
- Cumberland Trail — 29.5 mi