Tennessee trails · Welch Ridge Trail

Welch Ridge Trail

A 6.3-mile out-and-back in Tennessee, with 984 ft of climbing. Reaches Water Oak Gap and other pass/summit destinations.

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Length

6.3 mi

Elevation gain

984 ft

Difficulty

Hard

Max grade

20%

Steepest mile

+488 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

2.2 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Surface

Ground

Bikes

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the final third: 49% of the ascent falls between mile 4.2 and mile 6.3. It gives back about 847 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

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

Reaches

Water Oak Gap (pass)
Mule Gap (pass)
Bearwallow Bald (summit)
Hawk Knob (summit)
Mount Glory (summit)
Silers Bald (summit)

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:13 a.m., the sun rises at 7:39 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 12.6-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 39 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:19 p.m. — 5 h 41 min before sunset.

Across the border

Continues into NC as Appalachian Trail — view on the map
Continues into NC as Appalachian National Scenic Trail — view on the map