Waterfalls, 200-year-old hemlocks, and a name you won’t forget: Welcome to Fiery Gizzard

It’s wilder than its name sounds

One hour northwest of Chattanooga, a gorge cuts through the southern Cumberland Plateau and most people drive right past it.

Fiery Gizzard became its own standalone state park in fall 2025, after years as part of a larger complex, and it came into the world already carrying a reputation.

Backpacker magazine had been singing its praises long before the ribbon cutting. The creek that runs through it gave the park its name.

The gorge that creek carved is the reason you go.

From coke ovens and convict labor to forest

The ground you walk on here has a hard past. In the late 1800s, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company ran this land, and around 1883 roughly 120 beehive-shaped coke ovens lined the hillsides, turning local coal into fuel hot enough to smelt iron.

Most of that labor came from leased convict workers, mostly Black men, living and working under brutal conditions. The 1930s changed things.

The Civilian Conservation Corps moved in, reclaimed the scarred earth, planted trees, and built the lakes that reflect sky and hemlocks today.

The 12.8-mile trail that built a reputation

The Fiery Gizzard Trail is the reason serious hikers come here.

It runs 12.8 miles from the North Trailhead to the South Trailhead, threading through gorges, past sandstone bluffs, and across boulder fields that slow you down in the best possible way.

Side trails branch off to waterfalls and overlooks as you go.

Backpacker magazine put it among the top hiking trails in the country, and if you walk the full length, you’ll understand why. This isn’t a groomed state-park path.

It’s backcountry.

Picking the right trail for your legs

Not everyone needs to do the full 12.8 miles, and not everyone should.

Steep, rocky descents and root-tangled sections demand attention, and some stretches are almost entirely boulders.

If you want something gentler, the Grundy Forest Day Loop covers two miles past several waterfalls on moderate terrain. The Meadow Trail is flat and mulched, easy on the joints, and runs through wildflowers in season.

Even if you never lace up your boots, you can walk from the Foster Falls parking area to a clear overlook view in just a few minutes.

Foster Falls drops 60 feet into a pool you can swim in

The southern anchor of the trail is Foster Falls, and it earns its reputation.

The water pours over a horseshoe-shaped sandstone ledge and drops 60 feet into a wide pool at the bottom. From near the parking area, a short path brings you to an overlook with a clean sightline straight to the falls.

If you want to get closer, a steeper trail drops more than 100 feet into the gorge and crosses a bouncy suspension bridge to the base.

On hot summer days, that pool fills up with people, and the line to cross the bridge grows.

Two hundred climbing routes on sandstone walls

Foster Falls and nearby Denny Cove are two of the best-known climbing areas in Tennessee.

The sandstone bluffs rise straight out of the gorge, and the walls around Foster Falls alone hold close to 200 routes at varying difficulty levels.

If you’re not a climber, the trails that pass below the walls give you a front-row seat to watch people work their way up. Climbers need a permit before heading up, and you can get one online before your trip.

A string of smaller waterfalls runs through the gorge

Foster Falls gets the attention, but the trail keeps delivering.

The Blue Hole sits a walk in from the trailhead, a clear swimming hole fed by a nine-foot waterfall and cool enough to make you stop moving for a while. Sycamore Falls draws hikers looking to cool off in summer.

Hanes Hole Falls and other smaller drops appear along the creek corridor as you move deeper into the gorge. Come in spring after a good rain and the whole canyon is loud with water.

Hemlocks here have been growing for over 200 years

In the narrow, rocky gorges, old-growth eastern hemlocks form a canopy that blocks most of the sky.

Some of these trees have been growing for more than two centuries, and they create a rare ecosystem called a hemlock cove forest.

Come in late spring and the sandstone overlooks are lined with mountain laurel and azaleas in bloom. The forest floor runs through the season with violets, trillium and ferns.

The southern Cumberland Plateau carries some of the richest plant diversity in the eastern United States.

The trail takes you through house-sized boulders

The rock formations along the trail are the kind of thing you stop and stare at.

The Fruit Bowl is a maze of boulders the size of houses, with stone stairs built straight through the pile. Chimney Rock is a 20-foot sandstone column standing on its own along the trail.

Black Canyon takes its name from the dark organic staining covering its walls.

Tucked into a rock shelter, Cave Spring Rockhouse shelters a hemlock estimated at around 500 years old. Bluff lines and overhangs appear throughout the gorge.

Raven’s Point sits on the canyon rim with wide open sky

The trail’s most famous overlook is Raven’s Point, and you earn it.

The path climbs about 500 feet to the rim, then runs along the edge with the gorge dropping away below. Denny Cove adds more views into the canyon and back across the Fiery Gizzard.

Werner Point, along the Dog Hole Trail, gives another long look at the plateau. In winter, the leaves come down and the views open up in ways that summer visits never show you.

Walk right up to the old coke ovens at Grundy Lakes

The Grundy Lakes loop covers about 2.3 miles around calm water, and it’s one of the more unusual walks in any state park.

You can walk directly up to the beehive-shaped coke ovens built into the hillsides, left over from the 1880s industrial operation. The National Register of Historic Places added them in 1987.

The quiet water and tree-lined shore feel like a complete contrast to what this land once was. A desk attendant at the park can hand you a brochure that explains what you’re looking at.

Cool off in the park’s swimming holes before you leave

Grundy Lakes has swimming, and so do several of the waterfalls.

The Foster Falls plunge pool draws the biggest crowds on summer weekends, but quieter spots reward hikers who go a little farther. The Blue Hole sits off the main trail and sees less traffic.

The Meadow Trail’s pond and surrounding wildflowers make a low-key loop that works for any age and any fitness level.

With more than 20 miles of trails, a dozen waterfalls, and swimming in three or four spots, this is a park that rewards staying the whole day.

Visit Fiery Gizzard State Park in Tennessee

The main visitor center sits at 11745 US 41 in Monteagle, about an hour northwest of Chattanooga and one and a half to two hours from Nashville.

Trails run from easy flat walks to full backcountry routes, so wear sturdy footwear on anything beyond the Meadow Trail. Rock climbers need to pick up a permit online before visiting.

Swimming is available but there are no lifeguards on duty.

The park stays open year-round, with late spring wildflowers and October color standing out as the best times to go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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