Grundy Forest Day Loop
A compact two-mile loop through the Grundy Forest pocket of South Cumberland State Park, dropping past Hanes Hole Falls and Blue Hole Falls with an optional spur to Sycamore Falls.
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- Length
- 2 mi
- Elevation gain
- 300 ft
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route
- loop
Trail conditions
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Report current conditions →Elevation
1.6 mi · 278 ft of climbing · high 1,823 ft · low 1,678 ft
Find the trailhead
Parking
Free paved day-use lot at the Fiery Gizzard trailhead at the end of Fiery Gizzard Road in Tracy City; it fills on warm weekends, when the Grundy Forest picnic area overflow is the fallback.
Directions to parkingWeather at the trailhead
72°FOvercast now
Sunrise 5:27 AM · Sunset 7:57 PM
- TodayOvercast80° / 68°F51% precip
- SatOvercast82° / 67°F14% precip
- SunRain showers80° / 64°F91% precip
Forecast from Open-Meteo. Mountain conditions change fast; check again before you go.
The Grundy Forest Day Loop packs more scenery per mile than almost anything else on the South Cumberland Plateau: in two miles it drops off the rim into a hemlock-shaded gorge, passes the curving ledge of Hanes Hole Falls and the plunge pool at Blue Hole Falls, squeezes past Cave Spring Rock Shelter, and follows Big Fiery Gizzard Creek where it disappears under the boulders of the Fruit Bowl. This is also the first leg of the famous Fiery Gizzard Trail, and a half-mile spur on it leads to 12-foot Sycamore Falls before you double back to close the loop. The mileage is short but the footing is not casual — rooty, rocky tread, stone steps, and creekside slabs that stay greasy long after rain — so wear real shoes and keep kids close to hand near the pools. Start the loop counterclockwise from the kiosk to get the steepest stairs out of the way going down.