Ore Pit Loop Trail
A moderate loop through the remnants of Montgomery Bell's 19th-century iron-ore pits, passing the birthplace site of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
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- Length
- 1.5 mi
- Elevation gain
- 321 ft
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route
- loop
Trail conditions
No recent condition reports. Hiked it lately?
Report current conditions →Elevation
1.5 mi · 293 ft of climbing · high 775 ft · low 608 ft
Find the trailhead
Parking
Small Church Hollow Road picnic-area lot. Map apps sometimes misroute this trailhead to the campers-only Camp I Road, so follow the park signs.
Directions to parkingWeather at the trailhead
81°FClear now
Sunrise 5:31 AM · Sunset 8:07 PM
- TodayOvercast81° / 60°F3% precip
- WedThunderstorm88° / 66°F1% precip
- ThuThunderstorm81° / 71°F79% precip
Forecast from Open-Meteo. Mountain conditions change fast; check again before you go.
The red-blazed trail winds through rolling hardwood forest past depressions left by the historic ore mining that fed Middle Tennessee's iron industry. Near its midpoint it reaches a clearing with replicas of the 1810 First Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Rev. Samuel McAdow's log cabin. The park has about nineteen miles of trail in all if you want to extend the day.