Fiery Gizzard

The Fiery Gizzard is one of the more well-known trails in Tennessee. It was ranked as one of North America's top 25 hiking trails by Backpacker Magazine. We hiked the entire trail back in 2013, but since then the trail had been re-routed so we figured it was time to tackle it again! We parked our car at the Foster Falls trailhead and got a ride back to the Grundy Forest trailhead to begin the trek. The trail basically follows alongside the creek for the first 4 miles, periodically dipping above the creek. Highlights on this stretch are Blue Hole Falls, Black Canyon and Sycamore Falls. A hiker friend of ours had told us about a patch of white trillium, but we were not prepared for how many we saw! Definitely the most we'd ever seen in one spot.

One of the major features of the Fiery Gizzard are the many boulder fields to cross. I really enjoy this type of hiking even though I am good at finding the wobbly rocks. :) After about 4 miles, the trail really turns uphill for a 1/2 mile steep ascent to the rim. Once you reach the rim, I definitely recommend the detour to Raven Point. This is one of the prettiest overlooks on the hike and a great place for a break and lunch. After a much needed break, we continued on the trail. Past Raven Point is where they re-routed the trail so we were excited to hike brand new trail. 

Just a short walk from Raven Point, the trail begins a steep descent down McAloyd Branch with a view of Anderson Falls. Once you reach the creek, it's straight back up the opposite side which gives you a much closer view of the beautiful 80 foot Anderson Falls.

The trail is more open along this next stretch and skirts along the rim for about 3/4 mile before reaching the very cool Chain Falls. We loved walking behind this waterfall, and it felt so good as we were pretty warm at this point. 

After Chain Falls, the trail is pretty flat and in the forest for about 4 miles. It's not the most scenic part of the trail, but with less elevation change, it's easier on the legs. Another small waterfall along the trail made for another nice break to cool off and get our feet wet. 

After meandering through the forest, the next highlight is the steep descent/ascent into and out of Laurel Gorge. We've been here a few times and love the bridge crossing the creek surrounded on both sides by tall trees and cliffs. From here, it felt like we were in the home stretch. We are quite familiar with this part of the trail so knew we were getting close to finishing. The overlook near the Small Wilds Campground was another good place for a break before the final push to Foster Falls. 

Whew! After 13.33 miles and 9 hours and 41 minutes we finished! I absolutely recommend this trail to anyone up for a long dayhike. There are 2 campground along the route, so that would be a good option too. We hired a driver to shuttle us from Foster Falls to Grundy so we wouldn't have to take 2 cars. I also highly recommend going in the spring as we saw so many wildflowers along most of the trail, and the waterfalls were flowing good!

Shuttle driver: Dorothy - 423-208-5949

https://tnstateparks.com/parks/south-cumberland