The John Muir National Recreation Trail (#152) is a 20.7 mile (33.3 km)U.S. Forest Service Guide to the John Muir Trail
/ref> trail in eastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, along the north side of

Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in the northern area of the State of Georgia. It flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee Riv ...

in the

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompasse ...

. It is named after naturalist

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

and was constructed in 1972 through the efforts of the Youth Conservation Corps and the Senior Community Service Employment Program.William Sheklton. ''Wilderness Trails of Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest''. The University of Tennessee Press, 1992, The trail is said to follow the path taken during Muir's travels from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in his book ''A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf''. In it, he wrote:

My path all to-day led me along the leafy banks of the Hiwassee, a most impressive mountain river. Its channel is very rough, as it crosses the edges of upturned rock strata, some of them standing at right angles, or glancing off obliquely to right and left. Thus a multitude of short, resounding cataracts are produced, and the river is restrained from the headlong speed due to its volume and the inclination of its bed. All the larger streams of uncultivated countries are mysteriously charming and beautiful, whether flowing in mountains or through swamps and plains. Their channels are interestingly sculptured, far more so than the grandest architectural works of man. The finest of the forests are usually found along their banks, and in the multitude of falls and rapids the wilderness finds a voice. Such a river is the Hiwassee, with its surface broken to a thousand sparkling gems, and its forest walls vine-draped and flowery as Eden. And how fine the songs it sings!A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf
/ref>

The trail's western end is located where Childers Creek empties into the Hiwassee River. The first 3-mile (5 km) section is a relatively easy walk designed for senior citizens. At 6 miles (10 km), there is a suspension footbridge crossing the river at the Apalachia Power Plant. The trail does not cross the bridge but continues on the north side of the river. At 11.7 miles (18.8 km), it connects to the Coker Creek Trail. This path goes into the Coker Creek Scenic Area, which contains the forty-foot (12 m) tall Coker Creek Falls. At 17.7 miles (24.5 km), the trail comes to Tennessee State Route 68. It then continues past the road for another three miles (5 km). The last section of the trail has been lengthened several times since it was opened. The

Benton MacKaye Trail The Benton MacKaye Trail or BMT is a footpath nearly in length in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States and is blazed by a white diamond, 5″ across by 7″ tall. The hiking trail was created and is maintained by the Ben ...

joins the John Muir Trail at Childers Creek and runs with it for to the intersection with the Unicoi Mountain Trail.

References

{{Coord, 36.5347, -84.6707, type:landmark, display=title Hiking trails in Tennessee Trail (Tennessee) Protected areas of Polk County, Tennessee Cherokee National Forest National Recreation Trails in Tennessee