Twin Arches - Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

I made the short hike to Twin Arches in early August, 2013.  From Oneida, drive west on Tennessee 297 through the park to its junction with Tennessee 154.  Head north on 154 for two miles and turn right on Divide Road, a well-maintained gravel road.  After traveling about one mile on Divide Road, keep left at the fork.  Drive another three miles on Divide Road before turning right at the well marked Twin Arches Road.  Note that many GPS device maps do not recognize Twin Arches Road.  At the end of this road in about two miles is a parking area, picnic tables, vault toilets and the trailhead.

From the trailhead signs:

The Twin Arches are truly the most impressive rock arches in the eastern United States.  The North Arch has a clearance of 51 feet, a span of 93 feet and its deck is 62 feet high; South Arch has a clearance of 70 feet, a span of 135 feet and its deck is 103 feet high.

When considered to be a single landscape feature, few natural bridges in the world are as large as Twin Arches. 

 The trail is considered moderately difficult with lots of wooden stairs and unfenced cliff edges.

Parking area

The trail is used often and well-defined

At the trail junction, the base of the arches is to the left and the top is to the right

Heading right leads to a slight incline...

...and a beautiful view of the plateau

A second incline leads to...

...a flight of stairs up...

...and then multiple flights of stairs down

Stop and enjoy the view before descending

Descending these stairs is a major reason to make
the loop in a counter-clockwise direction

The trail becomes sandy as it approaches
the tops of the sandstone arches

Vegetation changes as well as the trail

Looking over the edge of the North Arch

Looking down the length of the deck of the North Arch 

A trail seems to head toward the deck of the south arch

A boardwalk leads to... 

...the stairs down to the base of the arches

Not having to ascend these seemingly endless stairs is
another reason to make the counter-clockwise loop

The North Arch is visible from the bottom of the stairs

The deck of the North Arch is almost visible

Trail to the South Arch

The South Arch

A tenacious tree on the west side of the South Arch

Another view of the South Arch with me for some perspective

Approaching the North Arch through the woods

The North Arch from the east side

The North Arch from its southern abutment

The North Arch from the west side

The North Arch from the west side with me for some perspective

Looking back at the North Arch as the trail descends...

...to cross a drainage area

Log steps on the lower loop trail

A bridge and more log steps

A third bridge and log steps

Looking back at the amphitheater above the bridge

Individual log steps turn into...

...log staircases

View from the top of the very steep log stairs

The trail returns to a gentle ramp as it nears the crest

At the top of this ramp, the trail loops back on itself.  Turn right to return to the parking area.  The trail elevation only drops a couple of hundred feet from the parking area to the base of the arches.  Most of the elevation change is made with the multiple sets of sturdy wooden stairs.  For a longer loop hike of 4.6 miles, the park service recommends continuing from the arches to Charit Creek Lodge then up Station Camp Creek to Jake's Place and back up to the twin arches.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm.