American Travel Journal: Angel Falls Overlook - Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area

In mid-May 2016, I hiked the Angel Falls Overlook Trail in Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. The trailhead for this hike is at Leatherwood Ford on Tennessee Highway 297 in Scott County just 11 miles west of downtown Oneida. On the park website, the trail is included in the list of 14 popular day hikes. "Popular" might be a bit misleading as I only saw five other hikers along the trail on a beautiful weekday afternoon.

While listed as a six mile round-trip hike on the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area website, I found it to be nearly 6.4 miles. Much of the extra mileage is due to a detour at the beginning of the hike. The old, low water bridge has been damaged by flooding and is closed. This requires walking from near the east bank of the river up the entrance drive to the highway, walking across the bridge to the west side, descending 36 concrete steps, and following an access trail to the west end of the old bridge. From the trailhead to the Grand Gap Loop Trail junction, the route is signed for both the John Muir and Sheltowee Trace trails. The Sheltowee Trace Trail is a long-distance National Recreation Trail with its southern terminus in Big South Fork.

As shown on the map and elevation profile, the first two miles of the trail is relatively flat as it follows the river downstream to the north. The trail then turns left and follows Fall Branch before crossing the stream on a two span foot bridge. The first span had a definite sag that shouldn't exist. In addition, a section of handrail is missing on the upstream side between the two spans. Until repairs are made, I'd suggest extreme caution be used when crossing the branch. This would include only having one person on the bridge at a time to minimize the risk of a structural failure.

After crossing Fall Branch, the trail begins climbing to the rim by a series of switchbacks. At several turns, social trails continue for a short distance although it isn't too difficult to notice the turns. After climbing over some boulders to a rock ledge, a cable handrail has been installed to allow easy passage. However the first anchor has pulled out of the rock and the cable is tied around the second anchor. Just past the cable, the trail climbs another rock ledge by way of a five rung timber ladder. Near the trail junction, logs have been installed as steps for the final climb. Once at the junction, turn right on the wide trail to follow the Grand Gap Loop Trail to the overlook. Note that the Grand Gap Loop is a multi-purpose trail for hikers and mountain bikers. In order to see the river from the overlook, climb down and back up to the large rock outcrop. While I could hear the Angel Falls rapids, I could not see them due to the lush green foliage.

The trail is rated moderate to difficult by the park service. Due to the condition of the Fall Branch foot bridge, the missing cable anchor, and the timber ladder with widely spaced rungs, I would not consider this a family-friendly trail.