About trails in Polk County, Tennessee

Polk County has 50 named trails on the map, covering 151 miles in total, an average of 3.0 miles per trail. That is the 14th largest mapped trail network among 73 counties in Tennessee. 49 of them are tagged for hiking and 14 for mountain biking.

The longest single trail is Rock Creek, at 14.7 miles. 9 trails run 5 miles or longer. Mapped points of interest in the county include 7 trailheads, 40 campsites, 12 waterfalls, 11 boat launches, and 10 rapids. The nearest towns to these trails are Ducktown, Benton, and Delano.

What the trails in Polk County are like

By length, 12 are under a mile, 29 run 1 to 5 miles, and 9 are 5 miles or longer. 5 are loops, ending where they start; the longest is Rock Creek, at 14.7 miles.

Of the 25 with a difficulty rating, 16 easy, 8 moderate, and 1 hard. Of the 50 with measured elevation, Rock Creek climbs the most, about 6,980 ft, and 19 gain 1,000 ft or more.

Explore by activity

151Total miles

40Campsites

11Boat launches

12Waterfalls

7Trailheads

10Rapids

Rock CreekHike14.7 mi West ForkHikeMTB10.0 mi John Muir National Recreational TrailHike9.3 mi Brush Creek TrailHikeMTB6.6 mi Chestnut Mountain LoopHikeMTB5.8 mi Big Frog Trail No. 64Hike5.6 mi Licklog RidgeHike5.2 mi Clear Creek TrailHike5.1 mi Rough CreekHike5.0 mi Grassy GapHike4.9 mi Hemp TopHike4.8 mi Wolf RidgeHike4.6 mi Clemmer TrailHike4.4 mi Unicoi Mountain TrailHike4.3 mi Big CreekHike4.0 mi Dry Pond LeadHike3.9 mi Lowry Cove TrailHike3.9 mi Mulepen Branch TrackHike3.8 mi Mulepen Branch RoadHikeMTB3.5 mi Laurel Loop TrailHike3.1 mi Starr MountainHike3.1 mi Slickrock Loop TrailHike3.0 mi River View LoopHike2.9 mi Rogers BranchHike2.1 mi Clemmer Spur TrailHike2.1 mi Slickrock Branch RoadHike1.9 mi Naked Widow Loop TrailHike1.8 mi Fork RidgeHike1.7 mi Quartz LoopHikeMTB1.7 mi Azalea TrailHike1.6 mi RhododendronHikeMTB1.5 mi Benton Falls TrailHike1.4 mi Bear Paw LoopHikeMTB1.3 mi Gee CreekHike1.3 mi Starr Mountain ExtensionHike1.3 mi Thunder Rock Express TrailHikeMTB1.3 mi Thunder Rock TrailHikeMTB1.2 mi Rough Creek TrailHike1.1 mi 1330 BypassHikeMTB0.9 mi FS 336701Hike0.8 mi Rim Rock Trail No. 377Hike0.8 mi Gee Creek WatchableHike0.7 mi Rock Creek Clemmer RoadHikeMTB0.6 mi McKamy Lake TrailHikeMTB0.6 mi Thornburg Trail0.5 mi Mid Unicoi Mtn RoadHike0.4 mi Forest WalkHikeMTB0.4 mi Lowry Falls Trail No. 168Hike0.4 mi Clemmer Spur Trail No. 386HikeMTB0.3 mi River View Loop SpurHike0.3 mi

Trails by town in Polk County

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Trail geometry from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Compiled and published by Trailmonger · trail data last rebuilt September 24, 2026.