Hi, hikers!
For this week’s newsletter, we’re giving you another easy recommendation that doesn’t seem to have a lot of traffic: the Hawkins Ridge Footpath between St. Elmo and Alton Park neighborhoods.
Hawkins Ridge Footpath
- Type: Out and back
- Distance: 2 miles
- Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
- Time: 1 hour
- Traffic level: Low
- Drive time from downtown: 10 minutes
- Dog-friendly: Yes
- Highlight: Peek-a-boo views of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge
In a 2018 review of Hawkins Ridge, Bryant and Elise Hawkins explained that although it is surrounded by several homes below, Hawkins Ridge provides a quiet, wooded escape within the Chattanooga city limits. The approximate address for the trail is 4306 Westridge Avenue, which is off a residential loop in St. Elmo, just east of Tennessee Avenue and 43rd Street. Because parking is sparse at the trailhead, try parking on Tennessee or Seneca Avenue.
While there is no signage for the trail, it is still well established and marked on Google Maps as the “Hawkins Ridge Footpath.” The trail starts at a “Do Not Enter” sign (for cars).