Hey there, trailblazers!
For today’s hike, we wanted to do two for one and cover both Shingle and Glen Falls trails near Lookout Mountain. While Glen Falls is relatively well known, not a lot of people are on Shingle. Neither of these are very busy on weeknights before it gets dark, making them great options for a quick workout, and they’re so close together that it’s relatively easy to do them both back-to-back if you want a longer hike.
Shingle Trail (1.4 miles roundtrip) to Glen Falls Trail (2.3 roundtrip)
- Type: Out-and-back
- Distance: About 3.7 miles for both
- Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
- Drive Time from Downtown: About 13 minutes
- Dog Friendly: Yes
- Highlights: Rock formations and a waterfall on Glen Falls Trail
- Directions to Shingle and directions to Glen Falls
With Shingle, you can choose to either start at the now-closed picnic area off of Sanders Road or at the bottom of the trail at Ochs Highway. National Park Planner recommends starting at the closed picnic area, and so do we. They also note that the trailhead for Shingle is “hard to find,” so make sure you don’t miss it – when you get to the bathroom house, walk up the stairs and the trail starts on the left. A beautiful rock formation marks the trailhead. From there, you’ll find a fairly accessible hike, “moderately downhill” in one direction, and then, depending on whether you decide to go on to Glen Falls or turn around, back up the other direction. Coming from the trailhead at Sanders Road, once you reach Ochs Highway, you can continue to Glen Falls, which is just down the road to the right.
If you do decide to head on to Glen Falls, be very careful crossing the road at Ochs Highway, as it’s a busy intersection for car traffic.
AllTrails describes Glen Falls Trail as “good for all skill levels,” so don’t be afraid to bring kids along, but do watch your step – there are a lot of rocks. The site notes the beautiful falls waiting at this trail, explaining that once you’ve reached the bridge on the trail, “go about 50 feet further and take the stone stairs on your right. You will pass through a stone door in the rock. Coming out of the rock you will be overlooking the bridge.” Eventually, continuing on this path for another quarter mile, you’ll reach the top of the cascades.
On AllTrails, Cindy W. is admittedly “not an avid walker,” but says that “[Glen Falls] was just the right amount of challenging.”
Go on and get out there and let us know how you like the trail, and remember to send photos to editor@getoutchatt.com for us to feature in next week’s newsletter, or send us ideas of future trails you think we should cover.
Happy trails!