25,000-acre Prentice Cooper State Forest Park is just 10-miles west of Chattanooga. The Park portion of the vast conservation area offers 7,000-acres for use by off-road vehicle enthusiasts, hikers and hunters. A sanctioned deer hunt was in full swing on our last visit. We came back during a 3-day window between scheduled hunts to experience the amazing views from Snooper’s Rock.
The edge of the State Forest is 10-miles from Chattanooga, but it took us an hour to drive to the Snooper’s Rock Trailhead.
The main roads inside the State Forest are well maintained and dominated by 4-wheelers. We even saw a street bike and a chopper cruising the dirt roads inside the Park. There are 35-miles of hiking trails that are off-limits to wheeled transportation and provide peaceful walks in the woods.
The first look at the Tennessee River Gorge from the top of Snooper’s Rock is stunning. Puffy clouds drifted across a perfect sky and muted the colors in the canyon. When the bright sun reappeared, the leaves exploded in vibrant hues.
We ate lunch and watched the shifting shades of fall fluctuate across the valley. Snooper’s Rock is a hard place to leave. We overheard a Suck Creek Mountain local tell his friends, “Revenuers used to come up here to locate smoke from illegal stills in the thick woods below to bust moonshiners.”
The Tennessee River Gorge through Prentice Cooper State Forest is 26-miles long. It’s known as the “Grand Canyon of Tennessee.” We had to tear ourselves away to continue hiking across Suck Creek Mountain.
The fall leaves were thick and deep on the trail to Mullins Cove Overlook. The leaves crackled underfoot and hid tricky rocks and roots that caused awkward footing. Four-weeks with little rain, left this creek bone-dry.
After Snooper’s Rock and a long up and down hike, Mullens Cove Overlook was deflating.
Karen refused to chance the loose rocks covered by leaves on the steep slope to the edge of the precipice.
I did not climb on the small rock perilously tilted toward the 600-foot drop into Mullens Cove. Overgrown pines blocked most of the view. The sun burst from the clouds to brighten the leaves. This beautiful vista was impressive, but paled after Snooper’s Rock.
An early-November day in the low 70s, with drifting patches of clouds made our first visit to Snooper’s Rock a tough act to follow. Visiting friends and family who see this post will make sure we return.