Last updated: April 18, 2026
- Type: State Scenic Trail (long-distance hiking)
- Planned length: ~300 miles, from near the Kentucky border to the Chattanooga area
- Southern terminus: Head of Sequatchie, near Signal Mountain
- Managing agency: Tennessee State Parks (Cumberland Trail State Park)
The Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail is a long-distance hiking corridor that follows the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau across Tennessee. When complete it will run roughly 300 miles from Cumberland Gap at the Kentucky border south to the Chattanooga area. Its southern terminus is at Head of Sequatchie, where the Sequatchie Valley begins near Signal Mountain.
Marion County section
The Marion County portion of the trail lies along the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau, near the Hamilton County line. The southern trailhead at Head of Sequatchie is a popular day-hike destination, with access to plateau overlooks above the southern end of the Sequatchie Valley. The trail continues north from there through Marion and into Grundy and adjacent counties.
Cumberland Trail State Park
The Cumberland Trail is managed as a linear state park, Cumberland Trail State Park, by Tennessee State Parks. It is one of the country's longer pieces of state-park trail infrastructure and is still being extended in segments as land acquisition allows. The trail has been built over several decades, with significant volunteer construction through the Cumberland Trails Conference.
Related
About Foster Falls & Denny Cove →
About the Sequatchie Valley →