April 12-13 - Long Hunter State Park Volunteer Trail - 11 Miles Total In/OutLong Hunter State Park is a decent sized park located on the east side of Percy Priest Lake. For people living in Nashville, this park is very easy to access by way of the I-40 Mount Juliet (Providence) exit.
There are several trails in LHSP but I'm going to focus on their overnight trail, Volunteer Trail. Volunteer Trail is roughly 5.5 miles long and follows the lake most of the way. With the exception of the day loop that splits off early on, Volunteer Trail is a "there and back" trail for a total of 11 miles. The terrain is generally flat.
While sweeping vistas of wooded gorges are the norm on backpacking trips on the Cumberland Plateau, the Volunteer Trail goes a different route. The draw here is the proximity that I mentioned before as well as a pleasant lake that follows you almost every step of the way. Having said all that, two things degrade the Volunteer Trail. One, along portions of the trail fast moving cars are pretty audible. If your goal is to be lost in the silence of the woods, this could be a deal breaker. Two, the prevailing winds across Percy Priest Lake must blow west to east because anything that isn't tied down on a fishing boat ends up on the shores of this trail. This isn't the case the entire length of the trail but there are stretches that are particularly bad. (Note: This may not always be the case. Periodically volunteer groups come out for clean-up days. Not to mention, hikers who choose to pickup a certain amount of trash along the way.)
There are two separate campsites at the end of this trail. Both are roomy and suitable for large groups. Fires are permitted and there are no fees for camping. A permit is required and that can be obtained at the visitor's center. I was not able to find any good maps for this trail through official Tennessee websites. However, free maps are available at the visitor's center. Additional information on the day loop can be found in the book "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Nashville."
Parking for the trail is located at (UTM, WGS 84) 16 S 540202 3995331.
The first campsite is located at 16 S 540022 3997760.
The official website for this park is located here.
To download the waypoints and the GPS tracks go to WikiLoc
2 comments:
My husband and I stayed out there last night. We were shocked at the amounts of trash along the trail. The other bad part was the noise at the campsite. We could hear the interstate all night, plus dogs barking and the occasional plane passing over. We woke up hearing gunshots in the distance (must be hunting season).
However, the trail is really flat (although we were totally worn out at the end!), and it's really close to Nashville. I'm not sure we'll go back though, because of the above mentioned factors.
If you zoom in on this map, it's pretty good: http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/gis/pdf/printmaps/longhunter.pdf
I have backpacked this trail 4 times. I trail ran it once. I led a group of 10 boys on it for a day hike.
Pros: It is close. It isn't too long so you can be from the trailhead to the campsite within 3-4 hours (depending on your pace). There isn't much elevation change which makes it easy. It is great for groups of kids or 1st-time backpackers. It is in-and-out so it is difficult to get lost on it. it is by a scenic lake. Deer are everywhere. Campsite #2 is the better location in my opinion.
Cons: It is pretty trashy with tons of debris, mainly from the 1000-yr flood in May of 2010. Party boaters will sometimes tie off at random spots along the shore of the lake and literally set up camp within 50 yards of the trail not even realizing the trail is there until a backpacker walks by. The party boaters will usually do this on weekends and they could be rowdy but I've never seen them at the actual campsites. the trail seems to disappear for about 25 yards in a couple of areas making it hard to pick up simply because of the terrain.
Overall this trail is perfect for a quick, last-minute weekend getaway. You can go after work on a Fri, be in the campsite by 8:30 pm, enjoy the night, then out by noon the next day.
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