Trail Review 🗺️ 🥾
Slave Falls is located on the Tennessee side of Big South Fork National National Forrest. The 60 foot free falling stream gets its name from a fascinating piece of oral history. Stories passed down through the generations say that locals guided runaway slaves to the area, who would then use the various rock outcroppings and caves to avoid detection. While I was unable to find any written accounts to corroborate this, it falls into that category of “a little too specific to be made up” and likely true.
Looking for this one on a map was confusing at first. Parking for Slave Falls is located at the Sawmill Trailhead, just a short walk down the road. The trailhead has informational signs and bear proof trash cans, but no other amenities like pit toilets. While Slave Falls Loop is a 4.5 mile trail, the falls can be accessed by a 1.5 mile out and back hike.
In the interest of seeing as many things as possible during our trip, we took the out and back hike, with a .2 mile addition at the end to see Needlepoint Arch. The trail itself is well marked with a difficulty level of easy. There are a few slick steps if you chose to go past the viewing area all the way to the base of the falls.
While likelihood of encountering a 🐻 here is low, follow all safety protocols and use common sense, namely proper carrying and disposal of food. Bear sightings are rare, and the NPS asks that any sightings be reported to rangers.
We were both impressed with the condition of the trail and the almost non existence of litter along it. Please pack your trash out and follow all the principals of #leavenotrace while hiking. We only encountered a few other hikers on a beautiful weekend, a nice contrast to some of the more popular trails we have done.
All in all this was a 10/10 hike that we highly recommend for hikers of almost any skill level.
