Coker Creek & Conasauga Falls
Buck Bald Mountain Summit | Coker Creek Falls Trail | Conasauga Falls Trail | Tellico Plains, TN | January 2023
On our first full day in Tellico Plains, we wanted to stay closer to town since we had just driven a lot the day before, so we chose a few nearby trails to hike. While we were excited to be in a much smaller and quieter town than Asheville, it came with some downsides, such as the places we wanted to visit requiring longer drives on winding roads, and unreliable cell service.
All three of today’s scenic areas were just South of town, in Cherokee National Forest along TN-68. For our first stop, we drove up to Buck Bald Mountain summit, where we enjoyed a 360-degree view of the snow covered peaks. Curtis pointed out one peak that he wanted to hike, and we agreed that we should go for it soon — we did haul our snowshoes with us across the country, after all! After we were finished here, we drove back down the mountain and headed towards our next stop. Throughout the day, we would drive several forest roads, and the one that took us up to this summit was in the best condition.
Initially, Google Maps lead us on a wild goose chase to the next trailhead – but eventually we figured out that the Google Maps pin for the trailhead was in the wrong place (which we gave feedback to correct when we got home). Once we figured out the real direction, our route took us several miles down forest roads, and it was no surprise when we reached the end that we were the only people here. Who knows if that’s just because it’s January, the Google Maps screw up, or if Tellico Plains really is that remote? This trail is called Coker Creek Trail, which follows alongside Coker Creek for about 5 miles one way, all the way to its confluence with the Hiawasee River. We just chose to walk as far as we felt like, with the main goal being to see the falls, but also to just enjoy being all alone in nature. The falls weren’t too far from the trailhead, and rather than being one bigger waterfall, it was made up of many cascading falls. We walked to the base of one, but the best view of this area came from a higher point of the trail where we could see a larger section of the creek from above, and see all the cascades in one view. It looked like the stream easily dropped 200 feet in the quarter mile stretch that we could see of just continuous cascades. Ultimately, we walked for almost 2 miles before Charlotte got spooked and decided it was time to return to the car.
The last hike for today was Conasauga Falls. The road to get to the trailhead was the worst we’d seen, but there were the most hikers that we’d seen all day. When we arrived at the trailhead, an older couple took one look at Charlotte and told us they didn’t think she would be able to handle parts of the trail. I made note of that, knowing full well that it was not Charlotte that would struggle, but I. The trail started off easy, going down several switchbacks until it met up with the creek. Here the path grew more narrow with large roots breaking it up, and had several big rocks in the way. Sure enough, Charlotte had no trouble with jumping over rocks, while I took my time climbing up and over. I was thankful the trail wasn’t muddy or icy, because the ground was on a slope on one side, dropping down to the creek. At the end, there were stairs which made it easier to reach the base of the falls, and the waterfall made it work the trek! We enjoyed some time all alone here at the base of the falls, then made our return trip up to the trailhead. Another great day exploring a new-to-us corner of the Appalachians!
