Hiking Roan Mountain State Park: The Best Time to Visit!

Just 2 hours from Knoxville and 4 hours from Nashville, this Tennessee State Park hosts an array of trails and dozens of campsites.  This state park has great wifi, beautiful Mountain Laurel and Rhododendrons on its trails. And is conveniently located less than 20 minutes from the Appalachian Trail if you want some more serious hiking. These are just a few reasons I recommend hiking Roan Mountain State Park.

But when is the best time to visit?  

Here’s the bottom line, the middle or end of June is the best time to visit this state park.  The Rhododendron typically bloom around the middle of June and are truly stunning.  

Unfortunately for us, we visited in the beginning of June, so we only saw a few brilliant flowers along our trails.  So learn from us, and visit a little later in June!

Important Links: 

Roan Mountain State Park website

Roan Mountain State Park Camping Reservations – make reservations here!

State Park Map 

Camping in Roan Mountain State Park

Freebie Hiking Gear List – Don’t leave the essentials at home!

Location

Coming from the west? Roan Mountain State Park, as stated above, is just 2 hours from Knoxville, 4 hours from Nashville. If you’re coming from the east, the park is less than an hour from Boone, North Carolina.  It is also just minutes away from the Tennessee-North Carolina state line.  

You can simply enter Roan Mountain State Park into your preferred maps app (Google, Apple, Waze) and it will lead you to the park office.  

Wherever you are coming from, this state park is definitely worth a stop.  Especially in mid-late June.  

Amount of Time to Spend Here

No matter where you go, there is always THIS question: How much time should I spend here?  This all depends on what you want to do.  

Are you here specifically to go hiking in Roan Mountain State Park?  Because I would recommend at least 2 days (we stayed for 3) to be able to do all the trails.  

Or are you just interested in seeing the blooming Rhododendron flowers?  Because that sounds more like a single day trip, or a quick passing through stop.

Only you can answer these questions above but I’ll tell you what we did to maybe help.

Our Itinerary 

Thursday: We arrived around 10pm and set up camp before heading straight to bed.   

Friday: Brian worked from the campsite (yay for good wifi) while I took Luna and walked around the campground as well as hiked the Fred Behrend Trail (2.35mi).  

Once Brian was finished working, we hiked the Raven Rock Trail (~1mi.) and part of the Forest River Trail (~1mi.) before heading back to camp to make dinner and hit the hay.

Saturday: We drove over to Carvers gap, parked the truck, and hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail out and back to Grassy Ridge (5.5miles total).  Before taking our worn out dog back to the campsite and making dinner for ourselves.

Sunday: Packed up the truck and headed back to the Nashville-ish area where we live.  We could have hiked another short hike this day, but chose to head back home as we were pretty sore from the steep hikes the past 2 days.  

Alright, so if you like what we did, you can keep the same itinerary.  But if you want to do all of these hikes in 1 day, or perhaps none of these hikes, you can probably just go for 1 to 2 days and be fine.  

History

Roan Mountain, like most of the United States, was first occupied by Native Americans.  This area was a prime area for the Cherokee Tribe, and legend has it there was a great battle on top of Roan Mountain.

However, a more modern take on history here starts in 1870 when a man by the name of John T. Wilder bought this area, all 7000 acres of it.  Yes, 7,000 acres!  Essentially he bought the whole dang mountain, but that’s not all!

Wilder was also responsible for carving and building the road to Carver’s Gap.  But what really put Roan Mountain on the map was the Cloudland Hotel that Wilder erected there in 1885.  What had started as a humble cabin with 20 rooms in 1877, he transformed into a luxury resort known as the Cloudland Hotel.  

For years this hotel was a destination to get above the clouds and away from the world.  Unfortunately, the harsh weather and expensive upkeep of the highest resort outside of the Rocky Mountains proved too much. By 1915, Wilder auctioned off all interior pieces.  The once grand hotel is now nothing more than a pile of rubble.

Not long after this, the Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937 and federally protected.  This has helped to keep interest in the area. And it has kept it beautiful and allowed the miles and miles of Rhododendron to flourish all these years later.  

Roan Mountain State Park is Born

Roan Mountain State Park, nestled in the foothills of Roan Mountain, officially became a state park in 1959.  This area was already wildly popular because of the interest in the Appalachian Trail.  People stayed here often because of the beauty of the balds at this section of the trail.  

Which is what caught my eye when I was researching hikes in Tennessee!  The Grassy Ridge Bald that we hiked to was simply stunning! But before we get to our hiking in Roan Mountain State Park, let’s take a look at the trails in the park.

Trails in Roan Mountain State Park

There are about 12 miles of hikeable trails in Roan Mountain State Park. These trails have levels of difficulty ranging from easy to strenuous.  

• Blue 2 Trail – 1.35 miles
• Chestnut Ridge Trail – 1.80 miles
• Moonshiners Run Trail – 1.9 miles
• Toms Gray Trail – 0.4 miles
• Fred Behrend Trail – 2.35 miles
• Peg Leg Mine Trail – 1.1 miles
• Raven Rock Trail – 1 mile
• Forest Road Trail – 2.85 miles
• Turkey Trot Trail – 0.25 miles

While there is a varying level of difficulty with each trail, remember where you are!  The area in general is very steep and even these smaller trails can prove to be difficult if you are not used to the ascent of a steep trail.  And elevation gain is the name of the game with hiking in Roan Mountain State Park.

Alright, let’s get to our hikes!  If you are new to my posts, this is the part where I recount my hike and what you should expect should you choose to hike here as well!

Hiking Roan Mountain State Park – Our Experience

For this particular trip, we hiked 3 different trails so I will detail each trail!  2 of the trails were in the park and the third was along the Appalachian Trail.

Fred Behrend Trail – 2.35 miles – Elevation Gain 500 feet

This trail is considered to be moderate, but as you can see from the map below, there are still some very steep sections of this trail, and 500 feet of elevation gain isn’t always an easy task.  

I chose this trail for one reason, because I could walk here from my campsite.  Yes, the trail ended up being very pretty, but I didn’t want to have to drive across the park to a trailhead.

So, I grabbed my camera and my dog Luna and we headed towards the trail.  If you camp here, there are several different sections of the campground.  Regardless of where you are camping, this trailhead is right behind the campground check-in center, and right near the bridge that crosses the Doe River that runs through the park.  

This trail is a loop, so you can go either right or left and it will bring you back to the same spot when you are done.  I started on the side that was furthest from the playground and immediately descended to the banks of the Doe River.

Luna loved this part of the hike because she was able to get in the water.  She’s a water dog alright!  

After the brief dip in the water, we began climbing up.  And up.  Some of the trail is the typical sloping, dirt path, but there were also sections of stairs made from wood.  As I climbed I began to notice I was surrounded by Mountain Laurel in bloom!  A beautiful consolation prize for missing the height of the Rhododendron bloom.

Just when you begin to get sick of climbing up, you begin to descend via switchbacks like in the photo here.  This allows you to catch your breath before crossing a small stream (don’t worry, there’s a bridge!) before hitting the next section of ascent.

Back up I went, following the neon green trail markers as I hiked.  

This section of the trail is not nearly as steep as the first section and was a relief to my out-of-shape legs.  The trail levels off, for the most part, and you cross another bridge before officially heading down to the elevation you started at and back along the Doe River to end your hike.  

I then headed back to the campsite to hangout a little while before my husband got off work and he was able to join me on this next trail.

Raven Rock Trail / Forest River Trail – 2 mile loop – Elevation Gain 500 feet

Again, I chose this trail because we could walk there from the campsite.  We gathered some water and the dog and headed to the trail head.  

This trailhead isn’t far from the campground check-in center either, and is just down the street from the Roan Mountain State Park Conference Center.  The trailhead is merely feet off the road to be sure to look both ways before hitting this trail!

Helpful hint: If you are not camping here, you can park behind the Conference Center and there is a trailhead there as well!

Anyway, depending on which way you start this loop you have two options.  If you park behind the conference center and start to the right, you will walk the flat part of the trail first before encountering the steep part of this trail.  If you go to your left, you will start by hiking straight up and then end with the flat section of the trail.  

The choice is yours!

Any guesses how we started?  As you probably guessed, we did begin by climbing up.  And it’s a beast of a hill right at the start.  All 500 feet of your elevation gain are on this one hill.  

I will openly admit that we stopped a few times to catch our breath on this steep trail.  

The best stop was along this small overlook section, but then we continued up to the highest part of this trail.  

Unfortunately, there is no view at the top as this part of the trail is covered by trees.  However, the trail was also covered in Mountain Laurel and while it didn’t offer the vistas of some trails, it was still beautiful!

Well, what goes up must come down, and we began our descent immediately after we reach the highest height.  Mild switchbacks lead you down to a split in the trail.  At this point we continued around to the left, down the Forest River Trail and back towards the campground.  If you parked behind the conference center, you would continue straight back to your car!

This part of the Forest River Trail was flat and an easy walk before crossing the road with our tired pupper and heading back to camp.  Showers and an easy dinner greeted us as we went to bed early to get a good night’s rest before tomorrow’s hike on the Appalachian Trail.

These were the only trails that we hiked in Roan Mountain State park, but if you like hiking as much as I do, you definitely don’t want to miss this next trail!

On the Appalachian Trail – Grassy Ridge Bald – 5 miles out and back – Elevation Gain 1300 feet

Just 8 miles from the Roan Mountain State Park campground, we drove to Carver’s Gap.  There is a small parking area here but let me tell you, we got there at 8am and there weren’t many spots left!

After leaving the car we crossed the road and got on the Appalachian Trail!  If you haven’t hiked on this trail before, it runs for 2,190 miles from Georgia all the way to Maine.  And the best part about this trail is how well it is maintained!

As you can see, the trail is well maintained and in this section, very open.  I love hiking on this trail because of the amazing hiker history!  And while I, like most people, will probably never do the whole thing, I love being able to step on a trail that is so well documented and maintained!

Ok, thanks for letting me nerd out for a second, now back to our hike.  

From Carver’s Gap we took the trail north towards the Grassy Ridge.  This hike that we did was an out and back style so everything that you encounter on the way out, you will encounter on the way back as well.  

The Hike

In true fashion of this area, the hike started its ascent nearly immediately.  This first ascent isn’t terribly steep and the first part is in a wooded area, so think of it like warm up and be sure to enjoy the shade while you have it.  Once you leave the wooded area there are no more shady sections of this trail.  Please bring sunscreen or it will be a long hike for you! 

As you enter the openness of the trail, there are several stair sections as you climb up.  After approximately 300 feet of elevation gain, you have reached Round Bald.

This is the first of 3 balds you will summit along this trail.  And while the views are gorgeous here, just wait!  

We continued north on the trail and began to descend for about 200 feet.  This descent turns back into ascending very quickly and you regain that 200 feet and have now reached Jane Bald!  Another place with gorgeous views, but still not our final destination.

At this point you have hiked 1.4 miles and are just over halfway towards your final destination of the Grassy Ridge Bald.  

You begin to descend again.  Yes you read that correctly.  This trail is very up and down, making it a tough hike both ways.  But trust me, it’s so worth it!

This descent is only about 150 feet and then you begin ascending again.  And this part of the trail is the hardest and steepest part.  

For the next mile or so, you will climb 500 feet.  Stairs and the famous white trail blazes lead you up towards the Grassy Ridge Bald.  All the while you are surrounded by miles and miles of mountains, truly as far as the eyes can see.  

We also got to see the beginning of the Rhododendrons blooming, but if you took my advice and came in mid-late June, you might just get to see the Rhododendrons in all their glory! 

Up and up you hike (don’t forget water breaks!) as you finally come to the split in the trail.  Here you will leave the Appalachian Trail and follow the Grassy Ridge Trail to your final destination.

This trail is right through the thick of some Rhododendron bushes and is much more narrow than the Appalachian Trail.  Be prepared to stop and let people come back down past you.  Again, the narrowness of the trail creates a funnel that is only 1 person wide, so be prepared to slow down as you encounter people.

Enjoy the View

Finally, you will reach the open sky and feel like you are on the top of the world.  The beauty of this area is worth sitting down and enjoying!  We sat and ate our lunch here while Luna got some much needed water.  

Remember, hiking isn’t a race unless you’re fighting weather.  So if you chose a good day to hike this trail, sit and enjoy the view for more than 2 minutes!

Back to the Parking Lot

After we felt ready to leave, we headed down and hiked the trail back to the truck.  Every place we had hiked up, we were now hiking down.  And every place that had been down and easy, now required us to hike up. 

The toughest part of the entire day was right then.  Of course this is just my opinion, but there is no shade, it was the middle of the day at this point, and you could feel the temperatures rising steadily.  We almost felt as if we were being cooked.  

Finally, we got back to the wooded section of the trail, and made our final descent to Carver’s Gap and our truck.  We cranked the AC and then headed back to our campsite for a much needed dinner.  

Which brings me to my next section of this post, what’s it like camping in Roan Mountain State Park?

Camping in Roan Mountain State Park

Let me just preface this section by saying I go into much greater detail in my Camping in Roan Mountain State Park post, so if you would like more details, feel free to check out my other post here!

Camping in Roan Mountain State Park was a very nice experience for my husband and I.  We were able to walk to several trailheads without driving anywhere and we were only 8 miles from the Appalachian Trail!  

There are 30 cabins, as well as RV and tent camping at this 106-site campground. Each campsite has a flat spot to set up your tent or camper and a picnic table.   There are several bathhouses throughout the campground with hot showers.  I don’t know about you, but showers are a must for me!

Our Camping Experience

But what about our actual camping experience?  We enjoyed our stay here.  The wifi was great (a huge plus when your husband is able to work from the campground), the showers and bath houses were clean and well maintained, and we had plenty of space for our truck to park and our tent set up.  

The only downside that I would like to highlight is how narrow the roads are through the campground.  Here is a picture for reference.  

While these narrow roads didn’t affect us in our mid-size truck, I would definitely be a little nervous to camp here with a camper or RV.  I would heavily rely on pictures of the campsite (as seen on the booking website) to determine if you can back your rig in here.  And I would err on the side of caution as our campsite was listed as “can fit up to a 26’ camper” I think a lot of people would struggle to to actually fit a 26’ camper in that spot.  

So be careful where you book, but enjoy this wonderful campground.  There are two sections, 1 above the river where we stayed, and 1 alongside the river and a piece of that lower section meant for just tents.  

Overall, we enjoyed our stay and we would go back here again!

Conclusion

Camping and hiking in Roan Mountain State Park proved to be a nice little mountain getaway for us.  With 12 miles of trails (4+ miles of which we hiked) and a large campground, we enjoyed being able to relax for a long weekend in June.  I do wish we had been able to camp there a few weeks later and see the fuschia color of the Rhododendrons bursting along the trails, but there’s always next year.  

We truly enjoyed our stay, just be aware of the narrow roads through the campground!  If you want more information on the campground, head over to my Camping in Roan Mountain State Park post and get some more info!

And as for the location, who would ever complain of being just 8 miles from the Appalachian Trail?  Not us!  All of this to say, you should definitely consider Roan Mountain State Park for your next Tennessee getaway.  

Happy Hiking!

If you are considering staying or hiking in Roan Mountain State Park and still have questions, feel free to reach out to me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com – I would love to hear from you!