Doe River Gorge

Trail Name Doe River Gorge Nearest City Hampton State Tennessee Trail Marking None Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Easy Hiking Time 33 Hours <br />0.188 Days <br />180 Min <br /> Distance, round-trip 55 mi <br />8.047 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation 230230 Feet <br />70.104 Meters <br /> / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point 22552,255 Feet <br />751.667 Yards <br />687.324 Meters <br /> Nearest Medical Elizabethton, TN Trip Reports Click Here Loading map... {"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"270px","height":"180px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":8,"layers":[],"controls":["zoom"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":36.267099999999999226929503493010997772216796875,"lon":-82.1735000000000042064129956997931003570556640625,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

Easy 5 mile round trip hike following an old railroad through two tunnels. Views of towering cliffs, stream, and forest.

How to get there

From Kingsport, TN:

1. Head south on I-26 to Exit 24 (Elizabethton).
2. Proceed on US321 for eight miles into town.
3. Turn right at traffic light to stay on US321 heading south.
4. After six miles, enter driveway for Doe River Ministries. (Note: very small direction sign in highway median.)
5. Park by the red caboose.

Trailhead is behind and between the sleeping cabooses and swimming area.

Route Description

The route is very simple - follow the railroad bed up to the former truss bridge and back.

Distance	Doe River Gorge Trail
0.0 mi	Trailhead by rail switch.
0.1	First tunnel.
0.9	Dirt spur trail heads left and downhill to lower zipline platform by river. Do not take per visitors' agreement.
1.0	Second tunnel.
2.0	Orange sign for end of trail travel.
2.5	End of hiking trail at former truss bridge - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS!

Typical Conditions

Wide and settled gravel railroad bed with small changes in grade, thus easy path. The one side is a steep drop down to Doe River, thus small children will need to be watched.

Fees, Permits, etc.

Permission to hike the trail must be obtained prior to the trip from Doe River Gorge Ministries Tel: (423) 725-4010
Each person (or family) will need to fill out and sign a visitor release form, which is then dropped off in the train mail box at the front of the offices.

After the Hike

Elizabethton has several places to enjoy for dinner.

Misc. Information

Per their visitation policy:
NO SMOKING
NO PETS
NO MINORS ALONE
HIKING ON RAILROAD BED ONLY
NO THROWING ROCKS AT ANY TIME - which may be a challenge given the river runs right along the gravel railroad bed

Maps

Loading map...

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Photos

• 

  Trail follows Doe River

• 

  Walking thru one of two tunnels

• 

  Trail ends here

• 

  Looking into gorge

• 

  Walking along the rails

• 

  Cliffs along the gorge

• 

  Side view of the truss

Wildflower Gallery - Peak time to visit might be early to middle May.

• 

  Fire Pink more info

• 

  purple or red trillium more info

• 

  wild geranium

• 

  common violets

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  Bloodroot

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  bleeding hearts - fern leaf variety