House Mountain State Natural Area

House Mountain State Natural Area
Park Type	State Natural Area
Located	Knoxville, Tennessee
External Links	Official Website Official Trail Map
Entrance Fee	None
ActivitiesThings to do at the park
Park AmenitiesThings built to enjoy or use at the park
FeaturesNatural things to see at the park
Park Trails	5 Trails / Total of 4.00 miles6.437 km <br />
Lodging Types	None
Park Area	500 acres2.023 km² <br />
Operated By	Knox County Department of Parks and Recreation
Main Location	36° 6' 17.10" N, 83° 45' 45.90" W Map
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Trail Overview

House Mountain is a two mile long sandstone spine north of Knoxville. Trail heads up to the 2,100' highpoint of Knox County for overlooks to the Cumberland Mountains and Smokies.

How to get there

From Kingsport, TN

1. South on I-26.
2. West on I-40 to Exit 392 for US 11W (Rutledge Pike).
3. North along Rutledge Pike for about 10 miles.
4. Just after the brown House Mountain information sign, turn left onto Idumea Road for 0.6 mile.
5. Take another left onto Hogskin Road.
6. Parking is on the right with covered picnic area and pit toilets. Overflow parking is back 0.3 mile on Hogskin Road.

Alternatively, take US 11W past Rogersville, Bean Station, and Rutledge to turn onto Idumea Road.

Park Trails

The park offers the following trails to explore:

Park Trails	Distance	Difficulty	Marking	Usage	Highlight
Crest TrailThis trail is a "stub" either because of its short length, lack of significance, or the page hasn't been created yet. The page can be created, but then delete the stub reference from this park.	1.50 mi	Easy	Red
Left Sawmill LoopThis trail is a "stub" either because of its short length, lack of significance, or the page hasn't been created yet. The page can be created, but then delete the stub reference from this park.	0.30 mi	Easy	White
Mountain TrailThis trail is a "stub" either because of its short length, lack of significance, or the page hasn't been created yet. The page can be created, but then delete the stub reference from this park.	1.00 mi	Medium	Blue
Right Sawmill LoopThis trail is a "stub" either because of its short length, lack of significance, or the page hasn't been created yet. The page can be created, but then delete the stub reference from this park.	0.40 mi	Easy	White
West Overlook TrailThis trail is a "stub" either because of its short length, lack of significance, or the page hasn't been created yet. The page can be created, but then delete the stub reference from this park.	0.80 mi	Medium	White

Typical loop hike would be to take Mountain Trail up to Crest Trail out to the NE overlook to see the Cumberland Mountains, back along Crest Trail to the SW overlook for the Smokies and parts of Knoxville, and finally down West Overlook (former Turkey) Trail to the parking lot. The reverse direction can also be taken. Some of the trails are very close to the nature preserve boundary, thus a private ATV path might be seen lower on the mountain.

Typical Conditions

The access trails (West Overlook and Mountain) are steep, rocky/rooted, and badly eroded in places. The lower third of the Mountain trail renovated almost a decade ago, thus decent path passing some large boulders. However, further up the climb is very strenuous. The Crest trail follows mostly a jeep road, but also has spur routes onto private property. The overlooks have no railing, thus steep dropoffs. Can be crowded on peak fall weekends.

Fees, Permits, etc.

No permit or fee. The nature area closes at dusk.

Misc. Information

A nice gallery of photographs from a hike has been posted by Kris Light.
The official TN.gov House Mountain webpage including map.

Gallery

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