Cliffside Trail

Cliffside Trail (log in to submit report)
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Park	Bays Mountain Park
Land Owner	City of Kingsport
Located	Kingsport, TennesseeLocation inherited from associated park
Trail Marking	Signs
Trail UseThings allowed to do on or near the trail
FeaturesThings to see on or near the trail
Difficulty Rating	Medium
Hiking TimeTime from car and back. Includes any time hiking to access this trail.	60 min1 Hours <br />0.0625 Days <br /> round trip
Distance:	1.526 mi2.456 km <br /> trailStrict non-repeating trail length / 3.8 mi6.115 km <br /> round tripTypical or shortest length from the car, hike the trail, and return to car
Trail Type	Segment
Low / High Point	1,844 ft614.667 Yards <br />562.051 Meters <br /> / 2,155 Ft718.333 Yards <br />656.844 Meters <br />
Elev. Gain/LossSee link for details of calculation. Gain/Loss is direction dependent.	460 Ft140.208 Meters <br /> / (474 Ft144.475 Meters <br />) – East-to-West
Trip ReportsFrom user "hiked it" submissions<br />Recent is within last 90 days	1 logged hikes (0 recent)
NearbyWithin 5 mi<br />Click link to view list	31 trails / 38.5 mi of trail
Parking	36° 30' 31.75" N, 82° 36' 34.38" W Map
Trailhead	36° 30' 29.25" N, 82° 36' 39.06" W Map
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srcset=\"/clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_Bays_Mountain_Road_gate.JPG/225px-BMP_Bays_Mountain_Road_gate.JPG 1.5x, /clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_Bays_Mountain_Road_gate.JPG/300px-BMP_Bays_Mountain_Road_gate.JPG 2x\" data-file-width=\"1024\" data-file-height=\"768\" /\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Bays Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.50706000000000273075784207321703433990478515625,"lon":-82.609790000000003828972694464027881622314453125,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerG.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAntennas, elevation 2250'\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/File:BMP_Antennas2.JPG\" class=\"image\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"BMP Antennas2.JPG\" src=\"/clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_Antennas2.JPG/100px-BMP_Antennas2.JPG\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"/clubwiki/images/BMP_Antennas2.JPG 1.5x\" data-file-width=\"140\" data-file-height=\"448\" /\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Bays Mountain 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Trail","link":"","lat":36.5085600000000027876012609340250492095947265625,"lon":-82.6045299999999969031705404631793498992919921875,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerT.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETrail splits for old steps and alternative route\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETrail splits for old steps and alternative route\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Cliffside Trail","link":"","lat":36.50657000000000351747075910679996013641357421875,"lon":-82.608980000000002519300323911011219024658203125,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerG.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EObservation tower\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/File:BMP_Cliffside_Trail_lookout.JPG\" class=\"image\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"BMP Cliffside Trail lookout.JPG\" src=\"/clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_Cliffside_Trail_lookout.JPG/150px-BMP_Cliffside_Trail_lookout.JPG\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"200\" 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Trail Overview

Located in Bays Mountain Park. Up and along the ridgeline to a lookout tower.

How to get there

From the main parking lot, head over to the observatory. The unmarked trail heads uphill from here. Alternatively, head up Bays Mountain Road to observation tower and take the trail back down.

Route Description

Short steep hike along the ridgeline with couple of lookout points and up to the observation tower.

This trail has connections to Bays Mountain Road.

Miles	Cliffside Trail	Miles
0.0	Trailhead at Astronomical Observatory. Also first overlook nearby.	0.5
0.1	Overlook near gate on Bays Mountain Road	0.4
0.2	Trail split. Up stairs is older route. Ahead is newer side trail alternative shown on park map.	0.3
0.4	Trail split on ridge line. Down is newer side trail alternative shown on park map, while follow ridge to older route.	0.1
0.5	Observation Tower/Junction with Bays Mountain Road	0.0

Typical Conditions

The older trail route is very worn and washed out on steep ascent with stone steps built long ago. Pine needle covered path once up on ridge line. Alternate route is newer side hill trail in excellent condition.

Regulations

NO BIKES!

Misc. Information

Selective removal of some trees around the lookout tower would greatly improve viewing year around.

Photos

• 

  View from higher overlook along trail

• 

  View from the lower overlook along trail

• 

  Older steps up Cliffside Trail

• 

  View from observation tower towards firetower

• 

  View from obs tower towards valley

• 

  Trail Profile

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