The John Muir National Recreation Trail (#152) is a 20.7 mile (33.3 km) trail in eastern Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 along the north side of Hiwassee River

Hiwassee River

The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in northern Georgia and flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee River a few miles west of State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee...

 in the Cherokee National Forest

Cherokee National Forest

The Cherokee National Forest is a large National Forest created on July 19, 1936, by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, operated by the U.S. Forest Service and encompassing some 640,000 acres .-Location:...

. It is named for naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

 John Muir

John Muir

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...

. It was constructed in 1972 through the efforts of the Youth Conservation Corps and the Senior Community Service Employment Program

Employment and Training Administration

The mission of the Employment and Training Administration , as part of the U.S. Department of Labor, is to contribute to the more efficient and effective functioning of the U.S. labor market by providing high quality job training, employment, labor market information, and income maintenance...

 . It is said to follow the path taken during Muir's travels from Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in his book A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. In it he wrote:

My path all to-day led me along the leafy banks of the Hiwassee, a most impressive mountain river. Its channel is very rough, as it crosses the edges of upturned rock strata, some of them standing at right angles, or glancing off obliquely to right and left. Thus a multitude of short, resounding cataracts are produced, and the river is restrained from the headlong speed due to its volume and the inclination of its bed.

All the larger streams of uncultivated countries are mysteriously charming and beautiful, whether flowing in mountains or through swamps and plains. Their channels are interestingly sculptured, far more so than the grandest architectural works of man. The finest of the forests are usually found along their banks, and in the multitude of falls and rapids the wilderness finds a voice. Such a river is the Hiwassee, with its surface broken to a thousand sparkling gems, and its forest walls vine-draped and flowery as Eden. And how fine the songs it sings!

The trail western end is located where Childers Creek empties into the Hiwassee River. The first 3 mile (5 km) section is a relatively easy walk designed for senior citizens . At 6 miles (10 km) there is a suspension foot bridge crossing the river at the Apalachia Power Plant. The trail does not cross the bridge but continues on the north side of the river. At 11.7 miles (18.8 km) the trail connects to the Coker Creek Trail. This trail goes into the Coker Creek Scenic Area that contains the 40-foot (12 m) tall Coker Creek Falls. At 17.7 miles (24.5 km), the trail comes to Tennessee State Route 68. The trail continues past the road for another 3 miles (5 km). The last section of the trail has been lengthened several times since it was opened.

The Benton MacKaye Trail

Benton MacKaye Trail

The Benton MacKaye Trail or BMT is a footpath nearly in length in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States and is blazed by a white diamond, 5" across by 7" tall...

joins the John Muir Trail at Childers Creek and runs with it for 10.5 miles (16.9 km) to the intersection with the Unicoi Mountain Trail.