Hiking Honey Creek Loop Trail at Big South Fork, Tennessee

In this video, I am joined by my friends Caveman Outdoors and Sheba, Shane, and the State Parkers for a spectacular hike on the Honey Creek Loop Trail, located in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Scott County, east Tennessee. We were in the area for the 2016 Spring Bushcraft Meet and Caveman and I did not get to this trail last year so it was high on our list of places to get to this year. While not extremely difficult, it is probably one of the most challenging trails in the BSF. There is only one good gorge overlook, but the trail does not disappoint as there are a lot of waterfalls, massive rock features and caves, and a lot of rock scrambling. The main loop trail is just under 6 miles, but it is a longer hike if you complete some of the side trails to overlooks, caves, etc.
Note, if you hike with a dog you likely will not be able to climb the ladders to the overlook. We lost Caveman and Sheba at the ladder, did we ever see them again? Watch the video to find out what happened...
Thank you so much for watching. Please LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE. Also be sure to check out my friends' channels, links provided below. Thanks!
Caveman Outdoors:
/ budanderson65
State Parkers:
/ spiffjackson
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#SmellnRoses

[@coyote238]

I have enjoyed all the Big South Fork videos the last few weeks. Honey Creek being among my fav..Very prestoreic feeling ..

[@SmellNRoses]

This is a great trail, my friend. If you have not been down to this one, go check it out one day. You will enjoy it! Thanks for watching!

[@Willys-Adventures]

Honey Creek Loop Trail looks like a awesome trail the rock formation are cool to check out thanks for sharing

[@SmellNRoses]

It is a great trail, possible the best one in that area! Thanks for watching!

[@Sleeves]

Excellent! That gorge was awesome. The massive cliff and rock features were spectacular especially with the overlook and view. I could have explored in that area all day long. The cool rocks throughout the gorge were really neat. I think you caught a perfect view from that large room (cave) at the top of the rickety ladder even with the poor light. You made me laugh........one of the benefits of leaving the trail! I for sure need to plan a hike at the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. This trail is definitely on my list. I trust you are well. Thank you for sharing this wonderful hike and the fellow KZbinrs. Take care, friend.

[@SmellNRoses]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, my friend. This was a pretty neat hike. It is supposed to be the most challenging hike in the BSF area...personally I only rated it at about moderate just for some of the rock scrambling and maybe the steep ladders but its not that difficult for those of us used to hiking in mountains LOL! Definitely a lot of waterfalls and awesome rock features. It only had one view of the gorge but it was a fantastic one. This trail has a little bit of everything. You definitely should consider spending some time around the Big South Fork. Between last year and this year I've spent about 9 days in the area, and I still have not hit all the highlights, let alone all the little lesser but equally interesting spots. Thanks so much for watching, my friend. As always I really appreciate it!

[@TimWatsonOutdoors]

Very cool hike, thanks for sharing.

[@SmellNRoses]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you so much for watching!!!

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Wowsers!!! Some gorgeous views.

[@SmellNRoses]

It was an awesome trail. Thanks for watching!

[@CavemanOutdoorsMissouri]

It was an awesome trail and Sheba and I enjoyed our time apart too, what an adventure that was. All 9 miles of it lol.

[@SmellNRoses]

We're all looking forward to your version of the hike as well. I can't wait to see your off trail adventure! Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@NEKCanoeist]

Spectacular features! Thanks for sharing!

[@SmellNRoses]

It's an awesome trail, we really enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@BluegrassBushcraft]

Well it looks like I missed another one. Just so much to do in so little time. Hopefully we will meet again sometime and I can tag along on one of your hikes. Thanks for sharing your great outings. Atb. Robert

[@SmellNRoses]

The Meet Up does seem to fly by, one minute you are arriving and the next its time to say Good-Byes. I'd definitely enjoy sharing the trail with you, my friend, one day we'll have to make it happen. Thanks for watching!

[@rangergreen100]

beautiful area guys

[@SmellNRoses]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, thank you so much for watching!

[@ShinyKnife]

Great video! Enjoyed it! Thumbs up from me 👍🏼

[@SmellNRoses]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the thumbs up! Thanks for watching!

[@JoelManers]

Great video. Very helpful. Thanks!

[@SmellNRoses]

Joel Maners I am glad you enjoyed my video and found it useful. Thank you so much for watching!

[@couch2trailyoutubechannel281]

I just hiked this trail with Evan Schaeffer and Scott Taylor last weekend among others, we had a blast! You caught a few scenes that we missed, most notably those last two waterfalls you showed. I want to go back, I loved the trail.

[@SmellNRoses]

Very cool. Scott had mentioned he was heading out there but I didn't know others would be along too. Its a great trail, no doubt one of the best in the Big South Fork area. Quite a few cool waterfalls around there, at least one of those is not really on the trail. We could hear the water so we found our way through the rhododendron to find it. I think a couple of others were on little side trails so if you didn't leave the main trail you would not have seen them. I'd like to get back to Big South Fork myself some day. I've spent about two weeks out there on two different trips, but still so much to see. Thanks for checking out my Honey Creek video, I appreciate it!

[@larrxterra]

Nice vid's, enjoyed watchingCheers

[@SmellNRoses]

Thank you! I'm glad you have enjoyed my videos. Thanks so much for watching!

[@jamesgreen4522]

Wonderful video.

[@SmellNRoses]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for watching!

[@NorwegianWoods]

Good stuff! I have seen a couple of the videos the other channels uploaded from this hike. Interesting to see how you show the same hike with different eyes :) Thanks for sharing - Martin

[@SmellNRoses]

Thank you! It is interesting to see the same hike from other's perspective, it can look completely different. Everyone has a different video style and shoots from different angles so it can look like a different hike depending on who's video you watch. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it!

[@JasonSchneider99]

I have never spent any time out in your area for the views, but this area to me is just amazing. Hopefully someday I can make it further East past TN.

[@SmellNRoses]

Thanks for watching, my friend! Definitely hit me up if you ever make it to Virginia. The western side of the Appalachians around the Cumberland Plateau is awesome, don't get me wrong, but the east side is where the real mountains are LOL! You got an open invitation to Virginia anytime, I'd be glad to show you around some serious terrain with fantastic views. If you make it back to Big South Fork sometime, definitely plan to do the Honey Creek trail, we all loved it. Thanks for watching!

[@LeeRalph100]

Simply beautiful! I can not watch your videos without using full screen. After watching this last night, I had to bring the Mrs's in to rewatch it with me. Amazing trail and video!

[@SmellNRoses]

I'm really glad you enjoy my videos, my friend. I really appreciate your support, it really means a lot! This was a really neat trail, I cut out so much footage to try to keep the video from being too long, there was so much to see on this one. Thanks so much for watching!

[@WayOffTheTrail]

Very cool rocks. I will definitely check this area out next time I'm back east. I'm sure I will be tempted to reposition some of those blazes, though.

[@SmellNRoses]

It is a great trail, you would enjoy it. I totally agree about the blazes, some of them are definitely in the wrong place! I thought about moving a couple myself...I'm not saying I did though LOL! Thanks for watching!

[@billyjoedenny]

the honey creek loop trail will be on my bucket list... what a awesome hike.. thanks for posting.. ..bill

[@SmellNRoses]

Thanks so much for watching, my friend. You should definitely check out this trail, you'd really enjoy it.

[@potatothorn]

you found Caveman by the cave too funny! great hike, love the big caves and little falls

[@SmellNRoses]

This was an awesome hike, for sure. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks so much for watching!

[@potatothorn]

Smell N Roses saw Caveman's vids of this trip as well, all great stuff

[@SalineScott]

I did a search for this trail because I’m going there next Saturday. Yours was the first video that came up. I’ll be doing the 18 or 19 mile loop where you take JOHN Muir trail to burnt mill loop. I may be biting off more than I can chew. I’ve got their videos in my watch later to check out too.

[@SmellNRoses]

Hey man. Thanks for checking out my video. That's pretty cool mine was one of the first to pop up. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, just getting back online after a 3 day backpacking trip. The Honey Creek Loop is considered by most people to be one of the best trail in the Big South Fork area. Personally I'm not quite sure I would say that, but this trail absolutely does not disappoint. It's short on views, really just has that one overlook, but there are tons of awesome rock formations and cliff walls, and if it has not been too dry recently you'll see half dozen or more waterfalls on the loop too, oh and the cave-like features. This was just a day hike for me and the gang, but I would so the longer route you are looking should be fine if you plan to spend the night on the trail. I hope you'd be hammock camping, very slim pickings for tent sites out though I did see one or two good flat spots near the river. If you happen to pass by the old trestle bridge near Burnt Mill, stop and have a look. Crossing it is rather sketchy but totally worth it. Its a neat bridge and there is nice sandy beachy area right below it. Have a great hike, man. I'll be looking for your video afterwards. Thanks again for checking out my vid.

[@SalineScott]

Smell N Roses I’m sure I’ll be passing the bridge. I’m going to start out at the burnt mill loop and then go up to honey creek and back down to burnt mill to spend the night. Thanks for the info.

[@whatnot987]

Great rock formations and cliffs. I have never seen that type of pattern in the rocks before. Very unique. Great trail man, I really enjoyed it. Take care.

[@SmellNRoses]

Yeah this trail only had the one good view of the gorge, but there was plenty of awesome stuff to see along the trail...multiple waterfalls and no shortage of rock formations. Those grooves in the rocks were pretty awesome. Its a common sight in that Big South Fork area, but I don't recall seeing anything exactly like that anywhere else. I'm not sure if the rocks were formed that way somehow, or more like work by water. Although I didn't find the trail especially difficult, I'd rate it a good solid 'moderate' but it probably is one of the most challenging trails in the BSF. Definitely a unique spot. Thanks so much for watching, my friend!

[@JamesRobertSmith]

Sweet! I missed hiking that one the last time we were there. On my list for next time, for sure!

[@SmellNRoses]

Yeah we also missed it on our visit to the area last year, but several people recommended it so it was at the top of our list for this year's visit. Definitely check it out next time you are out there, you won't be disappointed! Thanks so much for watching, as always I really appreciate your views and comments!

[@PaleoHikerMD]

Amazing trail my friend, thanks for bringing us along!

[@SmellNRoses]

It is a fantastic trail, thanks so much for watching, man!

[@MaxJohnsonhikes]

Awesome hike, those were some pretty cool cliffs! :)

[@SmellNRoses]

Sadly the video didn't do it justice, but you could get a little taste of how massive some of the cliffs were. It's an awesome area. Thanks so much for watching and commenting, my friend, I appreciate it!

[@KentuckyWoodsman]

Man I missed out on some awesome hiking. Beautiful area and awesome video!

[@SmellNRoses]

Honey Creek is a great trail, I highly recommend it if you ever get back up into that area sometime. Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@bigzach322]

Those were impressive cliffs, something I don't get to see often. You could've told a group member to stand beside the cliff for scale, since you mentioned it's hard to depict how big it was. When I'm by myself I typically lean trekking poles against the object for scale in pictures, people are better.

[@SmellNRoses]

Yeah there were several cliff walls that were definitely measured in hundreds of feet. I actually did have some footage shot from distance showing some of us standing around that gave some scale to it but for various reasons most of those scenes ended up getting cut. I guess my point was less to actually demonstrate the scale than it was to say that regardless of what shooting tips you might use the camera would simply never do it justice. If you ever make it out to this part of Tennessee check out the Big South Fork. The area has very few really nice overlooks with the long distance views we are used to in the mountains of NC or VA, but there are so many very cool features out there on the Cumberland Plateau that we simply don't have in our mountains, mainly all the arches and really massive bluffs. Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@bigzach322]

Well you should contact your editor about those cuts. Big South Fork is really far from me, it'd have to be a backpacking trip or part of a road trip stop. It's a shame, there's lots of cool stuff in the Cumberland Plateau.

[@SmellNRoses]

Zachary Robbins Dude it ain't no closer for me LOL! Takes me a good 7 hours to get there...the last two years in a row, in May, I've gone out there for 4 or 5 days to meet up with other KZbinrs. It's a lot of fun and a great spot.

[@bigzach322]

I'm a poor grad student though

[@SmellNRoses]

Zachary Robbins LOL! What are you studying?

[@myadventureoutdoors]

Nice hike with friends. If I had been there I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been breathing as hard as you due to my superior physical conditioning :)

[@SmellNRoses]

Indeed you would have shown us how it is supposed to be done LOL! Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@neon333]

You folks had too much fun! All these videos from you #SmellnRoses and #StateParkers and everyone else has me eager to get to Tennessee sometime. Where do you find these trails my friend? Give me a clue to your source of maps. An amazing hike and great folks to have with you on the trail. That Sheba is a great trail dog. Kuddos to #CavemanOutdoors Best Joe

[@SmellNRoses]

We did have a lot of fun, my friend...you noticed? LOL! We didn't do the miles that we did last year, but we did see some awesome stuff. Some of the best is still to come LOL! I'm still editting footage. I have several techniques I use to find trails or discover places I want to check out. Some others have asked me the same thing, so I am actually thinking about doing a video on how I decide where to go and how I plan a hike. Do you think that is something you'd be interested in watching? I still have about 8 or 9 potential videos that need to be edited some from Tennessee and some I made since getting back to Virginia, but as soon as I am through that I may work on the planning video. Eastern TN has a lot of great stuff to see and do if you ever make it down there, you would enjoy it. Thanks for watching, my friend!

[@shcmoly]

There are places close by me I want to backpack but just can't, trails everywhere - no water.

[@SmellNRoses]

No doubt you have tons of spectacular trails in your area, but access to water is key to a good backpacking trip!

[@KYJimBowie]

Great video! It looks like you went up the ladders but not down? Did you hike clockwise or counterclockwise? I've seen recommendations to go counterclockwise. So does one way go up the ladders and the other down?

[@SmellNRoses]

Glad you enjoyed the video. You can actually complete the loop without climbing any ladders. The big ladder to the overlook is a side spur, we went up the ladder to the overlook then backtracked back down the exact same way to get back to the loop trail (I just didn't film going back down). The only other ladder we saw was the one that takes you up into the cave, again you climb up if you want to check out the rock house, and then back down to continue on the trail. We hiked this in a counterclockwise direction. It seems to be recommended to do this in that direction. I'm from the mountains of western Virginia, so rugged mountain terrain is completely normal for me so for me personally I didn't see where the direction you take would make much difference. People who are not used to hiking or not used to mountains seem to believe the hike is "easier" in a counterclockwise direction. Regardless of which way you go, there is a lot of up and down. Although I didn't find it particularly difficult, this is considered one of the most challenging trails in the Big South Fork area. I hope that info helps. Thanks so much for watching and commenting on my video, I appreciate it!

[@clinthoofer159]

I'll be doing this loop in a couple of weeks and I hear its easy to get off trail on this one. Any tips/advice to not lose track of trail? Did you guys pick up a trail map before hand?

[@SmellNRoses]

This is a great loop, no doubt it is one of the best trails in the area. Personally I did not find the trail too difficult to follow. I recall a couple of spots where I had to stop and look for a second just to make sure I was on the right track but for the most part you shouldn't go off trail unless you are just not paying attention. I did have the Trails Illustrated Big South Fork map, but the scale of that map is not good and it does not show much detail. The general consensus seems to be that the best way to hike the trail is in a counter clockwise direction...people say that because going clockwise would have you going uphill for the steepest part of the trail. Depending on what you are used to its all relative. I'm from the mountains of Virginia so there are no strenuous trails anywhere at Big South Fork in my opinion, but for someone used to flatter terrain or that doesn't hike a lot of miles regularly, then I can see where going counterclockwise would be easier. We did the loop in that direction. No views except the main overlook, but several nice waterfalls and tons of cool rock formations. It's a great hike, have fun! Check out my "Tennessee Adventures" playlist for some other Big South Fork videos, you might see something else you want to check out while you're there.

[@clinthoofer159]

Awesome. Thanks for the info!

[@SmellNRoses]

Clint Hoofer any time!

[@BrianHorton1]

I want to know more about Shane's hiking staff/blow dart gun.

[@JoelManers]

I'm looking at doing this trail as an overnight. What are the best places to camp along the way?

[@SmellNRoses]

Joel Maners I recall seeing a nice campsite down by the river just below the trail. If you hike in a counter clockwise direction, as I did, after the overlook the trail starts downhill towards the river. If you use a tent that was one of very few flat spots, with a hammock you would have more options. I did not see many established sites. Its an awesome hike though. Have fun!