With most of my travel plans now officially cancelled for 2020, I’ve decided to focus on sightseeing that is closer to home and work on a goal that is still attainable — doing more hiking. I’m extremely fortunate in this regard to live in close proximity to some amazing locations for hiking, including the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area which stretches from McCreary County, Kentucky through several counties in Tennessee.

I’ve visited the Big South Fork on many occasions, including several rides on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway, which I highly recommend, but I’m a little embarrassed to admit how little of the park I’ve actually seen. In just a few short hikes, I’ve realized that I spent way too many years overlooking some awesome nearby landmarks that are just as fabulous as what I’ve traveled to see in National Parks across the country.

A prime example of this is the Twin Arches located near Pickett State Park and Oneida, Tennessee. From TN Hwy 154, you turn onto the gravel Divide Road and follow the signs for around 5 miles to the Twin Arches parking area, which has a restroom, near the trailhead.

• 

• 

Mom and I set out together on this hiking adventure, and neither of us is ready for the longer and more difficult trails of the Big South Fork. We are casual hikers at best, so we’re focusing on shorter trails that are within our current comfort zone. A lot of the info online about the Twin Arches focuses on a 4.1 mile loop trail that goes down to Charit Creek Lodge. It sounds great, but we didn’t feel up to that distance (it’s more like 6 miles if you include getting from the parking lot to the arches and back).

Instead, our goal was just the “upper loop” of around 1.3 miles to see the arches themselves. The trail is not difficult, but there are several steep staircases along the way. The park brochure classifies it is as easy/moderate.

• 

• 

We followed the advice from the Big South Fork brochure on Tennessee Hiking on the West Side (.pdf file), which suggested the easiest path was to cross the top of the North Arch and go down the staircase between the two arches. I think it was good advice because we definitely had more stairs on the way down.

• 

• 

The two sandstone arches are best appreciated from below, and they are huge! The South Arch is larger, with a clearance of 70 feet. The North Arch has a clearance of 51 feet. This photo of Mom standing under one side of the North Arch gives you some perspective of its massive size.

There’s a sign under the North Arch that will point you to the trail back to the parking lot, but be sure you see both arches first! We had gotten an early start and were lucky to have both arches essentially to ourselves to enjoy the natural beauty as well as take photos. We saw a few other hikers near the arches, but it wasn’t hard to social distance. The parking lot was getting more full when we returned to it around lunchtime, and 10-12 people were heading out the trail. This was on a Saturday, so it’s probably close to deserted on most weekdays.

• 

• 

• 

• 

These incredible arches are literally a one hour drive from Monticello, KY! We took plenty of time to wander around the arches and take photos, so altogether we walked around 2 miles and spent a little over 1.5 hours on the whole hike. If you’re in this area and looking for an awesome outdoor experience, I would highly recommend checking out the Twin Arches!

Bonus recommendation: Historic Forbus General Store (est. 1892) in Pall Mall, Tennessee for fudge or a milk shake to reward yourself for the hiking. It’s about a 30 minute drive from Twin Arches once you’re off the gravel road.