Big Soddy Creek Gulf - Coolness along the creek bank

Oh my goodness, this was a gorgeous place to be! Secret the wonder pup and I parked in the fairly crowded parking area at the front of the trailhead and starting walking. This starts off with a nicely wooded gravel path that rose above the bubbling Big Soddy Creek. Most of the the walk had high cliffs on the right that often had small cascading falls dripping off the side of the mountain. It gave a sense of coolness when passing one of these waterfalls that was an unexpected delight on that very hot, sticky July day.

Big Soddy Creek Gulf is a 285-acre tract that runs along the side of Walden Ridge. On the day we were there, many people were enjoying the area both in and out of the water. When I first pulled up I was fairly disappointed with how crowded it appeared but it immediately became obvious that the length of the trail against the waterway made it easy for everyone to spread out. In fact, it felt like I was hunting for Easter eggs when I would peak over the edge of the road down to the creek and see various people enjoying the water and me having no idea they were even there!

According to my research, this area was bought by the City of Soddy Daisy in 2014. It is well marked and offers benches for resting, picnic tables, and garbage cans along the way thanks to various churches and civic organizations. At one easily accessible area along the trail we came across several families enjoying a swimming hole. I immediately wish I had worn my Chaco sandals instead of my hiking shoes that day.

Secret and I walked about 1 1/2 miles into the trail and found a ford in the creek that I thought she might enjoy. She's not a swimmer but she doesn't mind walking in a creek bank. I found a nice large rock to sit upon and Secret started drinking the creek. It didn't take her long to plant herself in the rushing water and enjoy a good cooling off- I'll admit, I was jealous. 




After a brief rest, we turned around and hiked back to the car. It was a fairly quick day hike but so nice. This is definitely a place I would like to visit again.