Cloudland Canyon: What to do in Cloudland Canyon

What to do in Cloudland Canyon

Our Cloudland Canyon journey came about by accident. A very fortunate accident. Following our jump into the whole RV Camping Lifestyle, we recognized for Thanksgiving we were going to have some time to “fill”. Hmmm….what could we do? What could we do in a place like Cloudland Canyon?

Starting “late” in the traditional camping season many campsites were booked for early November and over the Thanksgiving break. Plus we didn’t want to go north. Who wants to go somewhere to be surrounded by cold, right?

Naturally, we looked for a southern destination. Georgia “seemed” like a warm place and the pictures looked nice. And most importantly, the campground had availability!

Getting to Cloudland Canyon

Off we set early on Black Friday morning bound for Northwest Georgia. Getting a good jump on the day felt like a smart move and it gave us plenty of time to enjoy our first day at the park.

Our journey to Cloudland Canyon would mark our longest trip so far. Plus we had to navigate the congested highway of Nashville (I-65 to I-24). Easy enough in a car. How would we handle the lanes and traffic? We were lucky, this was a non-event!

As we traveled deeper into east Tennessee, the foothills of the Appalachians began to appear in the distance. As we began traversing the gentle rolling hills it became clear our Silverado 2500 (gasser) was going to have a struggle or two. At first, the gentle rollers were okay. Then, we arrived at the “peak of the day”…Monteagle, TN.

The Climb

Interstate 24 climbs nearly 800 feet to Monteagle at a 5% grade. Not a huge “out-west” style mountain, but our first test. Couple that with it was a warmer day. And we were set up for an opportunity to listen to the engine roar to life as it screamed up the hill. Plus, the temperature gauge started to climb. Both the engine and the transmission gauges were going up like the hill! OMG! Is this okay? Is it normal?

The Silverado was working hard, so it seems to reason the temps would increase. After reaching about 75% of the way up the hill, the towing package kicked in and the temps began to moderate and stop rising. Yeah!

As we crested the summit, there was a truck check point. Do we stop? Or keep going? Quick, Google it! Luckily, Sara figured out we did not have to stop! Only commercial vehicles were required to stop. Good thing because we blew by the stop point!

We downshift to 3rd gear, it was a 4 speed, and began the journey down the hill. Our temps began to go back to the normal level. We continued on without a problem to our final exit.

Road to the Clouds

Our exit was a in a valley and our path took us up a steep road to the top of the canyon. This climb would soon etch into my memory forever! I’m not sure the grade. But it felt much steeper than the 5% we conquered earlier!

This climb reduced our climb to a crawl of 10 mph. Seriously! 10 mph! With a steady line of cars behind us all we could do was patiently grind our way up into the clouds.

Once at the top all I could think about was going down that roller coaster. I figured our breaks would go out and we would be on a runaway train to hell!

But our train to hell has to wait until Sunday! It’s time to enjoy Cloudland Canyon State Park!

What to do in Cloudland Canyon State Park?

We found Cloudland Canyon to be a state park filled with opportunities to explore. Cloudland Canyon offers camping (walk-in, yurts/cabins, and RV camping), hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, disc golf, fishing, picnicking and more!

Camping

This wonderful park offers two RV campgrounds. On the east side a more modern and newer campground (so I’ve read). Our journey was at the West Rim Campground which offered large sites surrounded by woods and plenty of privacy. Our site abutted a connector trail to the West Rim Trail. In a few short steps we were on a main trail and had plenty of hiking options!

A total of 72 camping sites are available in the park. All campsites on the West Rim Campground offered water and electric. A dump station was conveniently located near the park’s exit. There were two bathhouses. The bathhouse closest to our campsite was clean and had plenty of hotwater. This was the campground I realized for the first time how awesome endless hot water is after a day of hiking. A campground shower beats the heck out of a “wet wipe”.

Cloudland Canyon also offers walk in camping. I noticed the clearing for a walk-in camping section which by all accounts looked very nice. For visitors without an RV or a desire to sleep in a tent, there are yurts and cabins. The West Rim Campground had several yurts, which were located in the woods offering tremendous privacy while staying close to parking and bathhouses!

Hiking and Vista Overlooks

While visiting our primary activities included hiking, enjoying the breathtaking vistas and waterfall views, cycling around the campground (the kids), and relaxing at our campsite.

West Rim Loop Trail

Nearly 5 miles of breathtaking views of the canyon, surrounding mountains, and beautiful forest. West Rim offers opportunities for all hikers to experience the park’s beauty. If you enjoy simply hiking in the woods, this trail is perfect. And if vistas and views are more your thing, then you are in luck! Hikers are treated to miles of overlooks as the trail follows the edge of the canyon for a couple of miles. Our kids enjoyed the views! The backside of the trail was through the forest. Which was nice, but largely an uneventful hike back to the campsite.

West Rim also serves as the main connector to the East Rim. As you can expect, the trail goes down into the gorge and then right back up! The gorge is deep at 800+ feet deep. You’re going to feel this in your legs! Along the way you will be treated to some rock house carve outs in the woods or small caves. On this trip I remember Jack making plenty of noise to “scare” away bears! At every cave he would yell “Caw Caw Caw!” It worked because we did not see any bears.

Overlook Trail

On the east side of the canyon we explored the Overlook Trail. This is a short paved trail providing hikers with stunning views of the west rim, a peak at Hemlock Falls, and easy access to the parking lot.

We enjoyed exploring the lookouts and taking in the beauty of this amazing park.

One draw back to the west rim is trail access requires a hike down into the gorge and back up the otherside. Or hopping in the car and driving to another section of the park. This limited our hiking to what we could access on foot. If we go back, we look forward to exploring more areas!

The Journey Home

Remember the Road to the Clouds? Me too! Wisely, I selected a low gear and slowly made my way down the hill. Having avoided a runaway train to hell, I felt good about the journey.

West bound Interstate 24 to Monteagle did not seem as steep AND the temperatures were cool, so our truck temps stayed in operating ranges. I like to think I was a better driver by this point as well. I did not push the truck as hard. Rather I let the truck do the work at a pace that it was comfortable with.

Just east of Nashville we stopped for gas. While exiting the station, I heard a high pitched sound from the engine, but it went away as quick as I heard it. So, we continued west and north towards home!

We were making great progress. About 70 miles south of Louisville, we stopped for the final time for gas. As I walked out of the store, I noticed something hanging down from the engine compartment. Oh NO! A belt had snapped.

Tow Trucks and Google

I started the truck. A welcome sign, but what the heck was wrong. So, rather than continue. I parked the truck in the truck stop parking lot and called a tow truck. Hours went by and no tow truck.

We called an independent guy to come tow us home. Then our tow company insurance would reimburse us. Tow man shows up and is ready to tow us. Now the price is $700 for the tow! WTH! I’ll wait for Good Sam. He still fleeced us for showing up.

Sara and the kids hitched a ride home from my dad. As day gave way to night, and no Good Sam tow truck in sight, I googled possible issues. I concluded the belt ran the air conditioner. Since it was 50 degrees out, I did not need the air conditioner and the rest of the truck would run fine. I set off for home!

Fortunately, I arrived home about a ninety minutes later. Exhausted from sitting at the truck stop most of the day, I was grateful to be home!

Highly Recommended Park

Cloudland Canyon offered tremendous exploration opportunities in nature. This beautiful landscape and park provided us with a welcome retreat to relax and enjoy nature’s beauty without fighting huge crowds of similar destinations in the area.