Hiking the Fiery Gizzard Trail: My 13-Mile Day Hike from Tracy City to Foster Falls

I finally did it: I finished the Fiery Gizzard Trail just outside Chattanooga. If you’re not familiar, this trail has two major claims to fame:

• It’s stunning. Backpacker Magazine once ranked it among the Top 25 Trails in the U.S.

• It’s hard. Like… deceptively hard.

And for years, the “hard” part kept getting me. I’d attempted it twice as a backpacking trip and bailed both times thanks to bad weather. The Fiery Gizzard is rocky, and wet rocks lead to falls (which I unfortunately know from experience). Not my favorite combo.

During an art show in Nashville last November, I was chatting with a customer about the trail and casually mentioned I had never finished it. The week after the show looked clear, the fall colors were still hanging on, and I was officially done with events for the year.

So I thought:
Why not tackle this notorious trail as a day hike?

Without a pack full of gear, it was easier—even if it still made for a long day. And since I couldn’t find much online about thru-hiking the Fiery Gizzard in a single day, I wanted to share my experience in case you’re thinking of taking it on too.

🥾 What I Packed for My Fiery Gizzard Day Hike

• Garmin InReach

• Snacks + lunch

• My MGO water bottle (with electrolyte mix)

• Sawyer filter (lots of water sources on this trail!)

• Mini first aid kit

• My watercolor kit

• Headlamp

• Warm layers

• Trekking poles (an absolute must here)

🌄 First Impressions: Beautiful, Brutal, and Deceptively Difficult

This trail completely lives up to the hype.
It was stunning—and so hard.

I’ve done trails with more elevation gain (this one clocks in around 1,750 ft), so I went in thinking:
This will be easy.

I was very wrong.

The challenge here is mental as much as physical. There are miles of rocks and boulders, many of them unstable, which means constantly adjusting your footing and balance. Trekking poles weren’t optional, they were essential. Most of the first several miles of the trail looked like this:

Everything online says the trail is 12.5 miles, but hiking end-to-end I clocked a little over 13 miles (my watch died, so roughly 13.25). Several hikers online mention the same thing. You feel those extra miles.

I also lost the trail… several times. A lot of the terrain looks identical, and this is not a trail you can zone out on. I love locking in and letting my mind wander on hikes, but doing that here nearly got me lost three separate times.

I’m not a fast hiker, usually around 2.5 mph but this trail slowed me closer to 2 mph, almost entirely because of the rocky footing.

📊 Fiery Gizzard Day Hike Facts

• 13.25 miles (parking lot to parking lot)

• 7.25 hours total time

• 1760 feet elevation gain

• Tons of water sources for filtering

• So many waterfalls (including one you walk behind!)

• “Approximately” 4 million rocks 😂

• Ruins of a CCC camp

• A leftover moonshine still

• 2 campgrounds on the trail + 2 more near each trailhead

• Spur trails to a waterfall and to Raven’s Point

This is from a summer hike but it gives you an idea of how fun and interesting the trail is. 

The trail is now part of the newly formed Fiery Gizzard State Park, previously within South Cumberland State Park.

I hiked from Tracy City and finished at Foster Falls. A lovely local woman named Debbie shuttled me. I left my car at the end, always best practice for point-to-point hikes.
Shuttle cost: $45 for one person (message me if you need her number!).

🍁 Fall Conditions: Gorgeous, But Daylight Gets Tricky

Fall on this trail was divine, but I underestimated how short the days are right after the time change.

I started at 7 AM, thinking I’d have plenty of time to sketch and soak in the scenery. A couple miles in, I realized:
This was not a leisurely-sketching trail day.

It was 30°F when I started, and since I wasn’t backpacking, I was very motivated to avoid being stuck out there after dark. I saw only four people all day (all near the trailheads), which means I hiked about 10 miles in total isolation. Normally my favorite way to hike—just not with racing daylight.

I skipped the 0.35-mile spur to Raven’s Point, which hurt my soul a little, but making it out before dark mattered more.

Happy to report I finished with about 40 minutes of daylight to spare.

🎨 A Note on Sketching

Since I didn’t get to sketch that day, here’s a painting inspired by the parts of the trail I’ve done in the past.

If you want a “taste” of the Fiery Gizzard without committing to the full 7+ hours, there’s a fantastic loop on the Tracy City side. You’ll get waterfalls, rocks, and big Fiery Gizzard energy in a shorter package.

⭐ Final Thoughts

I personally think this is a fall/winter trail. With all the rocks, I can only imagine the number of sneaky snakes hanging out in spring and summer.

Wildlife sightings were minimal—just squirrels and a few deer—but the scenery absolutely made up for it.

All in all, it was a lovely, challenging, unforgettable hike, and I’ll happily go back to do it as an overnight backpacking trip soon.