A Fun, Family-Friendly Hike To A Cool Waterfall And Rock Arch
Big South Fork is one of my favorite hiking destinations in the southeast, especially as it is under-the-radar for so many people. Full of fantastic rock formations ranging from the massive (like the Twin Arches) to the smaller but still awesome (like Needle Arch), the hikes in this park are fun for the whole family because there is always something to look at.
Hiking the Slave Falls and Needle Arch trail is always a kid favorite because it is an easy, 3.2 mile hike to a large rock shelter with an 80 ft waterfall and a thin and narrow arch. The trail doesn’t have too much elevation gain either. The trailhead is pretty easy to get to as well, especially compared to some in Big South Fork.
All of these reasons are why we love to hike this trail with kids in Big South Fork.
Quick Details
Length– 3.2 miles for an out and back to Slave Falls and Needle Arch (3.6 miles if you do the full Slave Falls loop + spur to Needle Arch)
Difficulty– easy
Time– 1.5 hours (2 hours if you do the full loop + Needle Arch spur)
Trailhead- Sawmill Trailhead (on the western side of Big South Fork)
Cost: Nothing, Big South Fork is free to enter and there is no parking fee.
Getting To Sawmill Trailhead
The trailhead for this hike is called Sawmill trailhead and it is located on Fork Ridge Rd which is the first turn off from the Divide Rd entrance to Big South Fork. Over on the western side of the park (still in Tennessee though), Sawmill is near the trailheads for the famous Twin Arches and Charit Creek.
To get there, you can take Hwy 154 out of Jamestown, TN if you are coming from the interstate. If you are camping at Bandy Creek Campground in the center of the Big South Fork, then take Leatherwood Ford Rd through the park and turn right when you intersect with Hwy 154. There will be signs for Big South Fork, Pickett State Park, and Pogue Canyon Natural Area at the intersection.
Go for about 2 miles on Hwy 154 after you turn onto it from Leatherwood Ford Rd, and when you see the signs for Big South Fork and Divide Road, turn right on that well maintained gravel road to enter the park. From there, it is about 1 mile until you see Fork Ridge Rd on your right (you will also see signs for Charit Creek and Sawmill trailhead at this turn).
Turn here and go another mile until you see the sign for Sawmill trailhead. You will pass a sign for Slave Falls before this where the Slave Falls Loop Trail crosses the road but drive on another 0.1 miles to come to the Sawmill parking area.
The Sawmill trailhead is a fairly large open, grassy area with parking for at least 10 cars. Plus,it is well signed. You won’t miss it.
Driving on the gravel roads in Big South Fork is pretty easy and you do not need 4 wheel drive to do it. I have a Prius that does just fine. Keep an eye out for the bigger potholes and that’s about it.
Big South Fork park map, courtesy of the NPS with my own additions. 
The Divide Rd entrance is on the western side of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. 
Divide Road is a well-maintained gravel road and is suitable for almost any car.
Trail Description For Slave Falls and Needle Arch Trail
From the Sawmill trailhead, you hike a very short connector trail that takes you to the Slave Falls Loop. We usually just do an out an back to Slave Falls and the Needle Arch and do not do the full loop. This skips the Indian Rockhouse on the far side of the loop away from Slave Falls, although it is an impressively big rock shelter.
If you really want to see some good rock shelters though, try nearby Middle Creek Nature Trail which has multiple rock shelters, two of which are really huge.
If you want to do the full Slave Falls loop, you can turn left onto the trail from the parking lot connector trail. You will cross over Fork Ridge Rd to head to the Indian Rockhouse first before looping around to Slave Falls and the spur trail to Needle Arch.
(Keep in mind is at least 3.6 miles for the full Slave Falls loop plus the spur trail out to Needle Arch versus 3.2 miles if you just hike out and back to Slave Falls and Needle Arch.)
If you go right at the first intersection (choosing to head straight to Slave Falls first), you will walk about 3/4 of a mile before passing an intersection where the Slave Falls loop trail joins back in coming from Indian Rockhouse. Then a very short distance after that, you will see a sign pointing left for the short spur trail out to the falls.
This short section out to the falls is my favorite section as the trail takes you through a neat narrow place between rocks and by some larger rock faces and shelters.
The trail ends at an overlook of Slave Falls. There is a small information sign about the geologic formations of the falls (nothing about its name- I think because no one is sure why it is called that).
* Pro- Tip- There is a good chance that if you visit Slave Falls in fall you won’t see much of a waterfall at all.
After you are done looking at the falls (and shouting “Echo, echo, echo,…..” Or is that just my kids?), retrace your steps back to the main trail and turn left to continue on to Needle Arch. (There are signs.)
After about 0.2 miles, you will see Needle Arch on your left. It is one of the most accessible arches in Big South Fork as you can walk right up to it and it isn’t terribly tall. Please don’t climb on it though, as it is possible that the arch will collapse.
After the arch, you can walk the 1.6 miles back to Sawmill Trailhead or you can can continue on the Slave Falls- Charit Creek Trail to the other side of Slave Falls and see what it looks like there. Or you can keep hiking all the way to Charit Creek Lodge.
Spending the night at Charit Creek Lodge is a yearly tradition for a group of my college friends and their kids (about 20 people in total). A hike-in, rustic, electricity free lodge with amazing food and cozy cabins, we look forward to this retreat where parents hang out around the campfire and kids run around chasing fireflies. Read my review for all the details.
It usually takes us between 1.5 – 2 hours to hike the 3.2 miles out and back to Slave Falls and Needle Arch.
The first time we hiked this, it took us a bit over 2 hours because we kept walking beyond Needle Arch to loop around to Slave Falls thinking the trail connected. Spoiler alert – it doesn’t. We had to go off trail and bushwhack below the falls (see below for details).
***Warning– On the map at the trailhead, it might look like (if you aren’t looking closely – that was me) that you can do a loop from Needle Arch around to Slave Falls and then continue back to Sawmill trailhead. You cannot. The trail actually ends at either side of Slave Falls and to connect the two ends you must climb down to the stream and back up the either side through some fairly thick brush. You are better off treating Slave Falls and Needle Arch as 2 short spur trails.
If you go right at the first intersection (choosing to head straight to Slave Falls first), you will walk about 3/4 of a mile before passing an intersection where the Slave Falls loop trail joins back in. Then a very short distance after that, you will see a sign pointing left for the short spur trail out to the falls.
Trail Photos From Slave Falls And Needle Arch Trail
Looking For More Information For Your Trip To Big South Fork?
HIKING: Check the list of our 12 favorite hiking trails in the park.
CAMPING: There are 5 campgrounds in Big South Fork– find out which one is right for you.
THINGS TO DO: Start with 11 Things To Do In Big South Fork for ideas of what has been tried and true favorite things with our family. Then check out Exploring Echoes of the Past In Blue Heron to learn about the fascinating mining museum in the park.
LODGING: Charit Creek Lodge is a unique hike-in lodge inside the park with wonderful food and historic cabins. Read my review of Charit Creek to learn all about it. The area around Big South Fork is teeming with rental cabins, read The Best Big South Fork Cabins to find out which ones we like the best.
NEARBY PARKS: The Cumberland Plateau is blessed with some stunning scenery and wonderful parks.
Pickett State Park is adjacent to the west side of Big South Fork and has some great, family- friendly hiking trails, a cool lake for swimming, and historic CCC cabins you can rent.
Frozen Head State Park is a favorite place of mine to camp because of its small and cozy campground and it has the unusual distinction of being next to the famous Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, now turned into a whiskey distillery and tourist site.
Final Thoughts
There are so many fun hiking trails in Big South Fork that I am constantly discovering new ones. But the Slave Falls and Needle Arch trail is a tried and true favorite that the kids love. It is well worth adding to any trip to Big South Fork.
Happy Trails! – Amanda
