Hike and Swim at the Middle Creek Slide

Chattanooga, Tennessee

3.0/5

based on 3 reviews

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Details

Distance

4 miles

Elevation Gain

200 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Mason Clark

Middle Creek is a deep pool with 15 ft. cliff jump, a cave, and a rock slide.

You park just west of the map waypoint on the wide shoulder (remember to lock your car, thefts have been reported in this area). The trailhead is really just an opening on the side of the road. Follow this to the creek and start making your way along the rocks upstream. The difficulty of the climb varies with the time of year, early summer will have lots of water making some spots more difficult, while late summer tends to be easier.

After about 3 miles you will come upon the distinguishable "slide". Make your way up the left side of the pool to reach the cliff and slide. Once again, depending on the time of year, the water can vary. The pool is almost always deep enough to jump into, but large amounts of water can make the slide a bit dangerous. Make sure to check out the cave off to the right side of the pool as well!

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Features

Chillin

Swimming

Hiking

Easy Parking

Groups

River

Scenic

Waterfall

Cliff Jumping

Swimming Hole

Reviews

Zane Grothe

Hike and Swim at the Middle Creek Slide

06/20/22

Took two of us about 2 hours to reach this spot at a casual pace starting from the road. There is only a trail for about a 1/8 mile then you have to hike either along side the creek bed or through it. There is no easy option. Definitely not impossible to hike it, but it’s not a walk in the park. You will be scrambling over boulders in the creek bed. The slide is located about halfway from the road up to Rainbow Lake and below Rainbow Falls. There was very low water flow on the day we went. We were ultimately disappointed after a tough hike to find no water flowing over the slide. It was entirely dry. I would not recommend this hike to enjoy the slide unless the creek appears more like a river than a small stream.

3.0

A T

Hike and Swim at the Middle Creek Slide

03/28/20

Fun to explore

5.0

Sarah Scott

Hike and Swim at the Middle Creek Slide

07/09/19

First off either the address is wrong or this place just sucks. We hiked a total of probably 5 miles and didn’t once see the slide or a swimming hole. We saw a beautiful waterfall although. We hiked up the rocks for what felt like forever. It was miserable because we were hoping to come across this swimming hole area. Not only did it suck because we never got there but I ended up falling off a rock and hurting my arm really bad. So this was definitely not worth it. There is no swimming spot. Just little puddles of water and a waterfall.

1.0

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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Hike and Swim at the Middle Creek Slide

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Leave No Trace

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