Rhododendron Trail

High atop Lookout Mountain you will find the longest mountain river in the country, Little River. The river is just one of the highlights of this short trek through DeSoto State Park. (If you obtain a brochure from the park office, you will see that the trail is actually longer than described here. This 1.3-mile trek gives a nice, short trip for everyone and hits the high points of the trail.)

This is a fairly easy hike that begins at the DeSoto State Park country store. Just over a tenth of a mile into the trip you will come to a wooden walkway that will take you across Indian Falls, a beautiful little cascade that tumbles down into Little River far below. A short side trail here will take you to a better view of the falls.

The trail winds downhill until it reaches the banks of the West Fork of Little River, its beautiful blue-green waters churning as it tumbles over huge boulders in its path. Along this section of trail there are numerous eddies and pools and, in the summer, the large rocks are great for just lying out and getting a tan while watching the water show. Those rocks, however, make this portion of the trail a bit more challenging as you have to do some scrambling over them.

At about two tenths of a mile there is a wonderful view of the river and, on the uphill side, a good view of Lodge Falls, which gets its name from the lodge that was built nearby.

Late spring is the best time to visit DeSoto State Park and hike this trail. That is when the rhododendron are in full bloom, peaking around the third week of May.