No Mountain Lions But Plenty Of Lizards On The Trails Of Panther Creek State Park

I have been going to Panther Creek State Park since I was a kid (hell the park is the same age as me). Believe it or not but the first soccer games in Morristown took place here. Since it is one of the closest places to St. Clair, hiking here should be a no brainier, but Monday was only the second time I have hiked here since returning to Tennessee in 2015.

Deer from the late 80's...

...the view from Stancil Overlook then...

...& now.

The hike was two prong, the first was hiking from Stancil Ford Overlook (or just the overlook) down past the big heart to the trailhead for the Ridgecrest Trail. This trail is downhill as it heads towards Cherokee Lake. There is a spot, where the trail heads through some boulders and might be confusing, but if you look close it is navigatable. That is a problem you find at Panther Creek State Park the trails are not marked well and the map from the visitor center is not very good. Anyway, after passing trail junction with the Hunter Knob Trail, as I said above, the Ridgecrest Trail eventually reaches the shore of the lake which offers a great view. Since I hiked down to the lake the trip back was uphill, but not too bad.

Stopped by to get my map & headed to...

...the Stancil Overlook has some great information boards...

...but a better vista.

Bean Gap.

Now down the road...

...to the Ridgecrest Trail.

This spot can be confusing.

The trail down...

...to the lake, oh that sign...

...says this.

Vista from the lakeshore...

...including boats...

...docks & homes...

...& guy in a kayak (where is his life jacket).

Heading back up...

...Ridgecrest Trail.

It is a Chipmunk!

Back at the big heart.

When I got back to the car (and enjoying the overlook one last time) I decided to drive the short distance to the next trailhead inside of road walking. The first part of this hike on the Point Lookout Loop Trail I had done back in August of 2015. This is a nice trail that leads up to Point Lookout. This might be a better winter view but with full foliage, not so much.

The trailhead for the Point Lookout Loop...

...I went left.

One of those Native American Trees.

Point Overlook...

...& it's summer (winter) view.

When I started down I encountered something I was quite similar within Greenbrier last week...deadfall. While not as bad as the blowdown I encountered in the Smokies I did have to get on my knees to get through a spot. Another thing I noticed about this time was lizards, lots of them. While I never got a picture, they were scuttling through the brush.

Head down Point Overlook...

...good trail until...

...I found deadfall (notice it landed on the blaze tree).

Next, I came to a junction and a piece of trail I hadn't done the Lake Trail. This took me out to another spot with a great, up close, view of Cherokee Lake. After drinking in the view and a little lunch it was time to head back...uphill.

Heading to the Cherokee Lake Shore...

...almost there...

...it was downhill...

...to this lake vista...

...I found some guys fishing...

...some left this behind (it wasn't the fishermen).

Headed back...

...uphill.

The rest of the hike I had done before as the Point Lookout Loop comes to a trail junction where I took the Lost Road Trail to the Sinkhole Trail. First, it took me past Spoone Recreation Area to loop around to the Seven Sinkholes, before splitting off and back to the Point Lookout Loop. From here it is uphill to the trailhead. It was during this final stretch that it got hot, I mean summer hot. So, that means I probably drank more water, but I made it to the car.

Back at the Point Lookout Loop...

...made it to the junction...

...where I took this trail...

...& this one... 

...past Spoone Recreation Area...

...to the Sinkhole Trail & here is why the call it that...

...Sinkhole #1...

...a hole with fall leaves hiding...

...Sinkhole #2...

...Sinkhole #3...

...Sinkhole #4...

...Sinkhole #5...

...Sinkhole #6...

...Sinkhole #7.

Back on the loop trail...

...& the homestretch...

...to the junction at the start.

Overall, it was an excellent day and I will say I have plenty of other trails to explore at my park...Panther Creek State Park. Oh, and if you can support my work on Patreon...somebody!