Benton-McKaye
Benton-McKaye Trail is a 48.1-mile trail in Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee. The forest has not published allowed uses for it. It enters Big Frog Wilderness, Little Frog Mountain Wilderness and Cohutta Wilderness.
Trail conditions, closures and hazards are not tracked here. The Cherokee National Forest official page carries current alerts and closure orders.
Map
One end Other endLine simplified to about 100 metres. Basemap from the USGS National Map.
| One end | 34.9881° N, 84.5188° W · Directions ↗ |
| Other end | 35.2261° N, 84.2868° W · Directions ↗ |
The ends are the two ends of the longest connected chain of segments. The record does not say which is the usual start.
The trail
| Length | 48.1 miles |
| Type | land trail |
| Accessibility | Not evaluated |
| Trail numbers | 2 |
| Forest | Cherokee National Forest (unit 0804) |
| States | Tennessee |
| Detail published | centerline only |
Values are the set across all segments. Class 1 is minimally developed and class 5 is fully developed. Grade and width are the forest's typical values, not measured extremes.
Weather by month
Wilderness
- Big Frog WildernessFS · about 12% of the line is insideWilderness Connect ↗
- Little Frog Mountain WildernessFS · about 7% of the line is insideWilderness Connect ↗
- Cohutta WildernessFS · about 2% of the line is insideWilderness Connect ↗
Inside a designated wilderness, bicycles and motor vehicles are prohibited by law regardless of the trail record, and permits or group limits may apply.
Trailheads
Childers Creek Trailhead No season published | under 0.1 mi |
Distance is from the point to the nearest part of the trail line. Season text is what the forest wrote and is often a season name rather than a date.
Trails nearby
Camping nearby
Campsite Atlas cards carry site counts and booking links from Recreation.gov. Forest Service cards come from the recreation layer and link the agency page.
Fire nearby
- PrescribedRx - Rymer Camp
4 mi from the trail midpoint · 381 acres
- PrescribedRx - Buck Branch
19 mi from the trail midpoint · 652 acres
- PrescribedPinnacle Kv Rx
49 mi from the trail midpoint · 246 acres
- PrescribedNorth Dicks Creek Rx
50 mi from the trail midpoint · 201 acres
Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Closure orders are on the forest's official page.
Cherokee National Forest publishes this trail as a centerline only, with no class, surface or allowed uses. What is here is the name, the length and the line. The forest office has the rest.
Checked every Sunday. Sections appear on the first run after the forest publishes more.
Explore
Historic places nearby
Guidebooks for Cherokee National Forest and Tennessee
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
- Cherokee National Forest hiking guideWilliam H. Skelton and Lamar Alexander, 2024Find at Bookshop.org
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How long is the Benton-McKaye Trail?
The Forest Service records 48.1 miles under this name in Cherokee National Forest, the sum of 1 segment.
Source: Forest Service trail layer
What is allowed on the Benton-McKaye Trail?
Cherokee National Forest has not published allowed uses for this trail. The forest office can say what is open.
Where does the Benton-McKaye Trail start?
The line begins at 34.9881° N, 84.5188° W and ends at 35.2261° N, 84.2868° W. The nearest recorded trailhead is Childers Creek Trailhead, under 0.1 miles from the line. The record does not say which end is the usual start.
Source: Forest Service trail layer
Is the Benton-McKaye Trail in a wilderness area?
Yes. It enters Big Frog Wilderness, Little Frog Mountain Wilderness and Cohutta Wilderness. Wilderness rules ban bicycles and motor vehicles and often limit group size.
Source: Big Frog Wilderness
Where can I camp near the Benton-McKaye Trail?
Thunder Rock Campground (under 0.1 mi), Lost Creek Campground (under 0.1 mi) and Tumbling Creek Campground (2.1 mi) are within five miles of the trail. The camping section lists all 4 with site counts and booking links.
Source: Campsite Atlas
Who manages the Benton-McKaye Trail?
Cherokee National Forest, Forest Service unit 0804. The trail is in Tennessee.
Is there a fire near the Benton-McKaye Trail?
The interagency feed shows 4 active incidents within 50 miles of the trail midpoint as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Rx - Rymer Camp at 4 miles. Check the forest's closure orders before you go.
Source: Fire nearby
Source
This page is built from 1 segment named Benton-McKaye in the Forest Service TrailNFS_Publish layer, administrative unit 0804. Wilderness overlap is tested against the National Wilderness Preservation System layer from Wilderness Connect. Trailheads and Forest Service campgrounds come from the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer. Data refreshed November 1, 2026. The methodology page explains how segments become trails.