Tom Lowe Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Waterfall

Trail is in state game lands so be sure to wear orange, especially late fall and winter. No facilities at the parking lot but the interstate exit is less than two miles away with gas station and several fast food places.

From the parking lot, head back down the paved road you came from. The orange-blazed Tom Lowe trail will start on the right in a couple hundred feet. The trail follows the creek for a short distance before crossing over. It can be difficult to stay completely dry on this crossing (especially after heavy rain) and it may be better to look up or downstream a bit if you really don't want to get wet feet.

After crossing, there's a short steep scramble straight up the hillside and then the trail drops more gently back towards the creek farther downstream. After leveling out, the trail can get muddy or wet for a little bit as it runs next to the creek (or flooded out by it).

About 0.6 miles in, the trail makes a sharp right and then starts climbing up the hillside before traversing across it. This is generally much dryer than the earlier section, but if you pay attention as you're crossing the hillside, you'll cross a rocky section and may be able to hear water gurgling underground through the rocks.

The trail descends off the hillside and comes out on a doubletrack forest road. Turn right on the doubletrack road and follow it for a short distance where it ends in bit of a clearing. The trail continues on straight ahead.

The next section has a few stream crossings in a short distance, followed by some larger blowdown and the trail can be harder to follow. Particularly, the trail makes a 90 degree left turn immediately after a crossing followed by a 90 degree right.

The trail makes another hard right and starts gently climbing uphill as it follows a creek from varying distances. At some point, there is a small unmarked trail on the right that goes down a steep bank to the creek where there is a wood bench at the foot of a small series of waterfalls/cascades.

A simple bridge eventually crosses the creek to the right and then in another quarter mile the trail makes a very steep climb for another quarter mile. At the top, the trail joins with a wider path that was cut for a controlled burn. The original Tom Lowe trail can occasionally be seen running parallel for short distances, but pay attention as you'll need to take the trail when it completely splits from the wide path.

The trail ends at an intersection with the blue blazed Sand Spring Trail which can be taken to the right for a 5.2 mile loop back to the parking lot.