Trail Overview
The Overlook Trail is a rutted and muddy 4x4 trail within the Sundquist Unit of the North Cumberland Off- Highway Vehicle Riding Area, north of the town of LaFollette, Tennessee. Starting from the south end, there are significant ruts right away, about a foot deep, crisscrossing the trail. Riders will come up to frequent deep mud puddles spanning the width of the trail like greasy mud holes, and you don’t know how deep they are, so ride with caution, and a winch is advised. The first half mile of trail is a steep descent, dropping about 200 feet in elevation, but the terrain for the rest of the route is flatter and more gradual, with little elevation change. The trail surface has lots of uneven and off-camber sections with deep ruts, especially when entering or exiting the mud holes. Watch out for small branches down over the trail. Many sections of the trail are single-lane width and will feel very narrow for wider vehicles between the overgrown shrubs, or during shelf road segments. As the trail continues north, there are more frequent mud puddles and ruts, a few of which are very greasy and slippery due to the clay consistency in the dirt. The north end ends at a clearing, but there isn’t much of a view.
Difficulty
This is rated Easy by the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, but it is more of an intermediate route due to the high frequency of mud puddles and ruts that are uneven and off-camber, and the slick conditions of the trail that have changed over time. A winch is advised for the mud holes. The clay surface makes it very slippery and greasy. The trail is also narrow and steep in spots, increasing the difficulty.
