Jan 03, 2019 — Starting from a small day use parking lot at the end of the Big Cove Campground, follow a wide trail that leads to a fork - left goes up the Bird Mountain Trail, right is where you come back from later, on the Lookout Tower Trail. The Bird Mountain trail leads up a bunch of switchbacks to a junction with the Cumberland Trail, which you take east. I had fog most of the day, but the ridgeline of the Cumberland Trail was pretty regardless. You pass Castle Rock, which is kind of just a sandstone cliff, summit something labeled "Bird Mountain", but there's a taller peak just west of this marked peak, which I assume is the true Bird Mountain? Weird. Anyway, take a quick detour up to bag the taller peak of Bird Mountain if you want before continuing along the Cumerland Trail on an old dirt road to a junction with the Tower Lookout Trail. Follow this trail back down to the trailhead.
Please consider helping me out if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all site fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing these trip reports is unpaid. You can also hire me as a web developer. I really appreciate it!
If you find my site helpful, please help me replace my many broken cameras, fund my website fees (hosting, APIs, security), or just support my countless hours of work. I pay for all expenses myself, and all trip reports I post are unpaid and unsponsored, so any support is really appreciated!
If using PayPal, please select their option for "Sending to a friend" so they don't take out fees, thank you.
My site is free to use, but consider sending me a few bucks to help keep it running. Thanks in advance!