Green Gorge Park
Park
36 acres1.4 mi of trail
Green Gorge TrailTaft Hwy - Pallisades Connector
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Sam Poss · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain has 9.3 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Green Gorge Park (1.4 mi), Prentice Cooper State Forest (0.6 mi). 9% of Signal Mountain’s land is conserved, about 499 acres. 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #3 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
499 acres · of 8.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.3 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
189 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Signal Mountain?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Signal Mountain have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Signal Mountain is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #3 of 177 in Tennessee. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Signal Mountain’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (189 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home86% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)#3 of 177
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Signal Mountain’s 9% is ahead of 86% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Green Gorge Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Prentice Cooper State Forest
Park
52 acres0.6 mi of trail
CT - Edwards PointSingnal Mountain Blue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Signal Point Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Parking for Signal Point Park & hiking trail
All 5 parks & preserves
Green Gorge Park36 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPrentice Cooper State Forest52 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsSignal Point Park6 acres
DirectionsNorris Field3 acres
DirectionsLena Givens Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
499 conserved acres
9% of Signal Mountain’s land. Who manages Signal Mountain’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits996 ac
Town or city257 ac
County100 ac
State fish & wildlife13 ac
National Park Service5 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 656 acLocal Park · 357 acForest Stewardship Easement · 330 acState Conservation Area · 13 acConservation Easement · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 122 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 28 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Lake Local Park | Town or city | 176 | Open |
| Shackleford Ridge County Park Local Park | County | 100 | Open |
| Patten Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Town Hall Complex Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 13 | Restricted |
| Shoal Creek Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Althaus Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 5 | Restricted |
| Timberlinks Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Norvell Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in Signal Mountain
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Signal Mountain
signal mountain pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Signal Mountain
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Signal Mountain
Rainbow Falls 40
DirectionsScenic views in Signal Mountain
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
10 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.7 mi
Shackleford Park Blue Trail1.6 mi
Green Gorge Trail1.4 mi
CT - Signal Point1.3 mi
Shackleford Park Yellow Trail0.8 mi
CT - Edwards Point0.7 mi
Rainbow Lake Trail0.7 mi
Taft Hwy - Pallisades Connector0.5 mi
Singnal Mountain Blue Trail0.4 mi
Orange Blue Trail0.2 mi
Dogwood Park Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
9Baseball
8Soccer
2Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Signal Mountain: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 51 | 59 | 69 | 76 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 70 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 6.3 |
August is the driest month (4.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 6.3 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Signal Mountain →
Next door
Signal Mountain and its neighbors
Signal Mountain has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Mountain | 9% | 1.1 | 21 | 86% | A |
| Walden | 1% | 1.7 | 12 | 92% | B+ |
| Chattanooga | 14% | 1.3 | 22 | 68% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Signal Mountain
Where can I hike in Signal Mountain?
The longest trail networks: Green Gorge Park, 1.4 miles; Prentice Cooper State Forest, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Signal Mountain is conserved land?
9% of its land, against a typical 1% for a Tennessee town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Signal Mountain’s trails?
Green Gorge Park and Prentice Cooper State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Signal Mountain?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Signal Mountain?
5,376 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Signal Mountain or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 189 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Signal Mountain have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 of 177 in Tennessee. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Signal Mountain neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →