Cherokee National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,179 acres11.2 mi of trail
Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower TrailLittle Mountain SpurBuffalo Mountain TrailPowder Branch Spur
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Unicoi
30% of Unicoi’s land is conserved: 3,155 acres
The biggest trail networks: Cherokee National Forest (11.2 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Unicoi, 0.7 per square mile of land. 3 acres are parks and preserves, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #50 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
3,155 acres · of 16.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
0.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,524 ft
Pinnacle Mountain
What kind of outdoors town is Unicoi?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Unicoi have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Unicoi is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #50 of 177 in Tennessee. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Unicoi’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land0.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13DParks close to home11% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 47%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 72%
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Unicoi’s 30% is ahead of 99% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 93% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. 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 Cherokee National Forest, with 11.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,155 conserved acres
30% of Unicoi’s land. Who manages Unicoi’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service3,155 ac
National Forest · 3,155 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,155 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Unicoi
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Unicoi
Pinnacle Mountain3,524 ft elevation · In Cherokee National Forest
DirectionsLittle Mountain2,434 ft elevation · In Cherokee National Forest
DirectionsCampgrounds in Unicoi
Woodsmoke CampgroundHours: Sun 1 pm – 8:30 pm; Mon–Sat 10 am – 8:30 pm
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.3 mi
Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower Trail3.3 mi
Little Mountain Spur1.0 mi
Buffalo Mountain Trail0.9 mi
Powder Branch Spur0.5 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Unicoi: April to June and 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 50 | 59 | 69 | 76 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
October is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Unicoi →
Questions about parks and trails in Unicoi
Where can I hike in Unicoi?
The longest trail networks: Cherokee National Forest, 11.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Unicoi is conserved land?
30% 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 Unicoi’s trails?
Cherokee National Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Unicoi?
25,236 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Unicoi or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 26 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Unicoi have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #50 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 Unicoi 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 →