Last updated: January 1, 2024

We went in, we went out, and the walls didn’t tumble down on us! If you’re ready to get your hike on, this one’s for you.

It is rumored that Davey Crockett discovered the Walls of Jericho, but there is local lore that claims that a preacher discovered the formation and declared it needed a biblical name to properly describe it’s beauty. Regardless of it’s origins, it’s certainly a site to behold!

Trailheads

The Walls of Jericho is a limestone-walled canyon that leads to a natural, bowl shaped amphitheater with waterfalls draining into the basin. It’s a 7.5 mile out and back hike located and is pretty unique in that it offers two trailheads in two different states. One in Alabama and one in Tennessee. This hike is accessible year-round.

• Alabama – Hwy 79, Estillfork, AL 35745
• Tennessee – Rowe Gap Rd, Belvidere, TN 37306 – At about the 3 mile mark you will join the more popular Alabama trail.

This hike is dog friendly (yay) and surprisingly cool due to the almost complete shading of the entire hike by large trees. Note: Some sites say this hike is 9 miles. Unless you’re doing a TON of exploring off the main trail, it’s not that long. I may could have gone a little longer at the end, but I can’t imagine this is more than 8 miles at the most. I used my Apple Watch with GPS to measure the distance, and it was right at 7.5 miles.

Overview

What’s cool about this hike is that if offers some great camping spots so you could do an overnight hike if you wanted. There’s also horseback trails, super cool bridges and even an old obscured gravesite! Not to mention, a super cool waterfall at the end. WARNING: When you get to the awesome swimming pool, THIS IS NOT THE END! Keep going to see the waterfall! I unfortunately made this mistake but plan to go back to do this again (which I won’t mind since this hike was super awesome). I’m down for repeating a hike if it’s unique enough.😊

Leave No Trace

Some hikers have been pretty disrespectful of the hike and have left behind many items… there are sleeping bags discarded, tinfoil left in campfires sites, and just general trash and plastic bottles strewn along the way. It’s such a beautiful place, it’s really a shame to see throughout the trek. I normally wouldn’t mention this, but it was so noticeable, I thought it noteworthy so you aren’t taken by surprise.

The Hike

There are some unique places along the way. I loved the two bridges that seems to be a tree that was chopped in half. The first one you come to has a new bridge built beside the old one, but Buddy and I opted for the original walk across the river. There are also a couple of benches for resting along the way which is nice. Check out the spooky looking tree! The 18th century Clark family cemetery is easy to miss… be on the lookout when you get to the barbed wire fence! I didn’t get any photos, but I will for sure next time!

Now, listen to me when I say; this hike is not for the faint of heart. I would probably avoid this if it has recently rained. It is one of the muddiest hikes I’ve ever done. Most of the trail is flat and pretty nice to walk on. When you get towards the end, you better get ready to grit your way through. You are going to climb through trees that have fallen, hop crates and cling to tree branches for dear life while you work your way around terrain that has some pretty steep banks that would not be fun falling down (trust me, I know). Now, enjoy this video of my 13 year old dog giving you his version of a tour and kicking my butt on this hike in the meantime. Note: He’s 91 in dog years. How is he like this??

Buddy is the perfect dog for me because he always challenges me to go faster and harder than I would have without him. He challenges me more than anyone I’ve ever met, and I LOVE to be challenged! I think he is so resilient because I’ve had him for 10 years and have hiked/walked him almost every day. Even though he shamelessly out hikes on EVERY hike, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 💕🐶 #ILoveBuddy

And here we are working our way through the more difficult parts of the trail (although a piece of cake for Buddy).

The trail could be marked better. On the way back, we had to stop and orient ourselves because the tree markings were so sparse. Keep an eye out for these. The hike is pretty has a snake-like wind to it that you will quickly figure soon after you start.

Coming back is a little more difficult as you are no longer going downhill. When you finally make it out, you’ll be ready to go eat and take a shower which is something I normally don’t want to do at the same time, but this hike left me equally filthy and hungry. Swipe through the below photos to see more of this hike!

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you like a long, unique, and somewhat difficult hike, this one’s for you! I highly recommend taking a small backpack with extra water and some snacks. Also, you might want to think about wearing some waterproof hiking shoes… I wish I would have instead of wearing my regular sneakers… as mentioned above, it’s crazy muddy. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be making my way back this summer to find that darn waterfall I missed.

What difficult hikes have you completed? What’s the longest hike you’ve ever done? I like long, challenging hikes and would love to hear your recommendations! Let me know in the comments section found at the very bottom of this page. ⬇️