Snooper's Rock

Snooper’s Rock looks straight down on the Tennessee River where it bends in a horseshoe around a forested ridge. It is in Prentice Cooper State Forest, in Marion County.

Check for closures first

Prentice Cooper is a working state forest with a wildlife management area inside it. People drive out, find a locked gate and turn around.

• Hunts. Big game hunts close the forest west of TN-27 to non-hunters on scheduled dates, mostly in fall and early winter. Get the current dates from the forester’s office or Tennessee State Forests.
• Winter roads. From December 20 to March 15, Tower Drive past Pot Point Gate and all side roads close for freeze and thaw. Snooper’s Rock stays reachable.
• Who to call. The forester’s office is at (423) 658-5551.

If you are on the trails during an open hunt period, wear blaze orange.

Getting there

By car. From Chattanooga, head west and up onto Signal Mountain, then follow Game Reserve Road and Tower Drive into Prentice Cooper to the Snooper’s Rock parking area. The forest road is gravel and can be rough after heavy rain. A normal car is fine in normal conditions if you take it slowly. From the lot, the overlook is a short, mostly flat walk.

On foot. The Cumberland Trail route is 5.9 miles out and back, with gradual climbs, roots and some mud after rain. You can also reach the overlook as part of the Pot Point Loop or from the Short Creek - Mullens Creek Loop.

When to go

• Sunrise. Mist sits in the gorge and burns off while you watch.
• Late October. Fall color on both walls of the gorge. It is also the busiest time, which here still means a handful of people.
• Winter. The clearest long views, once the leaves are down. Check hunt closures.
• Midsummer afternoons. Hazy, hot and flat light. The weakest time to come.

At the ledge

There is no railing, and the rock edge is rounded. Keep children close and stay back from the lip in wind or rain. Cell service is patchy in the forest. Pack out everything you bring.