RAINBOW LAKE
A 2.3-mile loop on Signal Mountain to a 1916 dam, a waterfall and the swimming hole below it.
Where it is
- Distance
- 2.3 mi
- Shape
- Loop
- Effort
- Easy
Rainbow Lake is a short loop off Ohio Avenue on Signal Mountain that gets you to a 1916 dam, a waterfall, and the pool below it that everyone calls the Blue Hole. Two interlocking loops joined by bridges over Middle Creek make 2.3 miles, and you can run it before work.
The path starts as gravel and turns into rocky single-track quickly. The descents into the valley are steep enough that this is a bad first trail run in the dark.
This is Town of Signal Mountain land, so the Park Service swimming ban that covers Signal Point does not apply here. There is no posted rule either way. People swim in it and the town promotes it. Worth knowing before you get in: the Cumberland Trail Conservancy has recorded E. coli in Middle Creek.
Some of the connector trails cross private land, and access can be withdrawn. Stay on the mapped routes rather than linking things together on a whim.
E. coli has been recorded in Middle Creek. The route to Rainbow Falls is signed hazardous with no access to the base. Some connectors cross private land.