Gum Gap

There are over fifty miles of hiking trails in the Caesars Head area and the park is also an access point to the Foothills Hiking Trail via the Gum Gap Trail. This hike to Gum Gap is a popular one and you need a permit if you plan to camp overnight. The Matthews Creek hike has some nice campsites that are located right on the water. However, no fires are permitted in Caesars Head State Park. If you are the type that likes a campfire, plan on shooting for Gum Gap for the night. It’s just out of the State Park boundaries where campfires are legal. On this hike, you’ll still have the great views of Raven Cliff Falls, cross a wire cable over Matthews Creek, and walk across a suspension bridge over the falls.

The hike to Matthews Creek is a roundtrip loop hike that can be done in either direction, but a counter-clockwise loop hike is profiled here. It begins at the trailhead off US 276, which is 1.1 miles north of the Visitor’s Center at Caesars Head State Park. The blue-blazed Gum Gap Trail shares the first 1.4 miles of the route with the red-blazed Raven Cliff Falls Trail. The path heads west through a forest of hardwoods, where there is very little elevation change over the first few miles. When the blue and red blazes split at the 1.4 mile mark, turn right and follow the blue-blazed Gum Gap Trail for another 1.5 miles until it meets the pink blazed Natureland Trust Trail.