The trailhead is at the Rich Mountain Road exit from the park (point A). The access to the park at this point is an exit and not an entrance because Rich Mountain Road is a one way road from the Cades Cove Loop to the park boundary on Rich Mountain. From the park boundary at this point, about all you can do is drive down into Townsend.
The trailhead is just inside the park boundary and just ouside the gate where Rich Mount Road exits from Cades Cove. Access to the trail is from Cades Cove via Rich Mountain Road or from Townsend via Old Cades Cove Road (point C).
From the trailhead, the trail proceeds 5.6 miles along the crest of the ridge to the junction with the Beard Cane Trail (point B). The trailhead and the junction with the Beard Can Trail are only 2.6 miles apart as the crow flies, but the trail has numerous twists and turns and switchbacks which turns the hike to the Beard Cane Trail into 5.6 miles.
