Its total length from Sewanee to the Crow Creek Valley in Sherwood, Tennessee is approximately 7 miles (11 km).

The northern section is relatively isolated by the mountain to the north, west, and east and the Saddle to the south, with its inhabitants having to make the trek up over these natural obstacles to reach the neighboring towns; this led to a relatively self-sustaining way of life.

Lost Cove had been settled by Native Americans prior to the arrival of European Settlers.

Evidence of Native American activity has been found at the so called Indian Room in Lost Cove Cave.

[4] The late University of the South historiographer Arthur Ben Chitty, in his book Sewanee Sampler, tells of the possibly apocryphal story of the purchase of the 18,000 acre cove from the local inhabitants by speculators; the speculators, noticing that cove was enclosed, envisioned converting it into a lake not knowing that the many sinkholes and caves would make that impractical.