Author: smokies guide

Hiking the Dry Sluice Gap Trail is a great way to spend a nice day in the park and just outside Gatlinburg, Tn. The trail is a most downhill hike for 4.2 miles from its junction with the Appalachian Trail to the Cabin Flats Trail.

Starting out at Newfound Gap, you’ll hike a good 4.4 miles before reaching trail by way of the AT north east past Icewater Springs.

Dry Sluice is another one of the connector trails in the Smokies that is more known for getting hikers from one place to another rather than its actual hiking qualities. Its claim to fame is as a connector for the Appalachian Trail and Smokemont Campground. It was said that this trail was used as a shortcut years ago by early settlers hauling goods to and from homesteads.

At the trail’s beginnings, a large open spot can yield some wondrous views and blueberries, balckberries, and huckleberries in August. The junction with the Grassy Branch Trail awaits the hiker at mile 1.3. From here, you’ll hike to the left of the Richland Mountain ridge.

The trail will continue to descend, get rockier and pass a slew of wildflower species, oaks and evergreens. You’ll rock hop along the Tennessee Branch and continue down the trail passing more ferns and ground cover.

You’ll cross a log bridge with a hand rail across the Tennessee Branch as it appears again. At mile 4.2, the trail sign appears and it’s 0.6 miles to backcountry campsite No. 49.

For all you North Carolina Smokies hikers, here’s a quick trail on your side that even sounds inviting: the Flat Creek Trail. In all, it’s a 2.6 mile hike from the Heintooga picnic area to Heintooga Ridge Road.

There are some great sights and lookouts along the way as well as a few stream crossings that are said to contain native brook trout along this trail, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and past the Balsam Mountain Campground.

You’ll find overgrown grass along this trail even through the shade and overgrowth of the forest, evidence of the early logging efforts that cut through a great deal of this section of the park before it was a park.

At mile 0.5, the trail descends to Flat Creek and the forest overcomes everything sight. Rhododendron, moss, and mushrooms are aplenty in this well-watered area.

Keeping on the trail, a foot log and a number of stream crossings take the hiker away from Flat Creek and along the ridge to Bunches Creek. You can even see the Flat Creek valley from wince you came at various points . Bunches Creek is passed by foot bridge twice before coming to the end of this Smoky Mountain trail and another successful jaunt on the North Carolina side of the national park.

The Bradley Fork Trail makes for quite a climb along its 7.3 mile ascent. To get to the trailhead, locates at Smokemont Campground, take Newfound Gap Road to the campground and begin at the far end of D loop.

You’re bound to see a number of picturesque creeks along this hike as it winds along with the Oconoluftee River. The first 4 miles are an easy rising grade as you get used to the land before rising sharply up Hughes Ridge for 3.3 miles. Notice that there is a bridge at every creek crossing

At 1.1 miles in hikers will come upon a wooden bridge before reaching the junction with Chasteen Creek Trail at 1.2 miles. Campsite No. 50 comes upon the trail soon thereafter – one of the easier sites to reach in the Smokies.

Smokemont Loop Trail is reached is bit further down the trail. If you decide to loop it out here, it’s a total of 5.5 miles before returning 3.9 miles on a strenuous route back to the Smokemont Campground.

Continuing on the Bradley Fork Trail, the forest shows ferns before you notice large sycamores and tuliptrees. A horserail comes up on the right before coming to another open section of the trail. Two bridges cross Bradley Fork where it splits and forms an island.

At the 4 mile mark, you come to a “No Camping” sign. You’ll start the climb to Hughes Ridge here – 3.3 miles away. At the trail’s junction with the Hughes Ridge Trail, you are but 2.2 miles from the Appalachian Trail and 7.3 miles from Smokemont.

Not to be confused with the “Goldmine Trail,” another Smoky Mountain path on the North Carolina side of the Smokies, the Gold Mine Trail lies on the Tennessee side and is more of a connector-type trail from the Cooper Road Trail to the park boundary.

Hikers will start out at the junction with the Cooper Road Trail, which is 2.5 miles from the Abrams Creek Campground. This trail is essentially what remains of an old track between Montvale Springs and Cooper Road. It’s named for a mine found in the mountain, but for what gold it did yield wasn’t enough to cover mining costs. You’ll run by an old log cabin site on the trail as you ascend through a mix of hardwood trees and rhododendron.

The trail shows a bit of a climb and at 0.8 miles you reach the park boundary. You can also see newer construction at this point as developers have chosen to get up as close to the park as humanly possible over the years in order to make their homes more desirable to buyers.

To get right to the point, the Cane Creek trail is one of the easiest Smoky Mountain trails to hike, it’s just getting there that takes some effort. To reach the Cane Creek Trail, hikers must  hike part way up the Cooper Road Trail.

In all, the Cane Creek Trail is only 2.1 miles long from its starting point at Cooper Road Trail at Cane Gap to the park boundary. Highlights include the Buchanan family land that was once beautiful farmland, the Buchanan family cemetery, and a very pleasant, lightly used campsite (backcountry campsite No. 2) at Cane Creek.

Starting out about 3.7 miles above the Abrams Creek Ranger Station, you’ll go left at the split and hike to the Cane Creek bottoms. Just a warning, you may be wading the creek in times of heavy rain.

Eastern hemlock and mixed hardwoods mark the old fields before you come upon campsite No.2 at 0.6 miles into the hike. From here, the trail immediately crosses Cane Creek and will again twice.

The Buchanan family cemetery comes up at mile 1.3 on the trail, sitting on a rise under two large maples. The Buchanans lived off the land during those times and farmed corn as their main crop.

Continuing on, the path narrows until you reach the park boundary at 2.1 miles.

Looking for another way to access the Appalachian Trail as well as a pretty good warm up? Look no further than the Gregory Bald Trail. It’s 7.3 miles from its junction with the Parson Branch Road intersection to its junction with the Appalachian Trail at Doe Knob.

Of course, the other reason to hike this trail is to take in Gregory Bald – one of the more famous spots in the Smoky Mountains.

To get you started, you’ll have to make your way to Cades Cove and drive its Loop Road. Once you reach the visitor center and Cable Mill area, turn off and follow the signs to Parson Branch Road.

You’ll gradually ascend the trail as you start out. Notice the pines as you walk along. You”l eventually reach Panther Gap, named for Panther Creek whose headwaters form along the path.

Backcountry campsite No. 14 is reached at 4.1 miles on the trail. It’s lush grass provides for a great camping spot and water can be found about 200 yards prior to reaching the campsite. Just be sure to treat the water before drinking it. You’ll also notice the trail sign and the original AT crossing that passed over Gregory and Parsons Bald until 1948. The rest of the trail walks right along with the old Appalachian Trail.

A quick, steep climb is had before you reach Gregory Bald at 4.5 miles in. People flock here in June to get a glimpse of the azaleas. Not only that, but the blueberries that sprout in August brings hikers from all walks of life and locations.

Once you’ve had your fill of the remarkable vistas and views of Gregory Bald, the trail descends to Rich Gap, 5.2 miles in. From Rich Gap it’s an eastward hike along the trail till you reach Long Hungry Ridge’s northward peak. Swinging south, you’ll continue on to the knob on the North Carolina side of the Smokies leading to Brier Lick Gap. You’re on your way to reaching the junction with the new version of the Appalachian Trail and you can tell your friends that you’ve been to and taken in one of the most majestic and picturesque spots in all of the Smoky Mountains: Gregory Bald. Enjoy the AT!