GSMNP – Page 5 – Smokies Guide

Boogerman Trail

The Boogerman Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains has it all – old growth forest, picturesque streams and waterfalls, and what’s left of a few early Smoky Mountain homesteads. Now that you know that, a challenging 7.4 mile round-trip doesn’t seem all that bad.

You’ll find the trailhead in the Cataloochee section of the park, which is located on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and can be a little more difficult to reach, but well worth the effort. From Interstate 40, NC State Route 276, and Cove Creek Road, navigate your way to the Caldwell Fork Trail (follow the signs).

During the Boogerman Trail hike, you’ll gain approximately 800 feet and reach an altitude of 3,600 feet. The trail gets its name from Robert “Boogerman” Palmer, whose old homestead in seen along the trail, as well as some of the region’s largest trees and various mountain streams. The Boogerman Trail also passes through some pristine wilderness that was untouched by logging companies who made their way through the Smokies before the land was purchased by the federal government and subsequently designated for use by the national park.

Upon arrival at the Caldwell Fork Trail, cross Cataloochee Creek by footbridge before coming across a slew of white pines. You’ll stay right when the trail splits before crossing Caldwell Fork on a footbridge.

At mile 2.8, you will encounter the Palmer homestead.

The trail turns to follow Snake Branch at 3.8 miles into the loop, before turning again around a rock wall, and traversing a small stream. Old fence posts and piles of stone now dot the landscape, indicating an area of early homesteads which once stood by the creek.

Snake Branch is crossed at nearly 5 miles into the hike. Towering hemlocks are also seen before the path takes you across Caldwell Fork a hand full of times via log footbridges. Several hundred yards before crossing Cataloochee Creek at approximately mile 7.4–and completion of the loop–you will see the remains of a cabin and barn built by Carson Messer.

The Boogerman Trail hike is a wonderful way to get to know the Cataloochee area of the national park, and I came away feeling stronger and more fulfilled than when I arrived.

Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

Above Gatlinburg is yet another entrance into part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the auto known as Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. This auto tour takes you through the Roaring Fork area of the GSMNP and gives you access to hiking, a several tremendous views of the Smokies and Gatlinburg itself.

Roaring Fork is named for the stream that courses through the area. Roaring Fork starts near Mt LeConte and runs downstream at a very fast pace, creating waterfalls and cascades as it reaches the lower elevations in Gatlinburg. The auto tour takes you through this historic area of the National Park and runs along side Roaring Fork almost the whole way. One of the most interesting features of Roaring Fork is known as the Place of a Thousand Drips which you pass right before you exit the auto tour and head back into Gatlinburg.

The people that lived in the Roaring Fork area were the first residents of White Oak Flats – the area that became Gatlinburg. The Reagans and the Bales established this rugged mountain community. They lived off the land and unlike the other auto tours of valley areas lie Cades Cove and Cataloochee, Roaring Fork is a sharp contrast. They built saw mills, they trapped and hunted for food. Their lives were very different from those that lived in the valleys. Nevertheless, getting to drive through this area and see the homes that the park service keeps up and the scenery that these settlers lived in is remarkable.

Along with the cabins and waterfalls that you will see along the auto tour there are also several trailheads:

Rainbow Falls trail
Trillium Gap Trail
Baskins Creek Trail
Grapeyard Creek Trail

Jonas Creek Trail

The 4.1 mile Jonas Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains is an uphill hike complete with scenic views and sporadic cascades as it makes its way from the junction of the Forney Creek Trail at backcountry campsite No. 70 to the trail’s meeting with the Welch Ridge Trail.

To reach the Jonas Creek Trail, you’ll have to really be wanting to hike this section of the national park. First, hikers must travel the Forney Creek Trail to the starting point – 3.7 miles north of its junction with the Lakeshore Trail.

Hikers begin by crossing a foot log over Forney Creek and passing through backcountry campsite No. 70 – a horse camp as well. You’ll go on to cross Jonas Creek once you reach 0.4 mile on the trail. The rocks are slick and mossy so take care as you cross the stream. The trail becomes rocky on the other side and you’ll pass a majestic waterfall just to the right of the trail.

After crossing Jonas Creek a second time, you must skirt or walk through creek runoff as it flows over the trail. At this point it’s a very wet walk along the trail. You’ll cross Jonas Creek a third time but there is a rock hop to help you across.

You’ll hike across Jonas Creek a couple more times before you reach the junction with Little Jonas Creek 1.3 on the trail. You’re on the way to Welch Ridge. Some of the various trees you pass along the way include sassafras, sourwood, oak, and American beech. Yanu Branch follows the trail and you’ll eventually have to cross it by way of a foot log.

The next part of the Jonas Creek Trail is especially eye-catching so be sure you’ve packed a camera. The 100-foot cascade that comes up on the right of the trail is very notable. This is followed by a series of switchbacks that make up the trail before you start your climb up Yanu Ridge. You reach the top at the 3.4 mile marker. The finale of the Jonas Creek Trail is reached at the junction with the Welch Ridge Trail. Enjoy the Smokies!

Hannah Mountain Trail

If you’re looking a pretty good 9-miler in the Smokies, look no further than the Hannah Mountain Trail which stretches from Parson Branch Road to the junction of the Hatcher Mountain and Abrams Falls trails at Abrams Creek.

This is a great trail for taking in some spectacular Smoky Mountain views as you’ll be doing a fair share of ridge hiking as you make your way along the 9.5 mile trail.

To get to the trailhead at Sams Gap, make your way to Cades Cove in Townsend, Tn and start out on the Cades Cove Loop Road. From there, you’ll turn off Loop Road just past the Cable Mill historic structure and follow the signs to Parsons Branch Road. The trailhead at Sams Gap is 4 miles from the start of Parsons Branch Road.

This easy walking trail begins its ascent up the ridge and through a beautiful wooded area before you reach a large tulip tree – the first significant natural marker found along the trail, 1.9 miles in.

Mount Lanier is reached by way of the Hannah Mountain Trail. It’s also the highest peak on the trail. Hikers descend Lanier toward Bell Cove in to a mixed hardwood forest of hickory, maple, and hemlock among other species.

Hiking around the north end of Hannah Mountain, you soon find yourself coming upon Flint Gap and backcountry campsite No. 14. Flint Gap gets its name from the blue flint that was once found in this section of the national park.

Continuing on the trail, you’ll find that it tends to curve back before passing what remains of a large chestnut tree. At one time there was a cabin that sat in the area just past the fallen chestnut which was home to several pioneer families.

The next portion of the Hannah Mountain Trail starts out at a climb. This is known as Polecat Ridge and it goes on to descend to Scott Gap 7.6 miles along the trail. Backcountry campsite No. 16 is located around 100 yards below Scott Gap. A quick suggestion, if you’re planning on camping at this campsite get there early, especially on weekends. It’s a rather popular spot in the park.

The rest of the Hannah Mountain hike will be a fairly steep ascent to the Abrams Creek junction. You’ll have to ford the creek yourself to get across. Hope you enjoyed the Hannah Mountain Trail!

Hatcher Mountain Trail

So you’ve decided to make it a day trip to the Smoky Mountains and you’re looking for an easy day hike that will let you take in some of the national park’s beautiful hardwood forests but won’t leave you gasping for air at the end. Well, if you’re asking us, we’d tell you to seek out the Hatcher Mountain Trail.

The Hatcher Mountain Trail is a 2.8 mile hike from the Cooper Road Trail to the junction of the Hannah Mountain and Abrams Falls trails. To get there, park at the rangers station at the Abrams Creek Campground in the Smokies. From there it’s a 4.9 mile hike to the trailhead along the Cooper Road Trail.

Starting out on the trail, you’ll slowly ascend the southern slope of Hatcher Mountain through a picturesque hardwood forest. Oaks and pines can be found along the path as you pass over the ridge and descend to Oak Flats Branch. However, flat is a relative term for this area of the Hatcher Mountain Trail.

Soon enough though you’ll find yourself making your way along a wooded hike again. Beautiful, yet small wildflowers can be found in abundance in this area as you hike to the junction of Little Bottoms and the Abrams Falls trails. Enjoy the rest of your day in the Smokies!

Huskey Gap Trail

Another Gatlinburg trail, that is in relative close proximity to the popular Smoky Mountain vacation town, the Huskey Gap Trail is a moderate 4.1 miles from Newfound Gap Road to the Little River Trail.

It’s a great trail if you’re just looking to get out in the woods for a bit, but you want to stay close to town.

Reaching the trailhead, all it takes a trip down Newfound Gap Road for 1.5 miles. You’ll be traveling southward from the Sugarlands Visitor Center and can park at the second quiet walkway that you come to on the left. The trailhead is across the road.

As you start out, notice the rock wall that follows the trail on the right and just below the path. As you’ve probably already guessed, this was once a Smoky Mountain homesite linking these dwellings to the Sugarlands community. This a wonderful trail to hike in the spring time as wildflowers align both sides of the path before you begin the upward hike.

Flint Rock Branch can be heard as you move along the trail, which you must pass over soon. Once you’ve reached that point, you can catch some great shots of Mount Harrison, English Mountain, and Mount LeConte to your right.

Approaching Huskey Gap, you can look off the trail and spot Gatlinburg and all the cabins and chalets that surround the popular Smoky Mountain town. Old Huskey Gap Road lies right below the gap on the right as you move on. Around the turn of the previous century, the Huskey Gap school even operated in this area educating children who lived in the Sugarland Branch community.

The Huskey Gap trail was a popular route for early Smokies settlers who worked in the Little River Lumber Camps. Soon you’ll pass the trail’s junction with the Sugarland Mountain Trail. You’ll soon cross Big Medicine Branch, then the trail will level off and make a more gradual decent to Little River where you’ll cross over a dry stream bed.

Backcountry campsite No. 21 comes up on the left moving along. Reservations are required to camp at this backcountry site. A few more steps and you’ve reached the junction with the Little River Trail and the completion of the Husky Gap Trail. Let us know your experiences on the Huskey Gap Trail in the comment section below. We’d love to hear them!

Whitetail Deer

Classification: Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Artiodactyla – Cervidae – Capreolinae – Odocoileus – Virginianus

The whitetail deer is a common sight along the roads and in the valleys of the Smoky Mountains. While they might not be as hard to find as the black bear or as large and imposing as the elk, the deer are still fun to see and are in fact so used to people that they will be glad to pose for pictures as they go about their lives.

The deer in the Smokies are the same kind of deer that you might see anywhere in the southeast or across the country. They are herd animals and the young tend to stay in the herds with the does until they have been alive for a couple of years. The bucks, after they have left the herd become solitary creatures and though you will see them, you will see them on the edges of the forest most of the time.

These herbivores eat the soft grasses graze throughout the year. The temperate climate in the Smokies also give them plenty of food in the winter months. During the mating season you will see spikes and bucks sparring and rattling their antlers on trees as they go through their own mating dance.

Where to see Whitetail Deer in the Smokies:

Cades Cove – If you are wanting to see large numbers of deer, there is no other place for you to go but Cades Cove. Herds of deer populate the fields. In the spring you will see fauns at play around their mothers and as the deer mature and the seasons change you will notice the deer getting bigger as the put on weight for the leaner winter months. If you are wanting to get a great picture, slide out of your car, stay low to the ground and walk slowly toward the deer. If you approach slowly enough you can get close enough to get some amazing pictures of the deer in Cades Cove.

Lakeview Drive

The Road to Nowhere

This six-mile drive is also known as “the Road to Nowhere” and affords great views of Fontana Lake. Lakeview Drive ends one mile beyond a viaduct at the mouth of a tunnel. Work on the road stopped in 1943 and was never continued. “The Road to Nowhere” actually takes you to some nice hiking trails. Lakeshore and Tunnel Trails begin at the end of the parking area. The Lakeshore Trail is one of the newer trails in the Park, extending along the south boundary for about 44 miles. It is actually a configuration of trails developed from old manways, older existing trails, and roads.

This road was constructed shortly after Fontana Dam was constructed and Lake Fontana was formed. With the flooding of the towns of Judson and Proctor, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park needed a way for people visiting the park to get to the park side of Fontana Lake. The people that had been displaced from Judson and Proctor also needed a way to reach the cemeteries that were located inside the boundaries of the National Park.

They were promised a road that would extend into the park and all the way to these areas that were cut off. The construction of Lakeview Drive began in 1943 and though progress was slow it continued until 1972 when funding ran out and the construction halted. The matter of whether this road would be finished was batted around on a local, state and federal level until 2010 when it was decided that a payout would be made to Swain County, North Carolina instead of the road being completed. Now, to reach the areas of the flooded cities that are inside the GSMNP, they either have to hike overland or wait until the one time a year when the park service takes people across the lake for a homecoming time at the cemeteries.

For this reason, Lakeview Drive is known as the Road to Nowhere. You can drive this secluded road into the park and take in the beautiful views of Fontana Lake. Also, if you are into bicycling, this area is not as traveled as most and it gives you a chance to bike without having to worry about a lot of cars. The road ends at the start of several trails and at the last tunnel that was constructed. The tunnel was finished and is even paved. You actually walk through the tunnel to get to the trails.

To get there, travel south on the Newfound Gap Road into Cherokee NC. In Cherokee, turn right on US 19 and drive 10 miles to Bryson City. At the old Swain County Courthouse, turn right onto Everett Street and cross the Tuckasegee River. Follow Everett Street through town (it changes to Lakeview Drive) and continue to the Park boundary. Continue 5 miles into the Park.

Hughes Ridge Trail

For those of you looking for a way to get to the Appalachian trail, but would like to get a bit further into the Smokies backcountry beforehand, the Hughes Ridge Trail is an excellent way to begin your trek to the AT. In all, it’s a 5 mile trail, though you will forced to hike 5 miles before you reach it. If you’re a wildflower enthusiast, it’s totally worth the trip during those ripe spring months.

To get there, you’ll take Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg to the Smokemont Campground. Just past the ranger station you’ll find the trailhead for the Bradley Creek Trail which you’ll take for 1.1 miles until it intersects with the Chasteen Creek Trail. Stay on it for 4.1 miles until you reach the Hughes Ridge Trail.

Along the Hughes Ridge Trail, hikers will make their way from the very top of the Chasteen Creek Trail to Pecks Corner at the Appalachian Trail. This area was home to numerous pioneer families as well as a number of Cherokee Indian families before the land was went into the hands of the government and became a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Starting out on the trail, you should quickly become aware that this is prime wildflower country, especially in the spring. Flame azalea and mountain laurel are just two species people come looking for, camera in hand, or backpack.

Hikers pass the junction with the Enloe Creek Trail before descending the Hughes Ridge Trail, then rising again through a ridge covered with red spruce and other species typically found in the higher elevations of the Smoky Mountains like Catawba rhododendron.

Once you reach the 2.5 mile mark, the junction with the Bradley Fork Trail, the continues along what is described as a wide jeep track. It’s a rocky go as you begin the hike uphill. It eventually reaches a beautiful ridge top.

At mile 4.3 a utility shack can be seen along the trail before continuing through the spruce forest and climbing to the Appalachian Trail at Pecks Corner.

Cove Mountain Trail

So what’s a good trail in the Gatlinburg area? That’s a question that gets asked countless times each year from people visiting the area. Well, if you’re looking for a good, hearty hike, let up suggest the Cove Mountain Trail – an 8.5 miler starting at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters and ascending Mount Harrison to the summit of Cove Mountain.

There are a number of spectacular views along this trail as well as a few waterfalls so be sure to pack a camera not matter what season you’re hiking in.

To say that this trail features a myriad of landscapes and sights would be selling it very short. From forests to homes and wildlife to ski resort, you’ll see it all. It’s almost man versus nature.

At 0.1 miles you come to the first cascade – Cataract Falls. It’s a small, 12-foot falls that offers some cool relief during the summer months. This is also a great place to take notice of the beautiful wildflowers that take root in the Smoky Mountain soil during the spring.

Continuing along the trail, Double Gourd Branch tumbles and rolls across the trail and onward through the mountains . Keeping walking, you’ve got at least another 8 miles of climbing ahead of you. The trail will come to parallel Dry Pond Branch before you reach an actual backyard at 1.5 miles and the park boundary.

A majestic view, like that at mile 3.1 of Mount LeConte, is just one of the highlights of this climb. The boundary comes into view again around mile 3.4 as hikers notice the chair lift to Ober Gatlinburg. You’ll see it again as you traverse Mount Harrison before finally leaving the sights of Gatlinburg all together.

Hickory Falls Branch is followed by the trail around a few turns before starting the steepest climb of this journey. The Cove Mountain Wildlife Management Area comes into focus so be wary. A lot of hunting goes on in this area of the Smokies when such things as deer and wild hog are in season. Late fall is prime season so bright colors wouldn’t be the worst thing you could pack.

It’s an easy hike from here to the top and the fire tower. If you choose, you can take a side trail to Laurel Falls or just double back to park headquarters and the Sugarlands Visitors Center.