A great little history hike in the Smokies can be had on the Curry Mountain Trail, a 3.3 mile jaunt from Little River Road to the junction with the Meigs Mountain Trail.
To reach the trail, travel to the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area on the Tennessee side of the Smokies near Gatlinburg and along Little River Road. Wlaking 100 yards eastbound, you’ll come to the trailhead, as well as an orange gate on you right.
You’ll traverse two 3,000-foot peaks on this hike – Curry He and Curry She. Hikers will climb along the side of Curry He, cross a gap, then climb by Curry She to reach the intersection with the Meigs Mountain Trail. You’ll also come to a small cemetery that once served the community that lived in the vicinity of the trail.
As you set out on the trail, notice the various hemlocks and other hardwoods as you parallel Little River Road to begin. The trail turns from grassy to rocky before you come upon a switchback that leads the hiker into a more open forest with wildflowers that bloom in abundance during the spring months.
The next marker on this trail are the stone walls that align the next part of the trail. You can see where these might indicate old homesteads.
Curry Gap is crossed at 1.9 miles on the trail. You’ll continue to climb for 0.3 miles more before leveling out on Long Arm Ridge.
As you near the end, the trails widens and you reach the end with the junction of the Meigs Mountain Trail. You can hike on to the right to reach the aforementioned cemetery. Go left and you’ll eventually reach Elkmont.