Some of our favorite trails…

CHESTNUT TOP TRAIL > SCHOOL HOUSE GAP TRAIL

Trillium

This will require a shuttle car parked at the School House Gap trail head, otherwise Chestnut Top  can be a good out and back trail. As the climb reaches a 5% grade for the first 2.8 mi it can be very strenuous.

But as this is one of the most spectacular trails in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for seeing wild flowers it is worth the effort.

Trillium and Bloodroot are two of the many species you’ll see along this trail as you jump back and forth between stands of Pines to a mixed collection of hardwoods.

Bloodroot

You won’t see any mature Chestnut trees here though, a fungus brought in by the import of a decorative Chestnut from China caused a blight that destroys them.  In the fall, when the canopy is down, you can see across Turkey Pen Ridge up to Thunderhead Mountain. The trail levels out for the final stretch to the School House Gap intersection, where you can drop down the 2.1 miles to your shuttle car, or just turn around and mosey on back the way you came. You’ll want to pick up the Wildflowers of the Smokies book to see how many different species you can identify.

 

FONTANA DAM >LAKESHORE TRAIL > LOST COVE TRAIL > AT

While this strenuous 12 mile loop is above Fontana Dam over in NC, it’s one of my favorites. There are quite a few artifacts along the Lakeshore section of this hike, remember artifacts are federally protected and shouldn’t be disturbed.  Once you’ve followed Lost Cove Trail over to the AT you’ll soon see the Shuckstack Fire Tower. Seeing the artifacts and the now abandoned fire tower it’s easy to imagine the Great Smoky Mountain National Park during a much different era.

 

 

ALUM CAVE TRAIL

As the primary access trail for lodgers at LeConte and one of the most scenic trails in the Park this usually is a busy trail, but so worth the trip and hike, even if you turn around at Alum Cave.  You will gain 1200 feet from the trail head to Alum Cave 2.3 miles in so it’s considered a strenuous hike.  1.4 miles in you’ll reach Arch Rock.  Here there are some steps to help you negotiate the trail, but watch for icy conditions!

Continue on until you reach an area where there was extreme flood damage, you won’t miss it, piles of debris and exposed bedrock mark the spot.  2.0 miles in a look out known as Inspiration Point, affords a beautiful view of the watershed below.

Alum Cave itself is a very interesting place, more of a bluff than an actual cave, it is a geologist dream.  Many different minerals are found here two of which were mined in the Civil War in the production of gunpowder.  All in all this hike gives you many experiences.

 

 

 

You’ll want these for your hikes…

Considered by many to be the best guide to the trails in the park, “Hiking Trails of the Smokies” is now in it’s 3rd edition, this comprehensive guide is loaded with trail profiles, elevation guides and historical narratives for 150 trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This guide will be one you’ll read on and off the trail.

Pair the trail guide with the National Geographic Great Smoky Mountain map and you will not only know where you are going but what to see once you get there.

Always call the GSMNP (865) 436-1200 for any road or trail closures click here.