As a local content creator here in Gatlinburg The Gatlinburg Hussey, I highly recommend hiking Mt…read moreLaconte in Gatlinburg, TN Smokies I've done it 2 times and I was almost 280 the first time and 200 the second time I tell all of my subscribers to do this and if it's too tough, try a smaller trail Please bring the kids too and have them explore nature ahd and get them off the phone and have their hands get dirty

After a strenuous hike up Mt. LeConte, the Lodge provided amazing , hardy meals enjoyed with fellow…read morehikers from many, many places. The welcoming staff made the meals even more enjoyable! At 83 years old, I know this was my last hike to Mt. LeConte Lodge, after four previous hikes beginning in my twenties. My wife and I celebrated our honeymoon there 49 years ago in 1977.

The Low Gap trail is perfect for families and out of the tourist area so lower traffic overall. It…read moreis located inside of the campground but a hiking area in its own right. There are multiple options for this trail you can hike the 2.1 mile path or the easy 1 mile Nature Trail. We came out for the nature trail as we wanted a lazier day with great scenery. The nature trail was very cool and easy to walk. All levels can walk this trail or if you are more advanced you can get adventurous and go down by the river itself (there are paths). This trail is also a connector on the Applachain Moutnain trail and to the Mount Cammerer Fire tower.

My family and I hiked this trail! It was a great experience, being from Florida and hiking up and…read moredown the mountain. All the streams and the bridges were beautiful!

Hike was great. It is not for everybody it is alot of up hill terrain and it is 2.5 miles there and…read more2.5 miles back. Hike took about 3.5 hrs for the both of us. Some make sure you start early enough so it doesn't get dark on you. Well worth the hike but bring water and a snack because it will take a bit.

This is an absolutely gorgeous trail even in November we had a sunny day and stunning views along…read morethe trail.

Great hiking trail for all ages. About a mile and a half up to the historic barn attraction…read more Great views of the mountain stream that runs alongside the trail. This is one of my favorite easy, family friendly trails to hike on.

This was probably one of our favorite hikes during our vacation to GSMNP. The trail itself is…read morelocated in Greenbrier at the end of a long gravel road. What this means for you, is that this trail isn't as crowded as most others in the park! Porters Creek is about 4 miles roundtrip with Fern Branch Falls being the turn around point. You can continue on the trail another 1.5-2 miles after that but it just leads you to a campground. The trail is rated as moderate but we found the first mile to be fairly easy. The second mile was more uphill and rocky with a lot of tree roots to compete with. The first mile of the hike runs along Porters Creek and the gravel/dirt trail is wide. Along the way you will see several historic points of interest. First stop is The Owenby Cemetery which dates from the early 20th century. You will also pass the John Messer Barn built in 1875 and the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club Cabin built around 1934. If you do this hike, take some time to explore these places. They were pretty cool! During the second mile, the trail narrows some as you start heading uphill. The forest becomes a little more dense and you really have to start watching your footing. At the turn around point, you'll see Fern Branch Falls. This waterfall is about 40-50 feet up from the trail and it was pretty cool watching it trickle down the side of the mountain. It's no where as big as say Abrams Falls but it is still impressive in its own right. Porters Creek trail was a nice change of pace. If you are looking to get away from the crowds, this might be the perfect trail for you. We saw maybe a total of 10 people during our 4 mile hike. Beautiful hike!

Walk to the fall is nice - the fall is a bit average - it is not very large. We enjoyed the walk…read more There are some logs and puddles along the way for kids to enjoy.

This is a nice sized waterfall. The best part is how easy it is to get to it. While others require…read moremiles of hiking... this one is under 10 mins. It's easy to access by foot with children or for older folks that can't walk far. The short walk to the waterfall from the parking lot is beautiful and shaded by trees. You walk alongside the river the entire way. Once you reach the waterfall there is a small bench to sit and admire. If your trying to find waterfalls that are safe and easy walking distance this is the perfect one to visit! Although the sign says "do not climb" plenty of kids were walking up and down the areas above and around the waterfall. I would not suggest this. Nearly gave me a heart attack when my son ran up.

Beautiful short hike that is around 2 miles total roundtrip in Townsend near the Smoky Mountains…read more A lot of uphill climbing, but worth it for the waterfall. When we were here this trail was still quite crowded and parking was limited/hard to find so be mindful of that. Otherwise, it's a beautiful site to see.

Looking for short, less populated, but still fabulous waterfall hike while visiting Gatlinburg or…read morethe Great Smoky Mountains? This is it!!! SPRUCE FLATS FALLS is a very short hike that begins at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute @ Tremont. The waterfall trail begins at the exact same point as the Lumber Ridge Trailhead, but the Lumber Ridge Trail goes left while the Spruce Flats trail goes right. The trail is easy to follow for the most part due to the Institute providing additional signs along the way to help guide you. Various hiking websites have differing difficult ratings as well as differing distances to the falls. My personal hiking experience would rate this as mildly moderate and the distance, according to our tracking systems was around .8 miles to the falls for a grand total of about 1.6 miles round trip. ~ MILDLY MODERATE HIKE The distance is easy, and while there are some steep uphill and downhill sections, my heartrate was never elevated to the point of heavy breathing. Experienced hikers would likely rate this trail on the harder side of an easy scale, primarily because of the difficulty of the terrain. It is heavily laced with exposed tree roots and/or embedded with jagged stones making it important to watch your step and balance. ~ OUR EXPERIENCE Our primary reason for visiting the Smokies was to hike Mount LeConte, which we successfully did the day prior to hiking here to Spruce Flats Falls. LeConte is a beast of a hike with an elevation gain of just under 2,900 feet over 5.5 miles. Comparatively, Spruce Flats Falls trail was a delight, but our legs were still extremely sore from our LeConte hike! The pain made our this hike less joyful, but each painful step was well rewarded with a gorgeous waterfall. Our group included myself, an experienced hiker, a grandmother (64), two single moms (29 & 31), their two kids: Adorable 3 year old Jojo and 10 year old Zeke + my yelp daughter Jess (30). My wife was still sore from the LeConte hike and opted to stay back in Gatlinburg. *** LET ME JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY HOW INCREDIBLE MOTHERS ARE!!! Little 3-year-old Jojo's mom carried her probably more then 1/3rd of the hike, particularly over some of the tougher terrains and didn't break a friggin' sweat!!! I carried her tiny 30 pound body up one of the steeper parts of the trail for about 5 minutes and thought I was gonna die! Jojo's 64 year old grandmother who does not hike at all handled the trail like a champion, even leading the way on occasion. Truthfully I was worried by some of the hiking reports for this trail saying it may be difficult for children, seniors and inexperienced hikers, but our group had all of those and it was not a problem. PLUS it had been raining most of the morning (wetting the trail) and continued with a light dewy drizzle most of our hike. ~ FINAL THOUGHTS Yep, my group included three generations of women on a rainy, misty Saturday and we all had a great time! The falls are beautiful! One of the more beautiful ones I've seen in the area, but hard to see in full from the base. This is definitely a waterfall where the pictures are best if you have a drone that can capture it's full grandeur. My difficulty scale: 0 = no effort required 1-3 = easy 4-6 = moderate 7-9 = difficult 10 = extremely difficult WATERFALL ATTRACTIVENESS: 8 out of 10 OVERALL DIFFICULTY: 4 out of 10 (mostly because of terrain) OUR TRACKING DISTANCE: 1.6 miles round trip from parking area across from the Institute @ Tremont. 2020 / 68

Amazing OLD-growth forest! One of the few remaining primary growth forests left on Eastern half of…read morethe USA. The hike is an easy ~ 2 mile figure-8 through the incredible 3,840-Acre woods. The unpaved, well maintained trail was damp but not muddy. There is a big stream throughout the trail. Although mostly shaded, recommend a hat, sunglasses, hiking boots or trail runners, shell, snack and water. The oldest trees are estimated 450 years old poplars. Unlike the West Coast Hoh RF and the Redwoods, you can see the top of the trees. In June 2025, JKMF was lush green after recent rain storms, felt much like temperate rain forests in the mid 60s Fahrenheit during our early morning hike. There were also remains of some controlled fires. There are about 20 paved parking spots and was full by 10am on Saturday. It has restrooms adjacent to the parking lot. The modern of the two restrooms was under construction and was closed. There is a port-a potty if you get desperate. Best to make pit stops before your arrival. Leave No Trace :)

Beautiful old growth forest with easy to moderate trail. Updated parking lot that has a few picnic…read moretables probably 20 parking spots. There is a typical vault toilet and then a normal plumbed bathroom area as well. The normal bathroom opens early April. Our 5 year old could easily do the trail (we avoided the difficult trail), but one of the two grandparents with us couldn't. We went on a dry day and as long as you pick up your feet for roots and navigate a few obstacles it's not very difficult. Would be slippery and more difficult if wet.

We walked the entire trail from the head which started by the parking areas (Loop Dr.). It was an…read moreawesome hike there and the waterfall was beautiful at the end. It was long but well worth it. Beware, the hike back is mostly uphill and pretty steep to start. It may be challenging!

I really enjoyed the area, but the hike was very confusing…read more.. My boyfriend and I started out in one parking lot, and ended up in another hours later, without ever coming across Baskins Creek Falls! We didn't start out at the primary entrance, but still, I think things need to be more clearly marked if you are supposed to turn off the main trail! We hike very regularly, so we're far from newbies at this. The graveyard was very interesting. But there was a sign for the graveyard, that was pointing in the opposite way. It was horrible that some elderly couple possibly have had the same problem, as we had also experienced and saw. We went back in to help them, after retrieving them some water. Hikers beware, but very beautiful area! We even saw a few bears! :o)