The Dog Days of Summer
Cool down and beat the heat during the dog days of summer by enjoying the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's cool rivers and mountain breezes.
Pack a picnic in the Park! Picnic areas are located at Big Creek, Chimney Tops, Cades Cove, Collins Creek, Cosby, Deep Creek, Greenbrier, Heintooga, Look Rock, Metcalf Bottoms, and Twin Creeks. Please remember that feeding bears and other wildlife is illegal. We want you to have fun, but we also want you to be safe and to keep our wildlife healthy and safe.
Go take a Hike! More than 850 miles of hiking trails traverse the Great Smoky Mountains. They range from easy to difficult and provide half hour walks to week-long backpacking trips. The Appalachian Trail runs for 70 miles along the Park's top ridge.
Visit a Waterfall - Waterfalls adorn most every stream in the Smokies. Only one waterfall, Meigs Falls, is visible from the road. It is 12.9 miles west of the Sugarlands Visitor Center, near the Townsend Wye. All others require hiking, and range from easy to strenuous. Stop at the Sugarland Visitors Center for more information and maps. Below is a listing of the Smokies' best known falls:
Laurel Falls
Grotto Falls
Chasteen Creek Falls
Indian Creek Falls
Henwallow Falls
Abrams Falls
Ramsey Cascades
Rainbow Falls
Wouldn't you like to come to Pigeon Forge and take advantage of having the Smokies at your backdoor?
Comments
Another trail that is beautiful at this time of year is located inside Treemont. I think it's called Spruce Flats Falls, but there's just a tiny brown sign that says "Falls" up by one of the counselor's houses. You can park at the information center and then walk up the road past the cafeteria and other buildings. It's a pretty little fall that no one seems to know about.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 28, 2005 06:41 PM
A falls trail that I would suggest is Baskins Creek Falls. It's located off of Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (the left side of the road). There's not much parking but that's because it's a very quiet trail. Only a couple of miles, this is a pretty little falls that appears out of the woods so expect lots of fall colors soon.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 28, 2005 06:45 PM