
Distance (One Way)
Elevation Gain
Trailhead
Location
Trail Description
Thunderhead Mountain rises 5,527 above sea level and is the highest point in Blount County. The hike to Thunderhead Mountain generally refers to the hike to its first subpeak, known as Rocky Top. The location is said to have inspired Felice and Boudleaux Bryant to write what is now the University of Tennessee's fight song.
Rocky Top (5,440 ft) is said by many to be one of the most beautiful vantage points in the Great Smoky Mountains. The most common route to reach this subpeak of Thunderhead Mountain begins on Lead Cove Trail on Laurel Creek Road, about a mile from the entrance to Cades Cove. It is in the same place as the trailheads for Turkeypen Ridge and Finley Cane Trail. If using your GPS to find it, try navigating to the Turkeypen Ridge trailhead and you'll find Lead Cove across the street. There is some street parking available here on both sides of the road.
Lead Cove Trail is only 1.8 miles long, but it is steep. You'll gain about 1200 feet of elevation on this trail alone. There is at least one water crossing (in the first half mile) that requires some skillful rock hopping after significant rain. Continue up this trail until you reach its end and intersection with Bote Mountain Trail.
Take a right on Bote Mountain Trail. From here you will continue 2.9 miles before reaching the AT. You will pass Anthony Creek Trail on the right after 1.4 miles. Continue for the last 1.7 miles of Bote Mountain Trail before reaching the intersection with the Appalachian Trail on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.
To reach Rocky Top, head left on the Appalachian Trail for about 1.4 miles.
Turning right on the AT from this point will quickly take you to the Spence Field shelter and eventually to Russell Field shelter (see Spence/Russell Field loop).
The Appalachian Trail portion of this hike often feels like the hardest park. At first you will gently descend through a grassy heath bald area, where you will start to see some great views of the surrounding mountains. After passing the intersection with Jenkins Ridge Trail you will quickly find yourself back in the woods staring down a steep portion of wooden steps. Continue the climb for about a quarter mile before descending again, and then climbing one more time for about a half mile until you reach the rock-covered outcrop known as Rocky Top.
[+ Read More]Trail Difficulty Scales Explained
Elevation Grade
11%
Very Steep
Paul Petzoldt Scale
13.1
Strenuous
5
10
15
Shenandoah Scale
207
Very Strenuous
50
100
150
Hiker Tips & Trivia
- Arnold Guyot's 1859 survey of the Great Smoky Mountains lists Thunderhead Mountain as 5,520 feet above sea level - only 7 feet under the modern measurement
- "The last Spence Field clearing offers a good view of the three summits of Thunderhead Mountain to the northeast, about 1 mile away. The farthest knob is Thunderhead proper, preceded by two more knobs of almost equal elevation, the first being Rocky Top." - Adam Brimer, Morgan Simmons (Knox News Archive)
Photo Gallery (18)

















Trail Map
- Abrams Falls Trail (4.2 mi)
- Ace Gap Trail (5.4 mi)
- Albright Grove Loop Trail (0.7 mi)
- Alum Cave Trail (Mt. LeConte) (5 mi)
- Andrews Bald via Forney Ridge Trail (1.8 mi)
- Anthony Creek Trail (3.5 mi)
- Appalachian Trail Smoky Mountains Segment (71.7 mi)
- Baskins Creek Trail (2.7 mi)
- Baxter Creek Trail (Mt. Sterling) (6.2 mi)
- Big Creek Trail (Mouse Creek Falls, Midnight Hole) (5.8 mi)
- Bote Mountain Trail (6.6 mi)
- Boulevard Trail (Mt. LeConte) (5.4 mi)
- Bradley Fork Trail (7.3 mi)
- Brushy Mountain Trail (Mt. LeConte) (4.9 mi)
- Bullhead Trail (Mt. LeConte) (5.9 mi)
- Cataract Falls (Fighting Creek, Cove Mountain Trail) (0.5 mi)
- Charlies Bunion via Appalachian Trail (4.2 mi)
- Charlies Bunion via Kephart Prong Loop (14.2 mi)
- Chestnut Top Trail (4.3 mi)
- Chimney Tops Trail (2 mi)
- Clingmans Dome Trail (0.6 mi)
- Cooper Road Trail (10.5 mi)
- Cove Mountain Trail (8.5 mi)
- Crooked Arm Ridge Trail (2.2 mi)
- Cucumber Gap Trail (2.4 mi)
- Dry Sluice Gap Trail (4.2 mi)
- Eagle Creek Trail (8.9 mi)
- Elkmont Nature Trail (0.8 mi)
- Finley Cane Trail (2.8 mi)
- Forney Ridge Trail (5.4 mi)
- Gabes Mountain Trail (Hen Wallow Falls) (6.6 mi)
- Gatlinburg Trail (1.9 mi)
- Goldmine Trail (0.8 mi)
- Grapeyard Ridge Trail (7.6 mi)
- Gregory Bald Trail (Gregory Bald) (7.3 mi)
- Gregory Ridge Trail (Gregory Bald) (5 mi)
- Grotto Falls (Trillium Gap Trail) (1.4 mi)
- Hannah Mountain Trail (9.5 mi)
- Hatcher Mountain Trail (2.6 mi)
- Huskey Gap Trail (4.1 mi)
- Indian Grave Gap Trail (3.7 mi)
- Jakes Creek Trail (3.7 mi)
- Kephart Prong Trail (2 mi)
- Laurel Falls Trail (4 mi)
- Lead Cove Trail (1.8 mi)
- Little Bottoms Trail (2.3 mi)
- Little Brier Gap Trail (Walker Sisters Cabin) (1.4 mi)
- Little Greenbrier Trail (4.3 mi)
- Little River Trail (6.1 mi)
- Low Gap Trail (5.4 mi)
- Lower Mt. Cammerer Trail (7.4 mi)
- Lumber Ridge Trail (4.1 mi)
- Lynn Camp Prong Trail (3.7 mi)
- Maddron Bald Trail (Albright Grove) (7.3 mi)
- Meigs Creek Trail (3.5 mi)
- Meigs Mountain Trail (6 mi)
- Metcalf Bottoms Trail (0.7 mi)
- Middle Prong Trail (Indian Flat Falls) (4.1 mi)
- Miry Ridge Trail (5 mi)
- Mt. Cammerer Trail via Low Gap + AT (5.6 mi)
- Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail (5.3 mi)
- Newfound Gap to Clingmans Dome (7.9 mi)
- Noland Creek Trail (9.2 mi)
- Old Settlers Trail (15.8 mi)
- Old Sugarlands Trail (3.9 mi)
- Panther Creek Trail (2.3 mi)
- Porters Creek Trail (Fern Branch Falls) (3.7 mi)
- Rabbit Creek Trail (7.8 mi)
- Rainbow Falls Trail (Mt. LeConte) (6.6 mi)
- Ramsey Cascades Trail (4 mi)
- Rich Mountain Loop (8.7 mi)
- Roundtop Trail (7.5 mi)
- Russell Field Trail (3.5 mi)
- Schoolhouse Gap Trail (Whiteoak Sink) (2.1 mi)
- Shuckstack Fire Tower via the AT (3.5 mi)
- Spence/Russell Field Loop (13.7 mi)
- Spruce Flats Falls Trail (Buckeye) (1 mi)
- Sugarland Mountain Trail (11.9 mi)
- Swallow Fork Trail (4 mi)
- Sweat Heifer Creek Trail (3.7 mi)
- The Jump Off (Boulevard Trail) (3.3 mi)
- Thunderhead Mountain (Rocky Top) (6.1 mi)
- Trillium Gap Trail (Grotto Falls, Mt. LeConte) (8.9 mi)
- Turkeypen Ridge Trail (3.6 mi)
- Twentymile Loop Trail (2.9 mi)
- Twentymile Trail (5 mi)
- Whiteoak Sink via Schoolhouse Gap Trail (2.3 mi)
The above list of hiking trails in the Smokies is incomplete and constantly being updated. If you have information or photos you would like to contribute, please contact [email protected].