Thunderhead Mountain (Rocky Top)Difficult
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 Anthony Creek Trail at the Cades Cove picnic area. Continue for all 3.5 miles of this trail before reaching the intersection with Bote Mountain Trail. 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.
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).
To reach Rocky Top, head left on the Appalachian Trail for about 1.4 miles.
An alternate route that shaves about a mile off your round trip total begins with Lead Cove Trail instead of Anthony Creek Trail. You will find the trailhead just over a mile before 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.
Lead Cove trail is only 1.8 miles long and takes you directly to Bote Mountain Trail. From here you will continue 1.2 miles before reaching the intersection with Anthony Creek trail. Continue on Bote Mountain and you will reach the AT the same way as the longer route.
[+ Read More]Thunderhead Mountain (Rocky Top) Elevation Profile
Trail Difficulty Scales Explained
Elevation Grade
10%
Fairly Steep
Paul Petzoldt Scale
13.6
Strenuous
5
10
15
Shenandoah Scale
216
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
Trail Map (2)
More Routes: Rocky Top via Anthony Creek Trail Rocky Top from Lead Cove Trailhead
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- Abrams Falls Trail (4.2 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) (6.6 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)
- Cove Mountain Trail (8.5 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)
- Forney Ridge Trail (5.4 mi)
- Gabes Mountain Trail (Hen Wallow Falls) (6.6 mi)
- Gatlinburg Trail (1.9 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)
- Huskey Gap Trail (4.1 mi)
- Jakes Creek Trail (3.3 mi)
- Kephart Prong Trail (2 mi)
- Laurel Falls Trail (4 mi)
- Little Greenbrier Trail (4.3 mi)
- Little River Trail (6.1 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)
- 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 (7.7 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)
- Rainbow Falls Trail (Mt. LeConte) (6.5 mi)
- Ramsey Cascades Trail (4 mi)
- Rich Mountain Loop (8.7 mi)
- Russell Field Trail (3.5 mi)
- Spence/Russell Field Loop (13.2 mi)
- Spruce Flats Falls Trail (Buckeye) (1.8 mi)
- Swallow Fork Trail (4 mi)
- Sweat Heifer Creek Trail (3.7 mi)
- Thunderhead Mountain (Rocky Top) (6.6 mi)
- Trillium Gap Trail (Grotto Falls, Mt. LeConte) (8.9 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 caroline@pigeonforge.com.
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