Off-AT trip in southern Appalachians

[tlbj6142]

I'm thinking about taking my young kids on a 2-3 day trip/hike over their spring break (last week in March???). The southern Appalachians seem like as good as any other place to go that time of year (mostly mild temps, snow possible, but not real likely at lower elevations, etc.). I'd like to avoid the AT. I'm also looking for some place with lots of creeks, streams, rivers, or other "cool" things that will give the kids something to do while in camp.

Any suggestions?

[chris]

The southern slopes of the Smokys. I rarely see people in that part of the park, and those that I do see are of the fishing variety. Excellent (illegal) ramp picking opportunities. Some big time elevation changes, however, and a lot of creek fords (can be nastier than anything on the PCT during high water times). Try to take in High Rocks, which is a great view point overlooking Fontana Dam. The Mount Sterling Firetower is almost as pretty a viewpoint as Mount Cammerer, but water is a pain if you are going to camp there. The Bone Valley (Bone Creek Valley, maybe) has an old cabin, but a momma bear and cubs ran me out of there before I could explore.

I could make a specific recommendation, but the area is large enough, and has enough trails, that there are many loop possibilities. This is definitely my favorite part of the park. I've even run into genuine wild animals there. If you like to fish, there are about a billion good places to do so. The hiking can be challenging, as any east-west oriented route will work against the grain of the land.

[MOWGLI]

I'm thinking about taking my young kids on a 2-3 day trip/hike over their spring break (last week in March???). The southern Appalachians seem like as good as any other place to go that time of year (mostly mild temps, snow possible, but not real likely at lower elevations, etc.). I'd like to avoid the AT. I'm also looking for some place with lots of creeks, streams, rivers, or other "cool" things that will give the kids something to do while in camp.

Any suggestions?

How young are your kids? What jumps out at me is the Standing Indian Loop. Beautiful creeks, forest, some mountains, a shelter or two. It does touch the AT however. The AT will be mighty busy then.

Another option is the Foothills Trail in South Carolina. The Jocassee Gorges area is beautiful. There are lots of beautiful rivers (great fishing) but a few climbs too. http://www.foothillstrail.org/current/menu.htm They provide shuttles, including a potential boat shuttle. How cool would that be for the kids?

The Pisgah National Forest near Asheville is another great area. The Shining Rock Wilderness area is great, although the trails are not signed or blazed. Your map reading skills will need to be good.

Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness is also choice. That's in the Nantahala NF. Beautiful creek! A day hike in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest will leave everyone's mouth hanging open in awe. BIG trees. HUGE trees.

Another option is a section of the Mountains to Sea Trail. http://www.ncmst.org/

If you want to drop me a PM, I'd be happy to try and assist you.

Whatever you do, have fun.

[SGT Rock]

You could also do the Pinhoti, there are the side trails in the Smokies, Sipsey, Slickrock, etc.

[orangebug]

Seeing that you are from Ohio, have you considered Cade's Cove, down on the SW / Tennessee side of the Smokies, just east of Townsend and Maryville? There are terrific loop opportunities up toward the AT, but some grand trips just within the Cove. The area just steams from history, and tends to be fairly well protected from bad weather.

It is pretty easy to get there and still avoid the distractions of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

[SGT Rock]

Yes it is, I go there as often as possible. Cades Cove has good parking and lots of trails, plus the altitude is not up in the snow.

[zephyr1034]

[QUOTE=MOWGLI16]How young are your kids? What jumps out at me is the Standing Indian Loop. Beautiful creeks, forest, some mountains, a shelter or two. It does touch the AT however. The AT will be mighty busy then.
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Is the old AT, that included a roadwalk on Wesser Creek Road, still maintained?

Another question: 25 or 30 years ago, the stretch between Wesser and Fontana Dam was famous as the most difficult section of the entire AT. You never hear that anymore. Has the trail been redone in that area?

[orangebug]

Go to the SORUCK threads, where LoneWolf led a bunch of unholy blue blazers down the Wesser Creek Trail. It sounded like fun, including blowdowns, fresh landslides and other features too numerous to mention. I think the road walk back to NOC was the most popular part. ;)

There are some nice climbs between Wesser and Fontana, but a great deal of switchbacks and other amenities. NOC makes life really easy for gear and resupply. I think NOGA is much tougher.

[max patch]

Might want to consider the Benton Mackaye although you'll be on the AT for a bit. End at the suspension bridge; neat place to camp. Busy spot on weekends. Shuttle should be easy to arrange with any of the regular AT shuttlers.

[tlbj6142]

My kids are quite young (7.5yo, 4.5yo), they both love hiking and have done some backpacking with me, but I can't push them. My brother and his young kids may tag along as well.

I'm really looking for something that gives them a nice hike with plenty of places to throw rocks at fish, catch salamanders (http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/salamanders/) and crayfish. A good supply of firewood is also nice, which is one reason why I want to avoid the AT.

If their break was a bit later, I'd hit western PA or WV (Dolly Sods, Cranberry Wilderness).

[orangebug]

For young kids, really think about Cades Cove. You don't really want long hikes, just some nice strolls and back to the campsite. March won't find a lot of amphibians and reptiles awakened. Yet they will get to see deer and the beginnings of other flora and fauna.

If you are looking for warmer weather hiking, you might consider Pine Mountain Georgia, near Calloway Gardens and Warm Springs. NW Georgia and the areas of Chattanooga around Lookout Mountain could be excellent for younger and older kids, also.

[Morning Glory]

One area of the Foothills trail in South Carolina/North Carolina would be very exciting to kids that age. There's a place called Burrell's Ford, right on the Chatooga River that has plenty of free camping sights. There's a parking area right above the area, and you would need to hike about 1/3 mile to get down to the camping area. There are even picnic tables and a privy, which is kinda convenient if you have young children. The FT runs right through the campground. If you walk about 2 or 3 miles upstream on the FT, there's a side trail that takes you to a fish hatchery that the kids may enjoy seeing. The hiking in this area is the easiest section of the FT...pretty much all flat, but being right on the river, very scenic. Also, you could actually get in your car and drive to see Whitewater Falls, which is pretty impressive and it's only a 15 minute drive from Burrell's Ford. I used to live in this area, working at a children's home, and I took kids camping and on day outings to this area all the time. The other advantage is that the weather in March in this area is not nearly as unpredictable as the Smokies. Snow in March is rare and it's not unusual to have the temps in the 70's. Really nice camping weather.

[leeki pole]

We enjoy just about any hike in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Plenty of varied hikes with streamside walks or mountain views. I took my girls who are not hikers and they really enjoyed Abrams Falls, a great destination hike that is easy. We were there in 2003 over spring break and it wasn't crowded at all, with some great views because the leaves weren't growing yet. Have fun!

[tlbj6142]

We are now going the last weekend (Thru-Sun) in April instead of March. While I'm not completely sold on the Smokies yet, I have scoured my little brown book and both GSMNP maps (gov issue and the Trail Ill version).

I see 3-4 "areas" that hold some promise...





Western end of Cades Cove. Starting in Cades Cove or Abrams Creek. Using sites 1, 2, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 (route dependent). Appears as though there is plenty of creeks to play in and the "little brown book" reads as though many (not all) of these sites are rarely used.
Lakeview Drive (Center of the Southern edge of the park). Using sites 63-67, 71 (rationed), 74.
Deep Creek. Using 53-60 (several are rationed). I'm not quite sure how to make a loop of some sort in this area.
Panther Creek. Using sites 26-27 and maybe Elkmont. The hike might prove to be a bit more difficult in this area.
Any thoughts? I think we may have 2 cars, so a loop may not be required. We'll be at the trailhead Thursday by 2pm and would like to leave Sunday no later than noon. With the kids, I'd like to keep mileage in the 4-6 per day range.

What about horse traffic? I noticed that most of these trails allow both foot and horse traffic. Any ideas if there is a lot of horse traffic? I would think most of the park's horse traffic would be near the various horsemen's camps in the East and Southeast portions of the park.

[cutman11]

I took my younguns(8yo and 6yo at the time)on a 3mi "camping" overnighter. We parked at Rock Gap, hiked down the side trail to the Waslik Poplar for the photo op, then back up to the AT and hiked North to a Campsite adjacent to the trail just before some log stairs. Then the next morning we continued north to Winding Stair gap, and then turned left at the road and hiked along the road back to the car. Safe, short, some sights, some camping. If you wanted longer hikes with no road walk, then stay in the standing indian campground, hike up the kimsey creek trail, along the AT north, and then back down any number of side trails leading back to the campground (I took the long trail). I once also started at deep gap (car via forest service road) hiked 2mi up to top of standing indian (has view and campsite) and then back down onto the AT north and down a side trail to the campground, then back up the kimsey creek trail to the car at deep gap.

[Uncle Silly]

Consider Doughton Park (an NC state park) just north of Wilkesboro. The northern end of the park borders the Blue Ridge Parkway and you can park at one of two or three overlooks, or use a parking area at the southern end. "Primitive" camp sites are located about 2 miles from the southern end and 5-6 miles from the northern end. There's one moderately difficult trail, but for the most part trails aren't too difficult. The camp sites are located near the confluence of two good-sized creeks, and you should be able to find crawdads and amphibians in the later spring. A 3-mile trail along one creek leads up to old homesites that were destroyed by mudslide in the '30s. One cabin remains (renovated) at the top of the trail, and along the way there are remains of several old chimneys in various degrees of still-standing. It's a nice area and I've never seen it very crowded.

[soccersoldier13]

Look into the Bartram Trail in GA and Western NC. It can have some climbs (one massive one straight up the side of the Nantahala Gorge to Cheoah Bald), but the sections along the Chattooga and Nantahala Rivers are just amazing.

Try looking into the Chattooga River Trail in GA and SC (it switches sides of the river partway through). It's not well-known, but it shares treadway with the Foothills and Bartram Trails at times, has no big climbs whatsoever, has indescribable scenery, and could be a nice 3-4 day or more trip. It's amazing.

[NotYet]

You might want to look at the trails in the Pisgah District of the Pisgah National Forest.

In particular, the Fish Hatchery area on the Davidson River has many trails around it that can be enjoyed by hikers of all ages (lots of creeks, forests, some waterfalls, great cliffs, plus the elevation is fairly low). There is also a free wildlife education center there, and you can check if they have any particular programs going on at that time. There are many loop options with great camping in this area.

Another area to consider is the Flat Laurel Creek, Black Balsam and/or Graveyard Fields areas in the Pisgah District. This is at a much higher elevation, but these areas great for kids (they are very popular, though...so sometimes quite crowded).

A final suggestion is Panthertown in the Highlands District of the Nantahala National Forest. It has lots of moderate trails with many loop options, creeks, waterfalls and cliffs to explore. If looking at this area, try to locate Burt Kornegay's map called "A Guide's Guide to Panthertown Valley"...it's an excellent map! (I haven't been there since the hurricanes, and the Forest Service website mentions that the Salt Rock Gap access is heavily damaged...if going there, plan to use the Cold Mtn. Gap access).

[halibut15]

A second NotYet's post. That area is sweet! Well, actually, all of these are. So hard to choose just one.....

[tlbj6142]

I own the trail illustrated map for Pisgah, I'll check it out.

[Bumpman]

My kids and I have backpacked in the GSMNP every spring break since my son was 6. I think you well like the Western end of Cades Cove you mentioned. We once started in the Cove and used 17 then 11 then out the next day. My kids really liked 17 because a creek runs right next to it and there is a little beach like area, not like a lake beach or anything but the kids loved it. The hiking is pretty easy compared to much of the park. However the hike back out from 11 was pretty steep and the Cooper Road trail was fairly rutty. Never saw a horse on that trip but have seen several over the years, but this has never been a problem. The big highlight of this loop would be the Abrams Falls themselves. It is worth planning on spending some time there. We ate lunch there and the kids got to answer questions from all the day hikers. The trail from the cove to the falls can be busy with day hikers but the rest was pretty quit. We had wished we reversed our direction and ended with the falls.

There are tons of loops that you can do in the park, just remember that the higher the climb the less miles young kids can do.

We always say we will go to a new park next Easter but always come back to the Smokys