suggestions for day hikes

[Christy]

My father and I are looking to spend a few days in the park at the end of May day hiking and camping. We would like to spend at least one day on the Appalachian Trail. Does anyone have any suggestions for particular sections of the AT that make a nice day hike in the area, or other trails in the area?
Advice on campsites in the area would also be appreciated, as while we have always wanted to go there, we are not overly familiar with the area.

Thank you
Christy

[HikerRanky]

My father and I are looking to spend a few days in the park at the end of May day hiking and camping. We would like to spend at least one day on the Appalachian Trail. Does anyone have any suggestions for particular sections of the AT that make a nice day hike in the area, or other trails in the area?
Advice on campsites in the area would also be appreciated, as while we have always wanted to go there, we are not overly familiar with the area.

Thank you
Christy

Hello Christy and welcome to WhiteBlaze.net! I hope that you find this site a great resource!

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) is a great place to visit. Over 800 miles of trails including part of the Appalachian Trail exist within the park boundaries. You can find just about any type of hiking and backpacking you can imagine there.

A great resource would be the park website.There you can find out about campsites and the different types of facilities offered there. You can also download a PDF of the trails from the website.

If you want to hike along a section of the AT, you can simply drive up Newfound Gap Road (US441) until you reach Newfound Gap. The AT crosses here. You can either head north and go to a place called Charlie's Bunion, or head south and go to Clingman's Dome. At 6,643', this is the highest point on the AT. Round trip to the Dome from Newfound Gap is about 16 miles. Round Trip to Charlies Bunion is about 9 miles from Newfound Gap.

Other trails that I personally like are the Cove Mountain Trail, Porters Creek Trail, and the Little River/Cucumber Gap/Jakes Creek Trail loop. This last one is really nice in that you can park your car, start down the trail, and loop back from different trails. It's about 9 miles IIRC.

I hope that this helps, and enjoy your trip!

Randy

[Gray Blazer]

Davenport Gap to Mt. Cammerrer tower and back.

[brotheral]

I love to camp at Elkmont. It's in the park about 7 miles west of the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Coming from I-40 drive through Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg on 441 South into the park. The visitor center is on the right. I was just there last week. Right now it's 1st come / 1st serve. I think they switch to reservations in mid may, but you can make them now. End of May is Memorial Day weekend. Probably be difficult to reserve a site at Elkmont during that time, but you never know. People cancel...Check it out on-line through Recreation.Gov. There are some great riverside sites there. I like the "G-loop" riverside. They are posting a warning about construction and paving that's going on from late April til August... Also: There are infinite camping options in the area....
Regarding hikes: I like the hike from Newfound Gap to Charlies Bunion. A little over 8 miles round trip. You can check out the Icewater Springs A/t shelter. A pretty easy shorter hike is to Abrahms Falls (4 mile). You accesss this from Cades Cove loop road which they're reconstructing right now . Estimated completion is May 21st. Upon arrival, I'd stop at the visitor center and talk to one of the staff. They're very helpful. There's a pamphlet titled "Day Hikes" you can pick up there for $1.00. Maybe look at SmokiesStore.org.
I Love The Smokies and camp there several times each year...

[Gray Blazer]

Another good day-hike would be to drive up to Mt. Sterling Gap, then hike to the tower on Mt. Sterling. It is on the BMT on the ridge opposite the AT. You can see a lot of the AT route from up there as well as Max Patch, Mt. Cammerrer, Mt. Guyot and Clingmans Dome (on a clear day of course).

[Xavier Jeff]

Christy - my favorite hike in the park is up to Rocky Top. The views are some of the best in the park. Additionally, the mountain laurel at Spence Field is incredible - however, going up there is late May might be a little early. This is a pretty tough hike though. Here's some more info:

http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/thunderhead.htm

Jeff

[av8er79]

I highly recommend Mt. Leconte via The Alum Cave Trail about 10 miles. The view up top is stunning. A short but challenging hike is The Chimney Tops about 4 miles roundtrip.

[liteweight]

Depending how many miles you want to do a day? Heading out to Charlies Bunion on a clear day is a winner. You can also take a side trip down the boulevard trail to the jumpoff. You can't beat the hike up to Leconte. A nice waterfall hike would be Ramsey Cascades in the Greenbrier section of the park. Rich Mountain loop in Cades Cove is a really nice loop hike. Hiking up to the Mt Cammerer fire tower (via low gap trail in Cosby) will give you one of the best views in the park. Clingmans dome road is closed through May 28th so you may or may not be able to access the tower. If it is open while your there another nice hike is out to Andrews bald.