Hiking the Smokies (Johnson City, Pigeon Forge, Greenbrier: work, title, building)

[Git2know]

Does anyone have any hikes in the Smokies they would like to share?
My wife and I have recently been doing some hikes in the Roaring Fork Motor nature trail in Gatlinburg Tn. Grotto Falls, Baskins Creek.
I would like to get some suggestions on ones we should also take. I think there are many, about 150 or so.
We love the ones with a waterfall.
Barry

Hiking The Smokies

[brcomm0]

Check out Falls Creek Falls in Spencer Tenn. Nice waterfalls and hiking areas.
Great state park.

[BarbG]

Rainbow Falls (Cherokee Orchard Road) is beautiful.

Ramsey Cascades (Greenbrier Rd) is gorgeous, and the trail will whip your rear. But, I love it all the same.

Abrams Creek trail (in Cades Cove) leads to Abrams Falls, which is also a very nice hike.

We love the unpaved trail after you go past Laurel Falls. Most people turn around at Laurel Falls, and there is an old growth forest up above it. Beautiful!

Our favorite, for a nice afternoon stroll, is the the Little River Trail, which winds along the Little River. You can use that one as a loop trail with Cucumber Gap Trail, or just go out as far as you'd like and turn around. It's an old railroad bed.

There's also a short (2 mile round trip) trail at the Smoky Mtn Institute. You park in their lot and ask them about the unmarked trail to the waterfall. It's a beautiful waterfall, and the trail isn't crowded.

[hiknapster]

Git2know: I love your website!

[Git2know]

Thanks everyone,
There seems to be enough to keep us busy for quite some time. My wife, son and I are trying to do all the waterfalls to begin with. We are not fond of crowds, but hey, I guess it goes with the area on some of the more popular trails.
We find that getting there as early as possible helps a lot. We also discoverd that Bug Repelant is an absolute must! In some sections of that Baskins Creek trail, the Skeeters where craaazy.
Barry

[Git2know]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Git2know: I love your website!

Thank you so much!
I have been slowly trying to build it for the last 6 monsths or so. I am not an extreamly "websavy" individual but I keep slugging along, slow but sure.
I've worked in Pigeon Forge Tn. for the last 20 years or so, so I figured I might as well make a website about the area and see if I could do it good enough to help folks out that may be thinking about coming to the area.
Building Git2know.com has been a challange and a joy really. A challange because I have never built a website before. A joy because it is nice to see something that you are doing take shape over time.
By the way, I'm open to any suggestions ...Ive discoverd that sometimes my reservoir of creativity runs shallow and I must reach out to others to "git" some input. Lol

Thanks again,
Barry

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Git2know I also love your website, East Tenn is very beautiful and I love the Smokey Mountains! We were in Pigeon Forge for the first time in Jan and I can't wait to come back in Oct. we also love to take the quite walks in Great Smokey Mt National Forest.

[Git2know]

Originally Posted by I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA

Git2know I also love your website, East Tenn is very beautiful and I love the Smokey Mountains! We were in Pigeon Forge for the first time in Jan and I can't wait to come back in Oct. we also love to take the quite walks in Great Smokey Mt National Forest.

I agree whole heartedly about the quite walks. That's what inspired me to do the page entitled: Walk by the River .

Not only that but I figured that people like to find some of the totally free things to do when they visit a town.
When my wife and I pass through a city that we like, we always love the "off the beaten path" things.
Git2know

[sliverbox]

Probably the single most beautiful hike I would do in the smokies was two places actually. The nice part is that they're off the beaten path from some of the more popular locations like Cades Cove, Fall Creek falls, etc.

No. 1 would be Mt. Leconte'. There are 4-5 trails up. They range from 6-16 miles each. Mt Leconte is the highest point in the Southeast I believe and there is a sort of settlement of log cabins and lodges on top. You can stay up there but you need reservations, sometimes up to a year in advance to stay the night. if you hike up in the day, do one of the shorter 6 mile trails. Then you can stay up there all day and hike down in the afternoon. It is breathtaking up there. One very distinct moment was when I was by myself, stopped about halfway up, stopped on this bald and it was dead silent. I can't explain the feeling.

Second is a Rhododendron bald near Johnson City, TN called Roan Mountain. This is perhaps one of the most stunning sites I can remember. I took my wife up there and she agreed.

Lastly is the Cataloochee meadow. This is in NC but part of the Appalachian chain. If you like Cades Cove, imagine it without all that crazy tourist junk in Gatlinburg. Also imagine it with very few people. It is in my opinion more beautiful than Cades Cove and due to being less accessible( gravel windding road) there are not the long throngs of people. Me and my family went up there many times. I remember drinking water out of the spring there.

[Milo Bloom]

I enjoy the Walker Sisters Cabin (for a short hike w/kids) and the Mt Sterling Fire Tower hike if I'm by myself or with a friend.