Spruce Flats Falls near Tremont

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is our "home" park, but we didn't realize that this trail and waterfall existed until I was thumbing through "Waterfalls of Tennessee" by Gregory Plumb.  Depending on parking, the trail is just under two miles round trip.  We decided to visit in early April 2012 in order to see lots of water.
  

Before starting the hike, we drove a few miles up the gravel road along the Middle Prong of the Little River.  The road follows the alignment of the old Little River Lumber Co Railroad.  It is variously called Tremont Road or Middle Prong Road.  After about one mile, we stopped to view the 25 foot high Lower Spruce Flats Falls across the Middle Prong from the road.    

There were a couple of sections of white water on the Middle Prong.  The first one was just upstream of Lower Spruce Flats Falls.  

The second one is in a bend in the river.  From here, you can see the road along the right side.  For most of the distance, the road elevation is very near the river.  This created some problems several years ago as the road was severely damaged due to flooding.  

Further along, we saw a couple of creeks cascading down the mountain and under the road.  Just past the 3 mile marker, we found the pot holes were too large to navigate in the vehicle we had, so we turned around and returned to the parking lot of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.

After applying sunscreen and insect repellant, we started the hike by walking about a quarter mile across the parking lot to the small sign marking the beginning of the trail.  The second quarter mile was a series of switchbacks up to and above the water tank.  Beyond this, the trail climbs at a gentler pace with some great views of the valley and surrounding mountains.  As we climbed, the sounds of the river rapids started receding.

After cresting the ridge, we could finally hear the falls ahead of us and we picked up the pace.  Arriving at the creek, we found the trail appears to continue on across the creek by using the large boulders as stepping stones.  Just above this is a cascade and above that is the 36 foot high falls.  We spent some time just enjoying the cool breeze and the soothing sounds of the falls and cascades.

I found a path up to the falls and took some additional pictures.

In addition, I managed to get some video as well.

The park website is at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.