Kephart Prong Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Kephart Prong Trail is a two-mile horse and hiking trail that follows an old logging railroad route up Kephart Prong to the Kephart Shelter. The trailhead is on Newfound Gap Road about seven miles north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Parallel parking is available on both sides of the road. The creek, trail and shelter are all named for Horace Kephart, author of Our Southern Highlanders and an early proponent of the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

The route utilizes five bridges to reach the shelter and junction with both the Sweat Heifer Creek Trail and the Grassy Branch Trail. The first bridge is also used by horses, but the remaining spans are only footbridges and require equestrians to ford the creek. The average grade on the trail is about 7.5% and is fairly consistent along the length of the trail. Most of the trail is a one-lane gravel road, but detours around the fords to the foot bridges are often single-track paths. About 0.2 miles from the trailhead, the remains of the Camp Kephart Prong of the Civilian Conservation Corps can be found. The camp signboard, a water fountain, and a chimney are easily spotted on the right side of the trail during winter and early spring when the leaves are off of the trees and bushes. Beyond the camp, the trail crosses Bridge 2 at 0.4 miles and climbs high above the creek before crossing Bridge 3 at 0.85 miles and re-crossing on Bridge 4 at 1.05 miles. The trail climbs another ½ mile before crossing Bridge 5. The final ½ mile to the shelter rapidly transitions from a gravel one-lane road to a trail with evidence of erosion such as tree roots and loose rocks. 

Overall, this is a great trail that follows a lovely creek up to one of the few trail shelters in the park that is not on the Appalachian Trail. We hiked to the shelter and back in late March 2016.

Topographic map with GPS route

Elevation profile

Bridge 1 over the Oconaluftee River

View downstream

View upstream with Newfound Gap Road

Typical trail conditions near the trailhead

Camp signboard
CCC Camp Kephart Prong, Co.# 411-NP-5

This tree will eventually topple the sign

Water fountain for the camp

The chimney is all that remains of this camp structure

Part of the trail was once paved

A small cascade on Kephart Prong

Bridge 2 over Kephart Prong

View upstream

The gravel trail continues higher

Long view upstream is likely only available in winter and early spring

A view of the third bridge from the horse crossing

Bridge 3 over Kephart Prong

View of the cascade upstream from the third bridge

Looking downstream

Bridge 4 over Kephart Prong

View upstream from the bridge

Typical trail above the fourth bridge

Moss covered tree spans the creek

Trail conditions worsen approaching the fifth bridge

Rocks have been laid in like cobblestones in this muddy section

Our lunch view at the fifth bridge

Bridge 5 over Kephart Prong

Evidence of the previous logging railroad

Typical trail conditions above the fifth bridge

Kephart shelter

The Kephart Shelter is designated for both hikers and horses

Food storage cable system

Ashes dumped beside the chimney

Skylights and double deck bunking

Fire ring

Sweat Heifer Trail bridge over Kephart Prong

Entry to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free.

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