Little Cataloochee Church - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cataloochee is a rather secluded valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park located in North Carolina at the eastern end of the park.  Access is by way of a gravel road that roughly follows an ancient Cherokee path.  Little Cataloochee is a smaller valley that intersects with the larger Cataloochee valley near its confluence with the Pigeon River.  

To access the Little Cataloochee trailhead, turn west onto Cove Creek Road from US 276 near its intersection with Interstate 40 (exit 20).  After about five miles, the pavement ends and the gravel road begins.  Another ¾ mile will lead to Cove Creek Gap and the park entrance.  From here, descend about two miles to a four-way intersection.  To the left is a paved road leading to an overlook and Cataloochee.  To the right is a gated gravel road.  Directly ahead is the gravel Cataloochee Turnpike.  Proceed down the turnpike another two miles to an intersection with another gravel road that leads to Cataloochee.  Keep right at this intersection and drive another 3½ miles to the gated trail head on the left.  This should be a total of about 13¼ miles from the intersection of US 276.  Very limited parallel parking is available along the road near the trail head.

The trail is actually a gated single-lane gravel road.  Little Cataloochee Baptist Church is two miles from the trail head, although the trail continues to intersect with other trails in the park.  We visited Little Cataloochee Baptist Church in March 2014.

Mount Sterling Ridge on the horizon

View into Cataloochee from the overlook

Single-land bridge over Cataloochee Creek

Cataloochee Creek

Roadside trail sign

Trail head

Parking limits the road to one lane with limited sight distance

Trail

The trail is wide and mostly smooth allowing hikers to enjoy the views without watching every step

Correll Branch

Bridge over Correll Branch

Part of the trail is muddy during the rainy season

Typical section of the trail

Stay straight or left at the intersection with the Long Bunk Trail

The trail intersection marks the half-way point to the church

Hannah cabin from the road

As the road descends into the Little Cataloochee valley, the gravel gives way to dirt

Bridge over Little Cataloochee Creek in Ola

Little Cataloochee Creek

Remains of a cabin foundation in Ola

First glimpse of the church through the trees

Side view of the church from the road trail

Final resting place of many of the early settlers of Cataloochee

Little Cataloochee Baptist Church was the only church in the valley

Interior of the church

Forged by the Fair Foundry Company of Knoxville, Tennessee

Admission to the park is free.

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