Little River Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Little River Trail is in the Elkmont area on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  To reach Elkmont from Gatlinburg, head south on Newfound Gap Road (US 441) to the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  Turn right onto Little River Road (Old TN 73).  This road is listed as Fighting Creek Gap Road on USGS topographic maps.  Drive 4.9 miles and turn left into the Elkmont Campground access road. Drive 1.5 miles and then turn left to stay on Elkmont Road.  Drive an additional ¾ mile to a small loop parking area.  If the lot is full, additional parking is available in another ¼ mile.  The last weekend in March 2014, I planned to make a 4.8 mile loop hike by walking up the Little River Trail and returning via the Cucumber Gap and Jakes Creek Trails.  

The Little River Trail follows the river along the route of an early 20th century logging railroad, so the grade is consistent and fairly easy.  In addition, the first mile of the trail was formerly the old, paved access road through the Elkmont cottages to the former trail head.  The cottages are all posted for visitors to keep out, but the architecture can still be admired from the trail.  About two miles up the trail, Huskey Branch Falls is crossed with a sturdy bridge.  The creek drops quickly before flowing under the bridge and dropping into the Little River.

Upon reaching the trail junction at approximately the halfway point, I turned right on the Cucumber Gap Trail to complete the loop back to the parking area.  Although I knew Huskey Branch had to be crossed by rock hopping, I did not realize the snow melt and recent rains  would make the crossing a bit treacherous.  With the water temperature likely around 40 degrees and the chance of getting one or both feet wet was very high, I decided to complete the loop at another time and backtrack along the way I had come.  This was still a very enjoyable hike that I stretched to about five miles.

The first mile of the trail was formerly the auto access to the trailhead

Passing the stone fences of Elkmont

One of the many cottages

A collapsed out building

Another cottage along the road

Front view of the cottage

Boulders in the Little River

Another view of the river

Bearwallow Branch descending from Burnt Mountain

The wide trail hugs the riverbank

Whitewater on the river

Water cascading over the rocks

Another cascade on the river

Automobile turnaround  and parking at the old trail head

Storms have brought down several trees along the river...

...and across the trail

Even though it was the end of March, the snow lingered on

The river passe through a narrow notch in the rocks

More boulders in the river

Rhododendron lines the trail

Phoebe Branch enters the far side of the river

Another cascade on the Little River

Bridge over Huskey Branch

Huskey Branch Falls

Huskey Branch flowing into the river from the bridge

Looking back at Huskey Branch entering the Little River

The trail heads straight up the valley instead of following the river

Snow along the trail

Junction with Cucumber Gap Trail

A bench has been erected at the junction

Cucumber Gap Trail is a more typical park trail than the Little River Trail

Lots of roots and rocks to stumble on

Snow in the shadows along the trail

Approaching Huskey Branch

Huskey Branch crossing Cucumber Gap Trail

The stepping stones were a bit too far apart for me to cross Huskey Branch

Returning back along Cucumber Gap Trail reveals more snow

There is no fee to enter Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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