American Travel Journal: Cucumber Gap Loop - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Although we had planned to hike the Cucumber Gap loop in mid-March 2016, when we got to the Cucumber Gap Trail junction, we changed our plans and followed the Little River Trail upstream to the Goshen Prong Trail. I described that hike here. We finally hiked the loop in late April 2016. We parked at the upper paved hiker parking area near the Jakes Creek Trail trailhead. We walked down the road to the lower parking area and the Little River Trail trailhead and hiked upstream to the Cucumber Gap Trail junction. While most of the Little River Trail is a single lane gravel road up to the Goshen Prong Trail, the Cucumber Gap Trail is a wide dirt path with protruding roots and rocks. Most places are wide enough to meet another hiker without having to step off the trail. At the west end of the Cucumber Gap trail we headed north on the gravel road that is the Jakes Creek Trail. Note that this trail is also used by equestrians. We were a bit late for the spring ephemeral wild flowers, but still saw enough to make the hike up to the gap and down again enjoyable. Several of the abandoned buildings of the Elkmont resort community are still located along the lower end of the Jakes Creek Trail. The loop climbs and falls 750 feet with the highest elevation at Cucumber Gap and the lowest elevation between the two hiker parking areas in Elkmont. The route along Jakes Creek is much steeper than the Little River Trail.

Unless the wildflowers are blooming along the Cucumber Gap Trail or you want a bit of solitude, I'd suggest hiking further up the Little River Trail and retracing your steps for a more enjoyable and scenic hike.