Chimney Tops Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Chimney Tops Trail is one of the most popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trailhead is located on Newfound Gap Road (US 441) about 6.9 miles south of the Sugarlands Visitor Center. This location is between the lower tunnel and the loop on Newfound Gap Road. There are three paved parking areas for those headed south on the road. Two are for parallel parking and the center one allows for pull-in parking and access for northbound vehicles. Parking fills up quickly on weekends and during the summer. Once the paved parking is full, people park on both shoulders of the road. If possible, plan to arrive before 9 AM or late in the afternoon on a weekday. My first hike of this trail was in June 2016.

While the trail is only 2.0 miles one-way, it climbs about 1400 feet. Most of the second mile is at an average 17% grade. This is not an easy walk in the woods, nor is it a place of solitude. Other hikers are almost always in sight along the trail. The trail was rebuilt by a Trails Forever crew in 2013. Besides numerous wooden steps, there are beautifully crafted stone stairways on the trail that include hundreds of stone steps. The spacing and size of the stones are consistent enough to allow a hiker to develop a fairly steady cadence for each set of stairs. This is a marked improvement to the Andrews Bald Trail that was rehabilitated just prior to this trail. I only noticed one location where the trail surface was damp, but the water just passed through the gravel surface without any visible erosion.

At the end of the trail, a sign notes that a former route around the rock outcrop is closed for rehabilitation. This did not seem to register with several hikers who passed the sign without pausing. Several other climbers just sat in the shade and enjoyed a picnic. Like a few others, I climbed over halfway up the rock outcrop before deciding to turn back. I didn't see anyone climb to the top while I was there.

On the return trip, I met a couple of women and their large, black poodle coming up the trail. They claimed to have never heard of the park regulations allowing pets on leashes only on the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail. Further down the trail, another hiker pointed out a yearling bear grazing across the valley from the trail. The bear continued eating its way deeper into the woods as we watched from a distance.

Topographic map with GPS route

Elevation Profile

Part of the full parking area at the trailhead

The trail begins with these stone steps

Walker Camp Prong bridge was rebuilt in 2013 after severe flooding

Walker Camp Prong makes a U-turn below the bridge

Walker Camp Prong from the bridge

Looking back at the bridge from the U-turn

First Road Prong bridge

Small waterfall below the bridge

Series of falls above the bridge

One of many stone stairways

Looking back at the first Road Prong Bridge

Well maintained gravel surface

Second Road Prong bridge

Road Prong below second bridge

Road Prong above second bridge

Turnpike section of trail with water bar

Cascade below the third bridge

Third Road Prong bridge

Turnpike ends at Road Prong Trail junction

Almost halfway

"Stairway to Heaven"

The only bench along the trail is this stone one

Switchback

Timber steps

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) blossoms

Unnamed 4538' summit above Beech Flats

More Mountain Laurel blossoms

More rock and less gravel surface

The Boulevard Trail follows this ridgeline

Catawba Rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) blossoms

Closeup of Catawba Rhododendron blossoms

End of the trail

View from the base of the rock outcrop

The first Chimney Top

View down the rock face from about halfway up

Black bear across the creek on the way down

Entry to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm. The trail is so popular that it has its own webpage at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/chimney-tops.htm.