We took time in early April 2018 to return to Laurel Falls on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While spring rains had created a nice flow, it was not anywhere near the flow of my previous visit in December 2015. During that visit, Laurel Creek had so much water that the trail was impassable at the falls.
The 1.3 mile trail to the falls begins on the north side of Fighting Creek Road at Fighting Creek Gap. This is the high point on the route between Townsend and the Sugarlands Visitor Center. It is also just 1.1 miles northeast of Elkmont Road.
Although paved, the trail shows many signs of overuse and deferred maintenance. Unfortunately, it seems that there is no money to repair the trail. As this is one of the most popular trails in the park, it took some time to record images without many people. Don't expect to get these views of the falls without numerous people crossing in front of your view. Some people are totally oblivious to photo bombing your shot and some just came for the selfie, but there are still others that don't live in or near the mountains and are in awe of the waterfall. Hopefully, they all leave the park with less stress than when they arrived.
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| Overuse has widened the trail |
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| Markers correspond to descriptions in the trail guide |
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| Crumbling pavement |
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| A social trail network along a ridge |
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| Climbing off trail creates erosion |
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| Blanket Mountain (4609' 3.4 miles) |
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| An old rock slide |
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| A trail side seep |
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| Upper portion of Laurel Falls |
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| Looking back at the footbridge over Laurel Creek between the upper and lower sections of the falls |
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| View below from a trail side bench |
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| Lower part of Laurel Falls with my wife sitting on the trail side bench |
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| Top of the lower section |
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| View of the lower falls from the trail |
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| One more view from the bridge |
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| Trail counter |
Entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free.
The park website is https://www.nps.gov/grsm.
