Best Hiking Trails Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most-visited national park in the country, and it earns that ranking one trail at a time. Straddling the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the park holds more than 800 miles of trails, over 90 named waterfalls, and enough elevation change to turn a lowland stroll into a summit push within the same afternoon. Below, we break down the best hikes by difficulty and highlights, with mileage and elevation data pulled from onX Backcountry’s trail network so you can pick a route that matches your day, not just your bucket list.

Why the Smokies Are a Must-Visit Hiking Destination

Few parks pack this much variety into one boundary. The Smokies rise from around 875 feet at the lowest point near Abrams Creek to 6,643 feet atop Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome), the third-highest peak east of the Mississippi. That range means the same weekend can include a wheelchair-accessible nature walk and a thigh-burning climb to a fire tower. The park also charges no entrance fee, though as of 2026 it does require a parking tag: $5 for the day, $15 for the week, or $40 for the year, available online or on-site. Add old-growth forest, wildflower blooms from spring through midsummer, and waterfalls around nearly every bend, and it’s easy to see why the Smokies pull hikers from Knoxville, Asheville, Atlanta, Charlotte, and well beyond.

Easy and Scenic Trails for All Skill Levels

These routes suit hikers who want the payoff without the punishment—a strong fit for retirement roamers and anyone easing back into hiking.

Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail is fully wheelchair-accessible and barely half a mile long with just 14 feet of elevation gain, winding through eastern forest to a small stream. It’s rated 4.8 out of 5 by the onX community and sits right off Newfound Gap Road near Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Gatlinburg Trail runs 2.7 miles between downtown Gatlinburg and Sugarlands Visitor Center with only about 127 feet of gain. It’s one of just two trails in the park that allow dogs and bikes, which makes it a rare option for hikers traveling with a leashed pup.

Metcalf Bottoms Trail is a short, 1.3-mile out-and-back along Little Brier Branch to the historic Little Greenbrier School, gaining roughly 213 feet—easy enough for a family with young kids or a slower-paced morning.

Cucumber Gap Loop stretches the definition of “easy” slightly at 5.5 miles, but the 805 feet of gain is spread out gently across a stream hike that transitions into quiet hardwood forest. Community reviewers rate it 4 out of 5 across 28 ratings.

Moderate Hikes Perfect for Weekend Explorers

If you’ve got a weekend and want the best return on a few hours of hiking, start here.

• Deep Creek Loop covers 5 miles and 964 feet of gain, hitting several of the park’s signature sights—cascading water and dense forest—without committing to a full-day trek. It’s one of the more popular loops in the Deep Creek area, rated 4.11 out of 5 across 28 community ratings.
• Andrews Bald Out and Back runs 3.3 miles with 840 feet of gain to one of the park’s two grassy balds, best visited in June or July when the wildflowers peak. At 4.45 out of 5 across 65 ratings, it’s one of the highest-rated moderate hikes in the park.
• Porters Creek Trail is a 7.2-mile out-and-back with about 1,572 feet of gain, passing wildflowers, a waterfall, and the remnants of a historic mountain settlement before ending at a backcountry campsite. It carries a 4.2 rating from 20 reviewers.
• Twentymile Loop Trail covers 7.6 miles and 1,417 feet of gain through the Twentymile area on the park’s quieter North Carolina side, following streams and small cascades with noticeably fewer crowds than the Tennessee entrances.

Challenging Backcountry Trails for Experienced Hikers

For adventure seekers looking for real elevation and fewer people on the trail, these routes deliver.

• Alum Cave is a 9.8-mile out-and-back with roughly 3,000 feet of elevation gain, climbing past geologic features and Alum Cave Bluffs en route to Mount LeConte’s summit. It’s the highest-rated strenuous hike in our data set at 4.82 out of 5 across 28 ratings.
• Mount LeConte Loop runs 15.3 miles with about 4,112 feet of gain, passing both Grotto Falls and Rainbow Falls before reaching the historic LeConte Lodge and panoramic summit views. It holds a 4.56 rating across 34 reviews.
• Charlies Bunion via Kephart Loop is a 14.1-mile loop gaining roughly 3,698 feet, trading the crowds of the standard Charlies Bunion route for a longer approach and the same dramatic rock outcropping payoff.
• Mt. Cammerer from Low Gap covers 10.4 miles out and back with about 3,096 feet of gain, ending at a historic stone fire tower with a 360-degree view. It’s rated 4.7 out of 5 across 47 reviews, making it one of the most consistently praised strenuous hikes in the park.
• For those chasing a true bucket-list objective, Tour de LeConte climbs Mount LeConte three times via six different historic trails across roughly 48 miles and 12,251 feet of total gain—an ultimate physical test for experienced backcountry travelers, and the highest-rated route in our entire data pull at 4.89 out of 5.

Trails With Waterfalls and Stunning Views

The Smokies hold more than 90 waterfalls, and these are the ones worth planning a trip around.

• Laurel Falls, at 2.5 miles round trip with about 397 feet of gain, is the most accessible major waterfall in the park thanks to its paved path—and arguably the most photographed, with a 4.4 rating across 30 reviews.
• Grotto Falls is a 2.6-mile out-and-back with 539 feet of gain, and one of the only waterfalls in the park you can actually walk behind. It’s the most-reviewed trail in our data set, rated 4.48 out of 5 across 91 community ratings.
• Rainbow Falls climbs 5.3 miles with roughly 1,747 feet of gain to the tallest single-drop waterfall in the Smokies, rated 4.54 across 84 reviews.
• Hen Wallow Falls is a 4.4-mile out-and-back with about 1,060 feet of gain along Gabes Mountain Trail, ending at a 90-foot cascading falls with noticeably lighter crowds than the park’s more famous waterfalls.
• Ramsey Cascades Trail covers 7.8 miles and 2,252 feet of gain through old-growth forest to the tallest waterfall in the park, and it’s the second most-reviewed trail in our pull at 4.71 out of 5 across 72 ratings.

Planning Your Hike: Permits, Parking, and Trail Maps

Great Smoky Mountains National Park doesn’t charge an entrance fee, but every vehicle parked for more than 15 minutes anywhere in the park needs a parking tag—$5 per day, $15 per week, or $40 per year, purchased online or at park visitor centers. Day hiking on any of the trails above requires nothing beyond the parking tag.

Overnight backcountry camping is a different story: you’ll need a permit through Recreation.gov, which runs a non-refundable $6 booking fee plus $8 per person per night, is site- and date-specific, and can be booked up to a month in advance for stays of up to seven nights. Popular shelters along the Appalachian Trail and the LeConte Lodge area fill up fast in peak season, so book early if your route includes an overnight.

For trail maps, the park’s official maps are available at any visitor center, but cell service disappears fast once you’re past the trailhead—which is exactly the gap offline, downloadable maps are built to close.

Explore Smoky Mountain Trails With onX Backcountry

Apps like AllTrails and Gaia GPS are common starting points for trip planning, and they’re fine for browsing reviews. But once you’re actually on trail in the Smokies, where cell coverage drops out in the valleys and switches back in on the ridgelines, the tools that matter most are offline maps, elevation profiles, and a track record you can trust when you’re the one navigating.

onX Backcountry gives hikers downloadable offline maps for the entire park, detailed elevation profiles for routes like Alum Cave and Tour de LeConte before you ever leave the trailhead, and the ability to drop waypoints and track your own path in real time. Whether you’re planning a half-mile stroll to Sugarlands Valley or a multi-day push toward Kuwohi, pull up the Smokies in the App and build your route with the same trail data behind this guide.

Frequently Asked Questions