Great Smoky Mountains National Park boasts more than 100 graceful waterfalls. Don’t miss these top six beauties on your Smokies vacation.
1. Laurel Falls
A freshly renovated trail leads you to the two-tier, 80-foot falls. Rock ledges at the base divide the water into smaller cascades. The 2.6-mile round-trip hike is moderately easy. If you’re visiting during peak vacation season, parking can be tough, so take a national park shuttle to the trailhead. Find out how at the park website linked here.
2. Grotto Falls
Visit the only waterfall in the Smokies where you can walk behind the cascade! The water roars past just feet away from you. Reach Grotto Falls with a 2.6-mile round trip hike through lush forests full of spring rhododendrons. This unique waterfall attracts plenty of visitors, so for a less crowded view, go at the start of the day.
3. Abrams Falls
Abrams Falls isn’t especially tall, at only 25 feet high, but this rushing waterfall is the centerpiece of a gorgeous natural setting. The five-mile round trip hike is filled with old-growth forests and colorful wildflowers. The waterfall drops over a ledge into a large, deep pool fringed with trees.
4. Rainbow Falls
Rainbows shimmer in the mists at this beloved waterfall. The 80-foot-high cascade is the highest single-drop waterfall in the national park. The hike is 4.5 miles round trip on a sometimes steep and rocky trail. Start your hike early, and try to visit on a day after recent rainfall, when the cascade is at its best.
5. Spruce Flats Falls
A moderately easy, 1.8-mile round-trip trail brings you to this waterfall. The falls have four tiers, with a total drop of a breathtaking 125 feet, and a pool at the base. Spruce Flats Falls isn’t on the national park’s official maps, so look online for a detailed trail map. This beauty is worth the effort.
6. The Place of a Thousand Drips
Want to see a waterfall without hiking? Drive along the scenic Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Near the trail's end, you can see this pretty waterfall from your car. Multiple cascades dance over mossy, green rocks. After a rain, the “thousand drips” live up to their name.
Visit all these waterfalls on your Smokies vacation. Pick a private, luxurious Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge cabin rental on our website right now!
