5 PLACES IN THE SMOKIES MOST VISITORS
NEVER FIND
Most people who visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park see the same handful of spots: Newfound Gap, Cades Cove, Laurel Falls. Those are great. But the park covers more than 500,000 acres, and some of the best experiences in it are sitting quietly off the main roads, waiting for someone to notice them.
We put together five spots that even repeat visitors often miss. All of them are within easy reach of Glenstone Lodge, and none of them require a long drive or serious hiking experience to enjoy.
1. The Troll Bridge at Elkmont
Elkmont is one of the more visited corners of the park, mostly because of the historic vacation cottages along Millionaire Row. But most people walk right past one of the best photo spots in the entire park: a moss covered stone bridge just off the Little River Trail that looks like it belongs in a novel.
It is quiet, it is beautiful, and it is almost always empty. Get there in the morning and you will likely have it to yourself.
Local Tip: About 100 feet in on the Little River Trail, look for a small unmarked path branching off to the right. That is where the bridge is.
2. Herbert Holt Park
Technically this one is inside Gatlinburg rather than the national park, but most visitors have never heard of it. Herbert Holt Park sits at the north entrance of town and is home to the only municipal trout rearing facility in the state of Tennessee.
It is calm, shaded, and right on the river. Bring the kids, bring a picnic, and give yourself a break from the Parkway for an hour. There is an accessible fishing pier that makes it a great stop for families with young children or anyone who just wants a slower morning.
Local Tip: This is a genuine local spot. You are unlikely to find a crowd here on even the busiest weekend in Gatlinburg.
3. Greenbrier Cove
If you have done Cades Cove and want something with the same feeling but without the traffic loop and the tour buses, Greenbrier is the answer. It sits away from the main tourist corridors and rewards visitors with wildflower blooms in spring that are among the best in the entire park and foliage in the fall that most people simply never see.
Local photographers know this place well. Most tourists do not.
Local Tip: Greenbrier is also the starting point for the Ramsey Cascades trail, which leads to the tallest waterfall in the park. It is a longer hike at about eight miles total, but worth knowing about if you have the legs for it.
4. Cataract Falls at the Sugarlands Visitor Center
Thousands of people stop at the Sugarlands Visitor Center every day to pick up maps and use the restrooms. Almost none of them notice the trailhead tucked behind the building that leads to Cataract Falls.
The walk is roughly one mile out and back, mostly flat, and ends at a tiered waterfall that feels completely removed from the parking lot you just left. It is one of the easiest waterfall hikes in the park and one of the least visited, purely because nobody thinks to look behind the visitor center.
Local Tip: The Gatlinburg Trail trailhead is just nearby as well. It is a flat, riverside walk that locals use regularly and that very few out of town visitors know about.
5. Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek Falls
This one requires a bit more of a drive, out to the Big Creek area on the North Carolina side of the park. But if you go, you will understand immediately why locals treat it like a personal secret.
Midnight Hole is a turquoise pool at the base of a small waterfall, the kind of color you expect to see in a travel magazine set somewhere tropical. It is a popular swimming spot for people who know about it, which is still a pretty small group. Continue up the trail and you reach Mouse Creek Falls, a 45 foot drop through the forest with almost no one around.
Local Tip: The walk to Midnight Hole is about 1.5 miles from the trailhead on mostly easy terrain. Go on a weekday if you can.
A Good Home Base Makes a Difference—All five of these spots are within reasonable reach of Glenstone Lodge in downtown Gatlinburg. You can be at the park entrance in minutes, explore for a few hours, and be back for lunch without any of the stress that comes from staying further out.
Book direct at glenstonelodge.com or call us at (865) 436-9361. We are at 504 Airport Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
