Porters Creek trailhead © William Britten use with permission only
Porters Creek Trail is a delightful meander in the Greenbrier section of the Smoky Mountains. Head east out of Gatlinburg on Route 321, then after about 6 miles, the Greenbrier entrance will be on the right. Eventually the road will turn to gravel and you’ll pass the bridge to the Ramsay Cascades Trail. Continue straight ahead until the road finally dead-ends at the trailhead parking lot. The trail follows Porters Creek for most of the way, and as you can see from the sign it is one of the many trails leading to the summit of Mt. LeConte.
Porters Creek
Porters Creek Trail footbridge
The first mile of the trail is a well maintained jeep road with an easy walking grade. Along the way are many opportunities to slow you down and take photos. Watch to the right for many signs of pioneer homesteads. There are rock walls, chimneys, house foundations, and even a primitive cemetery.
These echoes of early settler life in the Smoky Mountains testify to the harsh realities of scraping a life out of rugged and isolated terrain.
Rock wall remnant from pioneer days
Rock steps from pioneer homestead
Smoky Mountain cemetery
In April the Porters Creek Trail becomes one of the the best wildflower hikes in the Smokies.
White Trillium © William Britten use with permission only
For a nice two-mile round-trip hike, continue on up the trail and bear to the right when the jeep road enters a turnaround. At this point you can take a short side-trail over to visit a small group of log buildings, including the John Messer barn, which was built around 1875, and the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club cabin, which was constructed from 1934-36.
Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of photos of the Smoky Mountains at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN. If you are a Facebook user, you can get my daily Smoky Mountains news and photos by becoming a fan of the William Britten Photography Facebook Page.
John Messer Barn © William Britten use with permission only
Smoky Mountain Hiking Club cabin © William Britten use with permission only
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
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Beautiful work Bill, I’ve been to your gallery a number of times and plan on stopping by when I’m down there next week for the spring wildflowers.
Michael
Thanks, Michael … I should be in the Gallery except for Wed and Saturday next week. Or look for my black Honda Accord parked at a wildflower trail!
Thanks for the Facebook page and your beautiful pics/helpful info. Do you know of anyone located near Franklin who would have good info on areas closer than the northern part of the park. Time is ticking this Spring and I am only up there part time. Bought a house in the Ellijay valley off of Highlands road late last summer. Am surprised to see how many flowers are already blooming so early up there and hope some of them last awhile…Look forward to seeing more info from others who really enjoy wildflowers!