The trail to Abrams Falls is one of the most popular Smoky Mountains hikes. Get to the parking area at the western edge of Cades Cove early, and enjoy this easy-going hike before the crowds arrive! Abrams Creek and the waterfall are named after Chief Abram, leader of the Cherokees who lived at Chilhowee Village,…
Place of 1000 Drips is one of my oldest and most enduring Smoky Mountains photos. This is a popular roadside waterfall along the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. Turn at stoplight #8 in Gatlinburg, bearing to the right at the top of the hill, you will enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and begin a 6-mile…
These two Smoky Mountains photos show Spruce Flat Falls, which is located in the Tremont section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road into Tremont is just west of the Park entrance at Townsend. It’s about a one mile hike from the parking area at the Tremont Institute. Spruce Flat is very photogenic…
Two random Smoky Mtn waterfalls today, one that you hike to, and the other is just a roadside pull-off. The photo above is Fern Branch Falls. This is about two miles up Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies. Fern Branch empties into Porters Creek below this falls. The hike up Porters…
The photo above was taken by Dutch Roth on a trip with the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. The group is shown in front of the John Oliver Lodge in Cades Cove. Oliver was one of the last residents of Cades Cove to give up his land to the new National Park, fighting all the way…
The hike to Spruce Flat Falls in the Tremont section of the Smoky Mountains is one of my favorite outings. Last weekend I headed up the trail once more, this time with my daughter Sarah and her husband Paul, my four grandsons and brand new grand-daughter in a papoose! It was a beautiful Saturday after…
Spruce Flat Falls is one of the hidden gems of the Smoky Mountains. The hike is about a mile each way, not too rugged but with a bit of a climb. The trail passes through a thicket of Mountain Laurel, which will be in bloom the first week or two in May. It’s also a…
From the journal of Dutch Roth, Tales From the Woods, describing the history of winter hiking in the Smoky Mountains: We hiked in all kinds of weather and I never forgot my camera, despite the cold or rain. You never know when you might miss a good shot. We hiked around rocks, on rocks, hopped rocks,…
One of my favorite Smoky Mountains hikes is in the Big Creek section of the National Park, located on the eastern side, with the easiest access being from Interstate 40. Take the Waterville exit (451), which is the last Tennessee exit going east. Proceed through a hydroelectric plant, crossing into North Carolina, through a four-way…
Midnight Hole is a petite waterfall with a twelve-foot deep emerald pool that gives the waterfall its name. Located in the Big Creek section of the Smoky Mountains, this is a popular swimming hole in the summer. This photo is often paired with Creekside Sweet Gum, making an attractive set of vertical pictures. It’s offered…
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.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
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