Hike into spring in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Firepink-heysmokies

The amazing fire pink (Silene virginica) wildflower can often be found in sunny, rocky outcrops alongside trails and roads.

Hike into spring in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Spring in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina is magical. A time of renewal and rebirth and it has never been more welcome than this year following on the heels of the recent devastating fires.

Spring is a season best experienced first hand. Poplar and Sourwood trees are showing their buds. Delicate pink and white Dogwoods can be found blooming throughout the landscape and soon will usher in a blazing display of color as wild azaleas strut their stuff, punctuating the mountains against the dense evergreen of Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron, and Hemlock. A warm, gentle breeze carries the hint of blossoms, moist earth, and that indefinable smell of spring. A favorite activity for us is to hike with spring over the coming months as warm temperatures climb the mountains heralding the seasons change at each elevation.

One of our favorite places to enjoy spring and view amazing wildflowers is the Porters Creek Trail in Greenbrier. This trail is easy to find and fairly easy to walk. In addition to an amazing wildflower display you can enjoy the impressive John Whaley cantilevered barn built in 1875 and the historic Smoky Mountain Hiking Club cabin.

porters-creek-trail-heysmokies

Porters Creek Trail is a great hike for the entire family!

Beyond the the historic structures, a profusion of wildflowers carpet the forest floor. Keep an eye out for bloodroot, hepaticas, white fringed phacelia, trilliums of every color, bluets, and jack in the pulpit.

Approximately two miles above the trailhead is the spectacular Fern Falls which plunges sixty feet down to the trail and beyond to it’s confluence with Porters Creek. These falls are dramatic during times of high water, and the cool breeze flowing down from its rocky heights is always refreshing during warm summer months!

The trail continues another 1.7 miles past Fern Falls ending at Backcountry Campsite 31, a spacious site located conveniently next to Porters Creek and in the shadow of Mount LeConte and adjacent to the Appalachian Trail.

More Hey Smokies Features:

Smoky Mountain Pileated Woodpecker
Smoky Mountain Pileated Woodpecker...
The Smoky Mountain Pileated Woodpecker has a distinctive call and vibrant red markings. Smoky Mountain Pileated Woodpecker. The Pileated Woo[Read More >>]
The Big Creek Experience in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Big Creek Experience in Great Smoky Mountains National Park...
Big Creek ranger district is found on the eastern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a small campground for 12 sites for tents onl[Read More >>]
No thumbnail available
Smoky Mountain Parking Passes Required...
Smoky Mountain Parking Passes Required. On March 1, 2023 Great Smoky Mountains National Park launches the ‘Park it Forward’ program requiri[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Hellbenders
Smoky Mountain Hellbenders...
Smoky Mountain Hellbenders are the largest aquatic salamanders in the national park. You may recognize the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganien[Read More >>]
Spur Tunnel Repairs Begin
Spur Tunnel Repairs Begin...
Smoky Mountain road closures set to snarl traffic. Spur tunnel repairs begin. Northbound Spur traffic will be one lane beginning January 3 t[Read More >>]
New Year Beans And Greens Recipe
New Year Beans And Greens Recipe...
New Year Beans And Greens Recipe. What is behind the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Years day? Some folk[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Turkey Tail Mushrooms
Smoky Mountain Turkey Tail Mushrooms...
Smoky Mountain Turkey Tail mushrooms are always in season! Trametes versicolor (common name Turkey Tail mushroom) is a decomposing polypore[Read More >>]
Christmas Cookie Recipe
Christmas Cookie Recipe...
Christmas Cookie Recipe. When the holidays arrive in the Great Smoky Mountains there are many HeySmokies sweet treat favorites but the tradition[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Long Cold Full Moon
Smoky Mountain Long Cold Full Moon...
Smoky Mountain Long Cold full moon is on the rise! Smoky Mountain Long Cold Full Moon is on the rise! The final full moon for 2022 will appe[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountains Fall Red Beauty Mountain Ash!
Smoky Mountains Fall Red Beauty Mountain Ash!...
Smoky Mountains Fall Red Beauty Mountain Ash! Who wouldn’t love a beautiful ornamental tree, not too large or too small, with an abundance of [Read More >>]
Laurel Falls Trailhead Closure
Laurel Falls Trailhead Closure...
Laurel Falls Trail Closure Laurel Falls Trailhead closure will begin Monday, November 7, 2022 and end Thursday, November 17, 2022. A geotech[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Ghost Stories
Smoky Mountain Ghost Stories...
Smoky Mountain Ghost Stories. The Smoky Mountain region is steeped in strange and unexplainable occurrences that some say are supernatural. We h[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Southern Mac And Cheese Recipe
Smoky Mountain Southern Mac And Cheese Recipe...
Smoky Mountain Southern Mac And Cheese Recipe is the perfect side dish for any meal and sometimes it is a great meal all by itself. All you ne[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Hunters Full Moon
Smoky Mountain Hunters Full Moon...
Smoky mountain full hunters moon HeySmokies.com Smoky Mountain Full Hunters Moon. Most of the time, the full moon isn’t completely full. We [Read More >>]
Take a Scenic Drive on Moonshiner 28 near the Great Smoky Mountains!
Take a Scenic Drive on Moonshiner 28 near the Great Smoky Mountains!...
Take a Scenic Drive on Moonshiner 28 near the Great Smoky Mountains! Perhaps no image is more stereotypical of the rural South than that of the [Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Elk Rut
Smoky Mountain Elk Rut...
Love is in the air for Smoky Mountain Elk. Smoky Mountain Elk Rut is on. The call of the wild echoes in the Smokies as Bull Elks seek mates.[Read More >>]
10 Essentials for Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains
10 Essentials for Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains...
10 Essentials for Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. Packing the 10 Essentials for Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains is like your insurance [Read More >>]
All You Need to Know About Snakes in the Smoky Mountains
All You Need to Know About Snakes in the Smoky Mountains...
Yes, there are 23 species of snakes found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but only 2 of them are poisonous; so don't let that keep y[Read More >>]
Giant Hogweed Invades Smoky Mountain Region
Giant Hogweed Invades Smoky Mountain Region...
Giant Hogweed Invades Smoky Mountain Region. Giant Hogweed looms large on it's march toward the Smokies. Giant Hogweed can reach up to 20-f[Read More >>]
Smoky Mountain Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe
Smoky Mountain Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe...
Smoky Mountain Southern Fried Green Tomato Recipe is the perfect solution to all the extra tomatoes from your garden. The HeySmokies.com culinar[Read More >>]