Family-Friendly Fall Hikes for Different Skill Levels

October 5, 2015
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When it comes to hiking it seems like everyone has a different skill and interest level, so here are four family-friendly fall hikes to please most everyone. An all-day trek covering many miles may be your thing; however someone in your bunch may prefer just a short, quiet walk in the woods. With that in mind, we have some suggestions for some great fall hikes that range from easy to difficult.

Lace up your hiking boots, or your walking shoes, do a couple of simple stretches, and enjoy kicking through the colorful and crunchy leaves on these favorite trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this season!

Sugarlands Nature Trail (.5 mile roundtrip, easy)
Sugarlands Nature Trail is found 1/4 mile south of Sugarlands Visitor Center on Newfound Gap Road. The trail is a paved, handicap accessible, path that is 1/2 mile in length. The trail follows the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River upstream with benches for relaxing and plenty of access for trout fisherman. The Sugarland Valley is acclaimed for the beautiful fall foliage. Once dominated by the sugar maple tree, today it is a mixed hardwood forest with a dazzling diversity of fall color.
Laurel Falls Trail (2.6 miles roundtrip, moderate)
The Laurel Falls trailhead is on Little River Road four miles west of Sugarlands Visitor Center. The trail is paved but is considered moderate in difficulty. The 2.6 mile round-trip hike is well worth it with a 80-foot tall waterfall to reward your effort. If you hit this trail at the right time of the season the fall colors are amazing! We suggest early to mid October. This is one of the Park’s busiest trails, so a good off-time to hike is during the week or early before 10:00 a.m.
Abrams Falls Trail (5 miles roundtrip, moderate)
The Abrams Falls Trail is found halfway around the Cades Cove Loop Road approximately 1/2 mile before the Cable Mill Historic Area and Visitor Center. The hike is 5 miles round trip and is considered moderate in difficulty. Again the rewards for this hike are big with an up close view of the 20-foot tall Abrams Falls from its base. Keep an eye on the creek as you walk along and you may be fortunate to see some playful river otters. The best chance for viewing fall color in Cades Cove is usually mid-to-late October due to its lower elevation; however, with sweeping views of the Stateline Divide there is always some color in view at some elevation.
Alum Cave Bluffs Trail (4.6 miles roundtrip, difficult)
Alum Cave Bluffs Trail is one of the most popular in the Smokies and is found on Newfound Gap Road 8.6 miles south of Sugarlands Visitor Center. Get an early start and avoid the crowds. This relatively short walk, 2.3 miles one way, is considered difficult due to a rise in elevation of almost 1,500 feet. The steep climb does however provide amazing views of some of the most famous geologic features in the Park, like Arch Rock and the Chimneys. The hike to the bluffs is 4.6 miles round-trip. This hike combines Cove Hardwood Forest and the edge of the Canadian Zone Spruce Fir Forest giving the hiker the opportunity to experience a wide diversity of fall color. The Smokies are often described as being on fire during the fall when the vibrant red and yellow foliage are at peak. Don’t miss your chance to see it in 2015.

Keep up with the Fall Color Report from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service!

HIKER PLANNING TIP: Always be prepared for the unexpected when you step into the wilds of the Great Smoky Mountains. For a complete breakdown of the minimal supplies you should always carry visit our blog on the Ten Essentials.

Festival of Christmas Past and Holiday Homecoming in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Look out! Granny Franny has found the mistletoe! (Photo: NPS)

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park hosts two old-fashioned holiday events in December! The Festival of Christmas Past will be held Saturday, December 12, 2015 at Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Holiday Homecoming will be held Saturday, December 19, 2015 at Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina.

Festival of Christmas Past @ Sugarlands Visitor Center
Saturday, December 12, 2015
9:30 am to 4:00 pm
There’s nothing like an old-fashioned Smoky Mountain Christmas celebration with traditional harp singing and holidays stories from long ago. In addition to live mountain music, your family will enjoy fun games and activities like apple cider pressing and make-your-own Christmas ornaments and wreaths. There will also be craft demonstrations of quilting, basket making, weaving and spinning. Don’t miss one of the short guided walks in the forest!

Synchronous Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains June 2016

Synchronous fireflies light up the night sky each year in early June in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Photo credit: Katrien Vermeire)

Synchronous Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains June 2016

These aren’t your average backyard lightening bugs; these particular bioluminescent beetles (Photinus carolinus) perform an extraordinarily silent symphony of lights in the warm, dark forest evoking images of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s truly a sublime experience.

They’ll be here for a week or two in early June 2016. However, the event has become so popular, bringing over 12,000 visitors to Elkmont, that some advance planning is definitely required. Utilizing scientific data on daily temperatures, park scientists have announced that peak viewing time will be May 31 to June 7, 2016. Here are a few tips to help with your planning:

You can camp at Elkmont and have direct access to the trails where you can view the nightly light show. Campground reservations can be made up to six months in advance at www.recreation.gov. If you want to backpack, backcountry reservations are required and can be made at nps.gov up to 30 days in advance.
Non-campers have limited to no access to the Elkmont area during the 8-day viewing period; however, nightly trolley Shuttles from Sugarlands Visitor Center are available with a Parking Pass via a new lottery system to award the much sought-after passes.
The Shuttle Operating Dates will be from May 31 to June 7, 2016. The new lottery system will be open for applications from 12:00 noon on April 29 until 8:00 p.m. on May 2, 2016. All entries, regardless of the time of application, will be submitted for the lottery drawing. Results for the lottery drawing will be available on May 10.
Visit www.recreation.gov during the specified time period to enter the Lottery. Parking passes may also be obtained by calling 877-444-6777, but National Park officials highly encourage the use of the online process.
Lottery applicants must apply for either a regular vehicle parking pass or a large vehicle parking pass. Regular vehicles are passenger vehicles up to 19 ft. in length with a maximum of 6 occupants. Large vehicles are RVs and mini-buses from 19-30 ft. in length with a maximum of 24 occupants.
Lottery applicants must choose two possible dates to attend the event over the 8-day viewing period.
There is no fee to enter the lottery this year. If selected the lottery winner will be charged a $1.50 reservation fee and awarded a parking pass. Parking passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and good only for the date issued. There is a limit of one lottery application per household. All lottery applicants will be notified by e-mail on May 10. Arrival times to the Sugarlands Parking Lot will be assigned will be assigned to relieve traffic congestion.
Remember to bring a chair or blanket, rain gear, and a flashlight because it’ll be dark. Keep your flashlight covered with either blue or red cellophane, usually available at the check-in table. Visitors are not allowed to walk the Elkmont entrance road due to safety concerns. For up-to-date info from the National Park Service, please visit GSMNP Firefly Event.

Bat Week Events at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on October 30 Halloween Eve!

Rafinesque’s big-eared bat is one of the endangered species of bats. (Photo: Brian Carver, Plateau Ecological)

Bat Week Events will be held at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Friday, October 30, 2015 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina.

What better time than on Halloween Eve to learn all about the 12 species of bats found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the important role they play in maintaining our ecological balance. Park Rangers will be available at hands-on information stations for fun and educational activities about bats and their importance to our world and the current threat of white-nose syndrome to bats in the National Park and throughout the U.S.

“We first confirmed the presence of white-nose syndrome in the park in 2010,” said National Park Wildlife Biologist Bill Stiver, “The impact has been devastating. We estimate that some of our cave-dwelling bat populations have already declined by 80% and we are doing everything we can to both slow the spread of the disease and protect the remaining animals by closing caves and areas near caves to the public.”

Whiteoak Sink Area Closed Until Late Spring 2015

All of the Parks 16 caves were closed to the public in 2009 and in September 2015 the Whiteoak Sink area was closed to public. The area may reopen in late spring 2015 depending on the results of Park scientists findings as they monitor the site throughout the winter hibernation period to help develop a plan to deal with white-nose syndrome. More than 5.7 million bats in the United States have died leaving more than 40% of the bat species at risk or endangered.

Most hikers access Whiteoak Sink via Schoolhouse Gap Trail near Cades Cove. The closure includes the area between Cades Cove and Townsend within Schoolhouse Gap Trail and Turkeypen Ridge Trail west to the National Park boundary. Turkeypen Ridge and Schoolhouse Gap trails will remain open.

Bat Facts

Scientists estimate that a single bat can eat between 3,000 to 6,000 insects (mosquitoes, moths, and beetles) nightly.
Humans are not affected by white-nose syndrome; the fungus requires a cold body temp to survive. However, never touch or handle a bat. Bats are the only mammal species in the Smoky Mountains that have tested positive for rabies.
For more information on bats in the Smokies, visit GSMNP Cave Bats in Crisis.