GSMNP Ramsey Cascades

Trail Name GSMNP Ramsey Cascades Nearest City Gatlinburg State Tennessee Trail Marking None Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Hard Hiking Time 4-7"-7" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. Distance, round-trip 8.08 mi <br />12.875 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation 22502,250 Feet <br />685.8 Meters <br /> / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point 43104,310 Feet <br />1,436.667 Yards <br />1,313.688 Meters <br /> Nearest Medical Sevierville Trip Reports Click Here Loading map... {"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"270px","height":"180px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":8,"layers":[],"controls":["zoom"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":35.7027700000000010049916454590857028961181640625,"lon":-83.357269999999999754436430521309375762939453125,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

A challenging hike up through classic GSMNP forest to a ~100' cascading waterfall. Some massive old growth trees can also be seen.

How to get there

From Gatlinburg, TN:

1. Take US321 North (actually heading east) out of town.
2. Turn right into Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Greenbrier entrance.
3. Travel just over four miles on road which changes from paved to gravel.
4. Turn left to cross road bridge. NOTE: There is now a small directional sign here. Continuing straight arrives at GSMNP Porter Creek trailhead.
5. Travel less than mile to parking area

Trailhead is past large boulders and locked gate.

Route Description

The trail follows a gravel logging road at first, then turns uphill to follow the stream to the waterfall.

Distance (mi)	Elevation (ft)	Description
0.0	2060	Trailhead
1.5	2660	End of gravel section. Begin dirt tread.
2.5	3235	Three towering old growth tulip poplars.
4.0	4310	Ramsey Cascades

Typical Conditions

National Park Service does trail maintenance primarily between May thru Nov, thus some blowdowns possible during the off-season. Can be very muddy after a significant rain.

Fees, Permits, etc.

No fee. Per NPS policy, no mountain bikes or dogs (if their owners cannot read the clearly posted signs).

Misc. Information

Be aware that black bears are in the area.

Maps

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="35.707" lon="-83.33" type="terrain" zoom="14" width="750" scale="yes" controls="medium" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/GSMNP_Ramsey_Cascades.kml (G) 35.70768,-83.38288 Turn left to cross this bridge (A) 35.70277,-83.35727 Parking at trailhead gate (L) 35.70294,-83.35674 First trail bridge (G) 35.70295,-83.33408 2.5 miles left sign (L) 35.70668,-83.32514 Second trail bridge (L) 35.70918,-83.31467 Third trail bridge (D) 35.70904,-83.32018 Three old growth poplars (C) 35.70855,-83.30013 Ramsey Cascades </googlemap>

Photos

• 

  Trailhead

• 

  First bridge

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  Old growth poplars

• 

  Purple Fringed Orchid