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

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Trail Overview

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

How to get there

From Gatlinburg, TN:

Take US321 North (actually heading east) out of town.
Turn right into Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Greenbrier entrance.
Travel just over four miles on road which changes from paved to gravel.
Turn left to cross road bridge. NOTE: There is now a small directional sign here. Continuing straight arrives at GSMNP Porter Creek trailhead.
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, but Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail does not allow RVs or trailers and is only open March 11 - Nov 30 during 2011. During peak summer season, you might spend more time on this roadway than on the trail.

If the Roaring Fork Motor Trail closed, then next nearest access point would be at the Rainbow Falls trailhead for a 7 mile round trip hike.

After the Hike

Misc. Information

Per NPS policy, pets are not allowed on park trails. Be aware that black bears are in the area. [npbs

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 Trail bridge (L) 35.70918,-83.31467 Trail bridge (D) 35.70904,-83.32018 Three old growth poplars (C) 35.70855,-83.30013 Ramsey Cascades </googlemap>

Photos

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