Waterfalls Near Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge

With heavy rainfall and steep mountain slopes, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is full of waterfalls, from roadside cascades you can see from the car to all-day hikes. Here are the best-known falls within reach of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, grouped by area. Distances are round trip, as published by the National Park Service unless noted.

Roaring Fork & Gatlinburg

• Grotto Falls: Trillium Gap Trailhead on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. 2.6 miles, moderate. A 25-foot waterfall in a cool, mossy cove, and the only waterfall in the park where the trail goes behind the falls. Parking is very limited, so arrive early.
• Rainbow Falls: Rainbow Falls Trailhead on Cherokee Orchard Road. About 5.4 to 5.6 miles, moderately strenuous with roughly 1,500 feet of climbing. An 80-foot falls named for the rainbow that often shows in its mist on sunny afternoons. Expect crowds.
• Baskins Creek Falls: Baskins Creek Trailhead, just inside the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Roughly 3 miles, moderate. A quieter, 40-foot two-tier waterfall. The last stretch down to the falls is steep and slippery.
• Place of a Thousand Drips: Roadside on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. No hike. After rain, dozens of little cascades pour down a rock wall right beside the road.

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a one-way road that closes in winter. Check the park's road status before you go.

Elkmont & Little River Road

• The Sinks: Roadside pull-off on Little River Road, about 12 miles west of Sugarlands Visitor Center. No hike. A powerful cascade into a deep pool, created when loggers dynamited a log jam. People have drowned here, so stay in the viewing area.
• Meigs Falls: Roadside pull-off on Little River Road, about 13 miles west of Sugarlands (about 1 mile past The Sinks). No hike. One of the easiest waterfalls in the park to see, right from the pull-off. It isn't signed, so watch your odometer.

Cades Cove & Townsend

• Abrams Falls: Abrams Falls Trailhead, between signposts 10 and 11 on the Cades Cove Loop Road. 5 miles, moderate. Abrams Creek drops 25 feet into a large, beautiful pool. Swimming is strongly discouraged because of a dangerous undertow.
• Spruce Flats Falls: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, off Laurel Creek Road. About 1.8 miles, moderate (per the Tremont Institute). A pretty multi-tier waterfall hidden in a side hollow, with some steep, rocky spots on the trail.

Greenbrier & Cosby

• Ramsey Cascades: Ramsey Cascades Trailhead in the Greenbrier area. 8 miles, strenuous, with more than 2,100 feet of climbing. The tallest waterfall in the Smokies, reached through old-growth forest. A full-day hike for fit hikers.
• Hen Wallow Falls: Gabes Mountain Trailhead near Cosby Campground. 4.3 miles, moderate. A 90-foot falls that starts only two feet wide and fans out to about 30 feet at the bottom.
• Mouse Creek Falls: Big Creek Trailhead (park at Big Creek Picnic Area), off I-40. 4 miles, moderate. A 41-foot waterfall dropping into Big Creek, with a log bench for a rest. You pass the Midnight Hole swimming hole on the way. Big Creek Trail is currently closed past Mouse Creek Falls due to storm damage.

Day trips to the North Carolina side

• Deep Creek Waterfalls Loop (Juney Whank, Tom Branch & Indian Creek Falls): End of Deep Creek Road near Bryson City, NC. 2.4-mile loop, easy to moderate. Three waterfalls in one hike: 80-foot Juney Whank with a footbridge across it, 60-foot Tom Branch Falls tumbling into Deep Creek, and 25-foot Indian Creek Falls.
• Mingo Falls: Pigeon Creek Trail on the Cherokee Reservation, near Cherokee, NC (outside the national park). Under half a mile round trip, but about 160 steep steps. One of the tallest waterfalls in the southern Appalachians at about 120 feet, seen from a footbridge at its base.

Waterfall safety and parking

• Parking tag: Parking anywhere in the national park for more than 15 minutes requires a Park It Forward parking tag. Buy one online or at a visitor center before you go. Mingo Falls is outside the park, so it doesn't need one.
• Stay off the rocks: Rocks near waterfalls are slick with mist and algae. Climbing on them is a leading cause of injuries, and the park does not recommend swimming.
• Go early or use a shuttle: Grotto, Rainbow, Abrams and other popular trailheads fill up fast, especially on weekends and in October.

Want something gentler? See our easy hikes near Gatlinburg.

Trail conditions, closures and parking rules change. Check the National Park Service conditions page before you go. Parking anywhere in the park for more than 15 minutes requires a "Park It Forward" parking tag, which you can buy online or at visitor centers.