The Smoky Mountains is one of my favorite natural places to visit. On this trip I entered through the Townsend entrance. The Cades Cove loop was my first destination. There is a herd of horses I desired to visit. I had heard of them prior to visiting and wanted to see them for myself. I always stop off at the Riverstone Restaurant in Townsend, TN prior to beginning to hike. The food is good, service excellent, and price fair. That way I am good to hike all day, packing only bottled water and trail mix in my backpack. And I do hike all day. This day I hiked Cades Cove and Abrams Falls. I got a late start. It was a four hour drive from Lexington, KY.
When I arrived in Cades Cove the loop had back to back traffic with several of us pulling over to visit the horses. The only other animal that can stop traffic in the loop are bears. The elk never make it as far as Cades Cove. Some of the volunteer park rangers stopped on their bikes just to direct traffic as to where to pull over so they were out of the way of the loop. The Smokies rely heavily on volunteers and so do us visitors.
Abrams Falls was my next on my list, although I did stop different areas on the way to hike a little. The trail roundtrip is approximately 5.2 miles. It is one the trails I frequent as I don’t think that is a long trip. It’s a further waterfall then say Looking Glass Falls, but not too far off the beaten track. The waterfall is 20 feet high. The trail is moderate. Backpacker rated it strenuous but I don’t feel it is. When hiking in the Smokies, I would keep watch out for snakes crossing your path. Elk and bear normally stay away from people.
I did not have time on this trip to make it to Clingman’s Dome. Clingman’s Dome is about one hour and forty-five minutes away or forty-nine miles. If you start early enough you can make it there before dark.
Last modified: April 22, 2020
