Accessibility – Moderate
Height – 30′
Distance – 5.0 miles (out and back)
Beauty – 4
Photo rating – 3
Solitude – 3
GPS Info: LAT 35.58843 LONG -83.32566
Last Updated – 12-23-2024
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Note: The Bradley Fork Trailhead is located in the back right corner of Smokemont Campground. If the campground is fully open, you can park at the trailhead. Otherwise, you will have to park further away and walk to the trailhead. This was something I had to do on my November visit, adding about half a mile of parking lot walking. You can check the campground status here:
https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
Where to start: The Bradley Fork Trailhead is inside the Smokemont Campground. The exact location is at 35.56302, -83.31074. Just enter the campground and follow the main road all the way to the end and park.
The hike: The hike starts at the gate on the Bradley Fork Trail which is a horse trail so keep this in mind during the summer. The trail is a roadbed and not very steep. Around 1.1 miles from the gate, the trail will split. The Chasteen Creek Trail goes to the right. Stay left to remain on the Bradley Fork Trail for another 1.4 miles. The waterfall is on the other side of Bradley Fork and depending on the flow, it can be very nice or very meh. If you’re staying in the campground and looking for something to do, you can make this hike or the one Chasteen Creek Falls. If you want to make it a 7.5 mile hike you could add Hitchin Post Falls and Chasteen Creek Falls together by hiking back to the junction and following the Chasteen Creek Trail for about a mile to the falls. Neither trail is very steep down here, but once you pass the falls, they do start to climb more aggressively.
Hitchin’ Post Falls looking good in February 2024, not so much in November 2023