Accessibility – Moderate
Height – 40′ (2 drops)
Distance – 2.5 miles (out and back)
Beauty – 5
Photo rating – 4
Solitude – 3
GPS Info: LAT 35.67751 LONG -82.59315
Last Updated – 12-23-2024
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Note: The Laurel Falls Trail was being redone and I don’t know if it is open at this time. Check at the visitor center before heading to the trailhead or visit the park website for a current list of closed trails and roads at: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
Where to start: The parking area is on Fighting Creek Gap Road, 3.5 miles from the upper exit of the visitor center parking lot. Don’t worry about the mileage. The parking area is easy to find and hard to find a spot in. This is another of the areas they check for parking passes so pick one up at the visitor center. There are a limited number of spots and roadside parking is limited by obstacles placed along the road to keep you from doing it. There are some pullouts, but those tend to fill up as well.
The hike: The hike starts from the Laurel Falls Trailhead which is in the middle of the parking area. The trail is paved, so if you find yourself on a dirt trail without a lot of people, there is a good chance you are on the Sugarland Mountain Trail, which starts on the other side of the road. The trailhead parking for Sugarland Mountain serves as the overflow for Laurel Falls. Once you’re on the right trail, follow the paved path for 1.25 miles to the falls.
If you want to make this into a longer hike, you can do what I did and make a loop out of the hike. One of the things I’ve had to do to make my Smokies 800-miler work is hike some miles on roads. Laurel Falls was one of those hikes. Instead of parking at Laurel Falls TH, I parked at the visitor center and walked the 3.5 miles to the trailhead. I hiked to the falls and from there I kept going on the Laurel Falls Trail, taking it all the way to the summit of Cove Mountain. Once you pass the falls, the trail changes from paved to dirt. Following a visit to the Cove Mountain Fire Tower, I hiked the Cove Mountain Trail back to the Visitor Center, stopping at Cataract Falls on the way. I also included an out and back on Little Greenbrier, making the entire hike 21 miles. Without the out and back, the hike would have been 16 miles. If you do it with two cars, you can avoid the road walking and drop the distance to 12.5 miles.
