Accessibility – Moderate
Height – 35′
Distance – 5.0 miles (out and back)
Beauty – 7
Photo rating – 8
Solitude – 4
GPS Info: LAT 35.60892 LONG -83.87975
Last Updated – 12-23-2024
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Note: The Cades Cove Loop Road is subject to weather related closings and is gated at night. During the summer, it is closed to vehicle traffic on Wednesdays. Before heading to the trailhead visit the park website for a current list of closed trails and roads at:
https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
Where to park: There is parking at the end of Abrams Falls Road, which is accessed from the Cades Cove Loop Road. The parking lot does fill up and a parking permit is required. The parking lot is located at 35.59105, -83.85235, but you shouldn’t need that since there are signs and Google knows where the Abrams Falls Trailhead is located.
The hike: The hike starts from the upper end of the parking lot at a sign for the Abrams Falls Trail. You will cross Abrams Creek on a bridge and once across the trail splits with the Wet Bottoms Trail heading off to the right, stay left to continue on the Abrams Falls trail. The trail mirrors the creek for 2.5 miles before it swings to the right to pass through a small drainage. When it comes back to Abrams Creek, you are below the falls with all the people. There isn’t a ton of elevation, and most of the way back to Cades Cove will trend toward going uphill.
It’s a nice waterfall, and when I visited in late December of 2023, I was shocked how many people were at the falls so I can only imagine what a zoo it must be in the summer. If you keep hiking on the Abrams Falls Trail for another 1.3 miles you will come to Old Flats Branch, and on the outside of the curve through the drainage, it you push into the woods a short distance, there is a very nice waterfall. it’s not on par with Abrams Falls, but it is still really pretty, and I can all but guarantee you that there won’t be anyone else there. If you want to see Old Flats Falls without adding 2.6 miles to your hike, click here.
Fun story about this one: It was a 58 degree December day when I made this hike, and there were a large number of people at the falls, all of whom started at Cades Cove. I know this because the only car over by the Abrams Ranger Station where I started my 20-mile trek was mine. Abrams Falls was at mile 13 for me and after a pause to take in the falls, I was ready to plow onward. Well, not two steps onto the trail, I hear someone saying, “Sir, excuse me, Sir.” It took me a minute to realize the older couple was talking to me and when I turned around, the older woman says while pointing toward Cades Cove, “You’re going the wrong way, the parking lot is that way!” They didn’t know what to say when I told them I was parked by Abrams Campground.
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