Bear Creek & Chasteen Creek Falls

Sunday morning, I had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then drove west to Bryson City and into Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  I followed Lakeview Drive, the "Road to Nowhere", to the end and parked at the trailhead for Lakeshore Trail.  The trail starts out on the road past the barricades and towards a tunnel.

The tunnel is really big; it's straight so I could see right through, but it was deceptively long, close to a quarter-mile.

Beyond the tunnel, the road becomes a trail and gradually headed down towards Fontana Lake.  This is a pretty remote section of the park so I didn't see too many other people along my hike.  It was about 2.5 miles from the tunnel to where the trail headed down to Forney Creek where it flows into Fontana Lake.  There was a big campsite here (#74) and a footbridge over the creek.

I got some pictures from the bridge, but then headed the other way, picking up Forney Creek Trail.  In less than half a mile, I turned left on Bear Creek Trail and crossed Forney Creek on a wide footbridge.  After crossing Bear Creek on another bridge, the trail headed towards Welch Branch and then turned sharply back towards Bear Creek.  In just under a half-mile from Welch Branch, I got off the trail and started bushwhacking down towards the creek.  I could hear the waterfall from here, but it was hard to discern as Bear Creek has many cascades and drops.  There were also some steep cliffs to navigate around and as I could close to the waterfall, it was a brutal wade through rhododendron to get out to the base of Bear Creek Falls.  But despite the difficult bushwhack down (and equally bad going back up), the waterfall was worth the effort - it was a real beauty.

I relaxed down here for a while, taking some pictures and eating a snack.  But it would be a nasty climb back out, so I didn't linger too long.  Once back at the trail, the hike back wasn't too bad, though it was mostly uphill.  Near the tunnel, I took a detour on Goldmine Loop Trail that headed steeply down to Goldmine Branch and then  to Fontana Lake.

There was a nice spot to get out and view the lake here.  I saw a couple on jet skis cruise through the little cove.  Then it was all uphill back to the tunnel.  There were a lot of Rosebay Rhododendron blooming along the trail and made for a welcome break to stop and take a picture.

Eventually, the trail leveled off and I turned on Tunnel Bypass Trail to head back.

Back at the car, I was pretty tired from the, but wanted to get another waterfall.  On the way out of the park, I stopped at the Fontana Lake Overlook for a view of the lake where Tuckaseegee River flows in.

Leaving Bryson City, I headed to Cherokee and the Smokemont area of the park.  Parking at the far end of the campground, I picked up the Bradley Fork Trail and followed its namesake upstream.  This trail is for hikers and equestrians; I saw a number of pipevine swallowtail butterflies feeding on horse waste along the trail.

In a mile or so, I turned right on Chasteen Creek Trail and went about three-quarters of a mile to a fork.  Chasteen Creek Trail went to the right, while left headed to a horse hitching post.  Just past the post, a short path led to Chasteen Creek Falls.

It's not a big waterfall, but rather scenic.  And despite being close to the Smokemont Campground, I had it all to myself.  I took off my boots and waded in the creek for a bit, as much to cool down as to get pictures.

After a little while, I headed back.

I didn't want to get stuck in Cherokee traffic again, so leaving the park, I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  And I couldn't help, but stop at an overlook along the way.  I pulled over at Lickstone Ridge Overlook for a nice view of Cherokee down below.

Then I returned to the hotel for the evening after a long and strenuous day.