Estimated Time: 2 to 3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Sugarlands (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Trail Users: Hiking only
Dogs: No
Features: Waterfalls (1)
Crowds: Extremely High
Warnings: The rocks around waterfalls are slippery.
Trailhead GPS: 35.67577,-83.48542
Waterfall GPS: 35.66227,-83.46389
Directions:
From Gatlinburg, turn on Cherokee Orchard Road to head into the park. Drive 3.5 miles to Rainbow Falls Trailhead parking on the right. If it is full, there is an overflow parking lot another 1/4 mile up the road.
Map:
Hike Description:
Rainbow Falls Trail starts in the southwest corner of the parking lot and follows LeConte Creek upstream. Its fairly steep but numerous switchbacks so never too bad. At 1.8 miles, cross LeConte Creek on a footbridge.
At 2.4 miles, the trail crosses a tributary of LeConte Creek with a small waterfall.
The trail crosses LeConte Creek again at 2.6 miles then switchbacks back to the creek at a footbridge below Rainbow Falls.
It is possible to climb up the river right side for a closer view.
Here's a video of the falls.
External Links:
National Park Service website: https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/hike-to-rainbow-falls.htm
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