Family Hiking in the Smokies: Time Well Spent » (Fourth Edition)

Family Hiking in the Smokies is specifically geared toward taking children on excursions into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park-the most visited national park in the United States. The park offers much to its nearly ten million annual visitors. For families who seek fun along with educational recreation, the park boasts splendid views and enormous biological diversity.

While the guide book concentrates on shorter day hikes, it also presents longer trails for overnight or weekend camping. Organized by regions of the park, the forty-two concise trail descriptions include many of the most popular destinations, such as Ramsey Cascades, Grotto Falls, and Clingmans Dome Tower, as well as overlooked gems such as Midnight Hole, Lynn Camp Prong, and Juney Whank Falls. This fourth edition includes new trails not found in the book's previous editions, and all are presented in a user-friendly format.

This delightful volume also includes specific advice regarding safety, trail difficulty, and keeping children's attention. In addition, Family Hiking in the Smokies provides interesting educational sidebars about fauna, folklore, and material culture along the way. This book, based on the experiences of three expert hikers who have walked with their own children and grandchildren in the park, will provide parents and grandparents with a perfect guide for establishing an adult/child bond with the natural world.

Statement from the Authors ix

Tips for Family Hiking xi

Great Smoky Mountains National Park xvii

Big Creek-Cataloochee

1 Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek Falls 3

2 Mt. Sterling 5

3 Little Cataloochee 6

4 Caldwell Fork and Boogerman Loop 8

5 Woody House 10

Cosby

6 Hen Wallow Falls 13

7 Mount Cammerer 14

8 Albright Grove 16

Gatlinburg-Mt. LeConte

9 Ramsey Cascades 22

10 Porters Creek Trail and Fern Branch Falls 23

11 Gatlinburg Trail 24

12 Sugarlands Valley Trail 25

13 Cataract Falls 26

14 Laurel Falls-Cove Mountain Fire Tower 26

15 Jakes Creek Falls 28

16 Little River and Cucumber Gap 29

17 Huskey Branch Falls 30

18 Litde Greenbrier School and Walker Sisters' House 31

19 Rainbow Falls 34

20 Grotto Falls and Brushy Mountain 34

21 Baskins Creek Falls 36

22 Chimney Tops 40

23 Alum Cave to Mt. LeConte 42

24 Charlies Bunion and die Jumpoff 44

Clingmans Dome

25 Clingmans Dome Tower 49

26 Andrews Bald 51

Cades Cove-Townsend

27 Upper Meigs Falls 55

28 Lynn Camp Prong 56

29 Rich Mountain Loop 57

30 Spence Field 59

31 Abrams Falls 60

32 Gregory Bald 62

33 Look Rock Tower 65

Cherokee-Deep Creek

34 Kephart Prong 69

35 Smokemont Loop 70

36 Oconaluftee Cherokee 72

37 Flat Creek 73

38 Mingo Falls 74

39 Juney Whank Falls 75

40 Indian Creek Falls 76

Fontana

41 Twentymile Creek Cascade 79

42 Shuckstack Fire Tower 80

Appendices

1 Nature and Historical Trails 83

2 Car Travel and Auto Tours 87

3 Picnicking in the Smokies 91

4 Backpacking with Children 95

5 Things to Do for Overnight Trips 97

Resources 99

Hike Index 101

Mileage Chart 105