This is Day 3 of our boys trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). Paul and our sons, Drew and Matt, along with our uncle Mike, aka Grunkle, have 3 days in the GSMNP. And we’re saving the best for last. After hiking to waterfalls the last 2 days, today we are hiking the Alum Cave Trail to Alum Cave Bluff.
If you want to jump straight to the trail, click Alum Cave Trail. Otherwise keep reading about our whole day.
Background
We haven’t done a boys trip in almost 5 years and President’s Day weekend sounds good. We used to do an annual boys camping trip in Florida, but we didn’t plan early enough this time. All of the campgrounds are pretty booked, but Drew said “what about the mountains?” We loved the last time we went there, so we looked for some availability at a timeshare in the area. Being offseason in winter, we had no problem finding availability. And the boys thought about their Uncle Mike from Chicago. He recently retired and has been asking us for over a year to do a hiking trip with him. So we called and he was immediately on board. And the timeshare resort is equal distance between Chicago and Florida. So we reserved our boys trip for the 4 of us!
Planning Alum Cave Trail
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the U.S. It also has over 800 miles of hiking trails and is one of the top hiking destinations in the east. So on Day 1, our first stop was to Sugarlands Visitor Center to talk to a park ranger. We got some good information from the park ranger Dexter, and have a good plan today. The weather will again be sunny and clear and even warmer than yesterday. Even though it’s a Sunday on a holiday weekend, we are not planning an early start. We had a long day yesterday and plan to hit the trail when we’re ready. For more information about the park, see Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
The Alum Cave Trail is located on Newfound Gap Road, and is about the same distance as yesterday’s hike. To read more about yesterday’s hike: click Abrams Falls and Cades Cove in GSMNP. Though we won’t have to go through Cades Cove to get to the trailhead, the parking lot can get full. From our resort to the trailhead is under 45 minutes, and we’ll grab breakfast on the way. The Alum Cave Trail goes all the way to the summit of Mount Le Conte. However, we are planning to only go half way up to Alum Cave Bluff and back. After the 3-4 hour hike, we will plan to have an early dinner at a diner in Pigeon Forge. So today is all about Alum Cave Trail, our last hike on our trip.
Getting to the Alum Cave Trailhead
We leave late this morning at 10:25AM, hoping to grab breakfast close by. But we forget that Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday. So, we find a Burger King on the way. We pull-up to the drive-thru asking if they are still serving breakfast. Luckily they can still make 4 breakfast sandwiches but they’re out of hash browns. So we order the sandwiches with onion rings. Now that we have something for breakfast, we eat on the way into the park.
We pass the Sugarlands Visitor Center as we continue on Newfound Gap Road to the trail parking lot. However, when we get here, the small parking lot is full and cars are lined up and down the road. We do a loop through the parking lot and see no open spots. However, we see an open gravel spot on the side of the road past the other parked cars. Though it seems a little far away, we have plenty of room to park.
After parking at almost 11:30AM, we get out and pack our gear. We each grab trekking poles that Mike brought and make sure we have plenty of snacks and water. Even though it will be warmer today, it’s still a little chilly at this elevation, so we bring our coats. It takes a few minutes to get to the parking lot, where we find the restrooms. However, they are still closed for the season. So, we head across the parking lot to the start of the trail.
*Note as of March 1, 2023, parking tags are now required and roadside parking is prohibited. For more info see: Fees & Passes – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov).
Start of Alum Cave Trail
At the other end of the parking lot is a sign stating to lock your car and take your valuables. Behind it is a path that crosses a small bridge leading to a large bridge. It’s here we see the trailhead sign, and from here it’s 2.3 miles to Alum Cave Bluff. Also at 1.4 miles is Arch Rock, which you walk through on the way. For more information, see Hike to Alum Cave – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov).
Right past the trailhead sign, is a large bridge over Alum Cave Creek. After crossing, this creek is on our right as we continue down the trail. And it must be the sound of the water, but all of us need to make a pit stop. We couldn’t have known the restrooms at the parking lot would be closed. But you do what you got to do. With that out of the way, we can enjoy the rest of the trail through the old-growth forest.
With the creek beside us, we pass some very large trees and a lot of rhododendron bushes. There is a little water and ice on the trail, but we have Grunkle’s trekking poles to help with traction. And though we see ice, it’s getting warm so we take off our coats and stuff them in our backpacks. The trail is also very busy today, but we let others go past us. Grunkle is enjoying the trail while Drew is quietly enjoying the views through his glacier glasses. Paul is of course blazing down the trail, and where’s Matt? He decides to jump on some rocks in the middle of the creek.
Arch Rock on Alum Cave Bluff Trail
Though we started at a higher elevation over 3,800 feet, the trail has been relatively flat so far. But, once we head over another bridge, we start to slowly ascend until we get to Arch Rock. There is a bridge right before the natural arch and we spread out to take some pictures.
The cool part is we have to take the rock steps through the arch to continue on the trail. Luckily there are some cable handrails to guide us through it. We see some ice and icicles in the cave, but we have no problems passing through it. And we exit through the top back on the trail. A lot of people turn back here as it gets a little more difficult after Arch Rock.
Right past Arch Rock, there is a large rock in the trail and it is covered by ice. There is another cable handrail here, but it is slippery so we walk around it. And once we get past it we follow Styx branch, a main tributary of Alum Cave Creek. We make it to another bridge that crosses this branch to find a tree fallen on the trail. We each squeeze underneath it to get to the other side. And on the other side, the trail starts to ascend and then gets rocky. We see some icicles on the side of the trail before reaching Inspiration Point.
Inspiration Point
Past Arch Rock, the trail has become less crowded. And when we get to the rocky outcrop Inspiration Point, we are by ourselves. Though we have hiked roughly 2 miles and our destination is not much farther, we decide to take a break. We break out some trail mix and saltwater taffy and enjoy the views.
From Inspiration Point, you get a panoramic view including Little Duck Hawk Ridge and Myrtle Point. The protected ridge here is home to rare nesting peregrine falcons that are making a comeback in the park. Though we won’t likely see any falcons this time of year, the views are great. While taking our break, many hikers pass by from both directions. A few coming from the bluff have told us to watch for falling icicles. With that in mind, we head toward the Alum Cave Bluff.
Alum Cave Bluff
Once past Inspiration Point, we do pass some icicles on an icy part of the trail. But once we carefully pass it, we can easily see the bluff. Alum Cave Bluff isn’t actually a cave, but rather an 80-foot concave cliff. The cave was mined for Epsom salts in the mid-1800s and for saltpeter during the Civil War to make gunpowder. As we approach the bluff, it looks like we’re walking into the mouth of a giant face in the mountain.
The trail has become very rocky at this point, but winding steps lead the way into the “cave”. There are many people here, but plenty of room to spread out. This is where many people turnaround to go back, and that is our plan today. Though you can continue on this trail all the way to the top of Mt. Le Conte. We grab an open spot on some rocks and enjoy more views.
Up above our heads, we see the icicles we were warned about. The icicles hanging from the top of the bluff are 3-4 feet in some places, but luckily not right above us. We are protected inside the “cave” but we just watch them.
When we look up, we can see the large icicles melting in the Sun. Water is just dripping from them, and many break off while we are sitting here. We warn some hikers approaching and some ice does fall on the steps leading up to us. Luckily no one was hurt, but the icicles gave everyone a little excitement.
Heading Back on Alum Cave Trail
After almost 20 minutes watching icicles fall at the bluff, we go back carefully. We take turns taking the steps down while one of us watches for falling icicles. Some ice does fall close to some other hikers, but we manage to avoid them to safety. Drew slowly follows the steps while Matt is goes off the trail to avoid the icicles.
It took us over 2 hours to the bluff, but we are making better progress on the way back down. Paul is blazing the way, and after about 30 minutes, we get to go back through Arch Rock. It is just as cool to walk up through Arch Rock as it is to walk back down through it.
After we make it to the bridge on the other side of Arch Rock, we stop to admire it so more. Matt decides to climb some rocks under the bridge and his trail name has become clear. Grunkle calls him “Waldo” and it seems perfect. Whenever Matt goes off trail, it’s like where’s Waldo? Grunkle also calls Paul “Roadrunner” for blazing down the trails (and also for his driving?). But for Drew it take a little more thought and Grunkle comes up with “Cryptid”. A Cryptid is an animal that has been claimed to exist but has never proven to be (Big Foot, etc.). The legend continues…
By the time we make it back to our car, it is after 3:30PM and we are hungry. We are done hiking for the day, but we decide to go to Sunliner Diner for dinner.
Sunliner Diner
We can’t end this post without talking about Sunliner Diner. We all thought a diner sounded great but didn’t know what to expect. And when we arrive before 4:30, the place is packed. Inside it’s 50’s themed with jukeboxes and even old cars you can sit in. But when we get inside they say it will be about a 45 minute wait. So, we walk through their little store while we wait. But it’s only about 15 minutes before they call our name. For more information about this diner, check out: Sunliner Diner – Pigeon Forge, TN
Even though they serve breakfast all day, we are all hungry for hamburgers. We all order a double except Matt who decides to order The Jukebox burger. Paul and Mike also order milkshakes that come out first and are arguably the best we’ve ever had. But before long our hamburgers come out, including Matt’s huge burger. His burger is triple stacked with 3 cheeses, bacon, fried green tomato, onion ring, fried egg and fried pickles. All of us have trouble finishing our double burgers with fries/onion rings, but not Matt. His burger is ridiculously stacked making it impossible to eat without taking apart. But Matt finishes it and gets a sticker and a free song on the jukebox for his feat.
Summary
On our last day of our road trip, we hiked the Alum Cave Trail to Alum Cave Bluff and back. Though we loved the waterfalls, we fell in love with this hike. Hiking through the forest alongside the creek was beautiful. And only at 1.4 miles we made it to Arch Rock. Walking through the arch was a highlight, but the Alum Cave Bluff itself did not disappoint. Adding to the excitement was the falling icicles on this sunny and warm day. We loved this trail so much, we talked about possibly trying it again all the way to the summit of Mt. Le Conte. And the whipped cream on the milkshake was going to Sunliner Diner for dinner. We will definitely go back.
This wraps up our boys trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. After 3 full days exploring and hiking in the park, we all had a great time. And though we hiked trails of increasing difficulty each day, we all enjoyed our time on the trails. And more importantly, we enjoyed our time together and hope to make this a more regular thing. Not to mention we all have trail names! So, Roadrunner, Grunkle, Cryptid and Waldo will have to plan another trip soon.