Today is day 1 of our boys trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). Paul and our sons, Drew and Matt, have 3 days in the Smoky Mountains and we’re hoping for some snow. And today is the best chance for some. The last time we visited the park was in summer 2015, and we’ve never been here in the winter. In addition, our uncle Mike, aka Grunkle, will be joining us. We are looking forward to hiking some trails including to some waterfalls. What we didn’t expect was a snowy Laurel Falls trail.
If you want to jump straight to that section, click Snowy Laurel Falls 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
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. When we visited this park last, we mostly drove to major sites, but didn’t do any real hiking. But, Uncle Mike is an experienced hiker, so we want to do some good trails with him. Though some areas of the park are closed in the winter it can be a good time for hiking. Crowds are usually better and vegetation is less dense allowing for better views. Not knowing what the weather will be like though, we want to get more information about the trails we researched. So, we plan to go to the Sugarlands Visitor Center first to talk to a park ranger.
But before we go to the visitor center, we will head into Gatlinburg for breakfast at a pancake house. Since we drove all day the day before, we will sleep in a little bit before heading to breakfast. We’ll then take our time and plan to go to the visitor center to talk to a ranger. Some of the trails we’re interested in are to waterfalls, including the very popular Laurel Falls. For more information about the park, see Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
Log Cabin Pancake House and Gatlinburg
After getting a slow start this morning, we go to Log Cabin Pancake House in Gatlinburg first. Pancake houses are popular in this area and Uncle Mike recommended this one off the main strip. And it has ample parking when we arrive at 11:45 AM. You really have to get to these places early or late when it’s not super crowded. We had no problem getting seated immediately in our own booth. This place has many different options of pancakes, crepes and French toast, as well as mainstay breakfast options. They also have lunch options today, so Matt orders the patty melt. The rest of us get breakfast. Paul gets butterscotch pancakes and Drew gets blackberry crepes. Mike orders a more sensible breakfast that comes with pancakes. For more information, see: Log Cabin Pancake House.
Afterwards, we decide to walk it off on the Gatlinburg strip. Of course, the first place we go is the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen to get some saltwater taffy. This is always a good stop to get a fairly inexpensive souvenir to take home. And we get to see a man actually making taffy who gives us a fresh sample. But on to our next stop, across the street to the Ole Smoky Moonshine store. Here you can purchase a sample of 7 flavors of their moonshine for $5. And after the tasting you get a coupon for $5 off any moonshine. So if you plan to buy some, the sampling pays for itself. They always have many interesting and tasty flavors and worth a stop. After hitting the tourist stops, we are ready to head to the Sugarlands Visitor Center.
Sugarlands Visitor Center
We always stop at visitor centers in parks, but today it’s essential. After researching hikes, we know which ones we’re interested in, but want to discuss them with a park ranger. We haven’t seen any snow today, but it did rain hard last night and we are worried about the trails. And as soon as we walk in, we are greeted by a park ranger (behind plexiglass) named Dexter. He pulls out a map of the park and we tell him about the hikes we want to take. We are worried we will need micro-spikes if the trails are really icy or wet. But he assures us they are all in good shape. So now we have a good plan for the next few days.
We ask about Cataract Falls which you can walk to from here. It is a very short 3/4 mile round trip to the falls that sounds like a nice introductory hike. But, Dexter knows where we want to go, and describes Cataract Falls like a drip compared to Laurel Falls. Since it’s still early enough in the afternoon, we decide we’ll go to Laurel Falls after leaving here. But, first we will shop a little.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free to enter, however their brochures aren’t free. They have a big stand of brochures and maps that range from 50 cents to a few dollars. We don’t mind paying for a few as this is much cheaper than paying admission to some national parks. So, we grab a few and some other small items including our customary fridge magnet. Another thing they always have at visitor centers are restrooms. So, we make a pit stop before we leave knowing we won’t get the chance again for a few hours.
Little River Road and Maloney Point
From the visitor center we turn on Little River Road towards the 2nd stop on the way, Laurel Falls. Once on Little River Road, we start to see the trees turning white. And as we continue driving we start to see some snow flurries! Uncle Mike sees snow all the time, but we don’t see snow often being from Florida. Even though the flurries are light, the snow covered trees and bushes are beautiful. This is what we had hoped for, but it gets better…
Once we get to Maloney Point, it is really snowing. So, we pull over into the parking lot and get out. Maloney Point offers some amazing views of the mountains in the distance. And the trees are not overgrown in the winter giving us a better view. Excited about the snow, we are even more excited about our next stop, the Laurel Falls Trail.
Snowy Laurel Falls Trail
When we pull up to the Laurel Falls parking lot, we find a spot across the street from the trailhead. Normally this popular trail parking lot is full, so we are happy to find any spot. And just like at Maloney Point, it is still snowing. So, we get out and layer up. It is about 3:45 in the afternoon, but we should have plenty of time for this relatively short trail. The Laurel Falls Trail is a paved 2.6 mile trail to Laurel Falls and back with minimal elevation. For more information about it, see Laurel Falls – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov).
This trail is paved up to Laurel Falls and was originally used to allow fire crews access to the top of Cove Mountain. You can still continue past the falls and see the fire tower at the top. But, we are just going to Laurel Falls today. The paved trail is fairly easy, though some areas are narrow and some edges are crumbling. This is a great trail to start on and we are enjoying the beautiful snowy landscape. Matt is really enjoying the snow since he really has never seen this much.
One of the things Uncle Mike says we need to do on our trip is come up with trail names. He already has one, Grunkle. It could be short for grumpy uncle or great uncle, but you’re not supposed to like your name. And you can’t come up with your own, so we think about names for each other while hiking. One thing we notice is Matt likes to get off the trail in the elements…
Snowy Laurel Falls
It only took us about 45 minutes to get to the falls, but right before we do we pass a guy in his boxers. He said his dad slipped and fell at the falls and he had to give him his clothes. He is with some others, but we think that guy was the one that got wet. Regardless, we’ll be extra careful. As soon as we pass them, we can see the lower falls and a bridge. There is an upper and lower section that is bisected by the bridge over the Laurel Branch stream.
The 80-foot Laurel Falls is stunning. The water is gushing over the upper falls and flowing under the bridge to the lower falls. We don’t see any water or ice on the bridge, but there is some water past it. So we step carefully across to a bench on the other side. We are the only ones here, so we take a break and admire the falls.
Even though it is no longer snowing, there is plenty of snow around Laurel Falls. And we just hang out enjoying the falls and taking some pictures. Some other hikers appear from the trail past the bench that heads up to the top of Cove Mountain. They stop at the falls too and take a break. They offer us some snacks and we talk for a little bit, and then they head on.
Matt decides to climb a little closer to the falls hanging out for a bit. Some other hikers have also reached the falls by now and we are ready to head back. We are at the falls for about 20 minutes before we head back.
Returning Back on the Snowy Laurel Falls Trail
As we leave we admire the lower falls once again and enjoy the snowy views. Matt is enjoying knocking snow off low hanging tree branches. As we continue, we get to a point on the trail with an open view of the surrounding area. And the clouds are starting to open up and we can see the blue sky bleeding through.
We get to another part of the trail where there is a side-trail into a snowy bushy area. So, we head off to take a break and admire the snow all around us. After a few minutes, we get back on the trail and before long, we are back at the parking lot. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to go up and back. But we took our time and enjoyed the snowy Laurel Falls Trail.
More Little River Road and The Sinks
We have about an hour before it gets dark, so we drive down Little River Road to The Sinks. About half way there we notice the trees are no longer white. The snow was just in the one area around Laurel Falls. We pull in the parking lot for The Sinks and there is only one other car here.
We get out and walk to a viewing platform where we get a great view. The Sinks is essentially a fast-flowing waterfall that formed an S-turn into a beautiful pool and river. Apparently this was created when loggers blasted a logjam with dynamite creating the bend. Past the platform steps take you up to the start of the Meigs Creek Trail. We climb up the steps to check it out before heading back. We are only here about 5 minutes, but it’s a picturesque stop.
Heading Back
We head back the way we came and again go from clear into the snowy portion of Little River Road. When we get to the Laurel Falls area, the snowy parking lot is virtually empty. And once back to Sugarlands, it is clear again, as we get on the bypass back to Pigeon Forge. On the way back, we stop at the Moon Pie General Store in Pigeon Forge. The store has plenty of moon pies in different sizes and flavors, including special flavors chocolate-mint and coconut. They also have plenty of Moon Pie related merchandise for fans of this delicious marshmallow treat. To find out more, see: Moon Pie General Store and Book Warehouse (moonpieinthesmokies.com). After loading up on moon pies, we head back to our resort.
Summary of Day 1 and Snowy Laurel Falls
After a late start, we headed into Gatlinburg to eat at the Log Cabin Pancake House. Then we walked on the Gatlinburg strip to some stores before going to Sugarland Visitor Center to talk to a park ranger. After some information we headed down Little River Road stopping at Maloney Point in the snow. We continued to the next stop, and hiked the snowy Laurel Falls Trail to the waterfall and back. Once back, we continued down Little River Road to The Sinks. After leaving, we left the park for Pigeon Forge and the Moon Pie store before returning to our resort.
Day 1 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was excellent. We enjoyed eating at the pancake house, and got some salt water taffy, moonshine and moon pies to take home. Gatlinburg is touristy and fun, but it’s very different only a few miles away in the park. We are so glad we stopped at the Sugarlands Visitor Center and talked to Dexter, the park ranger. He was super helpful and guided us to the most popular hike in the park, Laurel Falls. The highlight of the day was hiking the snowy Laurel Falls trail to the falls and back. We were hoping to see some snow and we did. In addition, we had no problems doing our first hike and we’re getting ideas for our trail names.
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