Hike to Spruce Flats Falls

Spruce Flats Falls

​If you would like to take a short hike to see a set of really nice waterfalls, think about visiting Spruce Flats Falls.  These falls are located near the Tremont Institute in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park just outside of Townsend, TN.  If you are staying at Mountains on My Mind, the drive to the parking area for the falls is a short 30 minutes.  If you are coming from one of our other cabins, it would be closer to a 45 minute drive.  This set of falls has not been listed on the official park map; however, it is becoming more popular as more people review these falls.  The nice thing is that this will be one of the lesser visited falls in the region.

Spruce Flats Falls

My daughter and I hiked the trail to visit these falls early one fall morning, and we didn’t see anyone else until after we spent about 45 minutes photographing the falls from various vantage points.  As we were just finishing, a guide from the Tremont Institute was bringing a group of teenagers to see the falls.  On the return hike we only saw one other set of hikers on the trail heading towards the falls.

The trail to Spruce Flats Falls has been rated from easy to moderate depending on who you talk to.  Overall it is not a long trail as the roundtrip length is around 1.4 miles long.  There is an elevation gain of about 460 feet.  Now there are some steep parts and some sections of the trail that have a lot of rocks and stumps.

Spruce Flats Falls

Driving Directions:

• From Pigeon Forge, TN, you will take Wears Valley Rd/US-321 South toward Townsend, TN.
• After about 15 miles, you will turn left on E Lamar Alexander Parkway.
• At about 2.2 miles you will take a right on Laurel Creek Rd.  You will see signs that point to Cades Cove, and that is the direction you want to take.
• Go about 2 miles and make a left onto Tremont Rd.
• At about 3 miles you will see the entrance to the Tremont Institute on your left.  The address is 9275 Tremont Rd, Townsend, TN 37882.
• At this point cross over the bridge and park in the parking area to the right of the Tremont Visitor Center and gift shop.  The trail head is just up the gravel road on the left.

Trail Directions:

• Starting from the trailhead you will quickly reach the Buckeye Trail junction.
• Take a right onto Buckeye Trail.
• The trail will start a steep incline, and you will be able to see some of the camping areas Tremont provides for their events below you on the right.
• At almost two-tenths of a mile, the trail will split and you will want to turn left and continue uphill.
• You should see an old cistern after you take this split.
• At about a half mile you will start working your way down towards the falls.
• At about seven-tenths of a mile you will be at the falls.

Spruce Flats Falls will make a great half day hike if you are staying at any of the cabins Peaceful Cabin Rentals has to offer.