The Back Way to Laurel Falls

Upper Section of Laurel Falls

Laurel Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls in the Smoky Mountains and with good reason.  The trailhead for this hike that most folks take to visit these famous falls is located along Fighting Creek Gap Rd between Metcalf Bottoms and the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  This is one of a small number of paved hiking trails in the Smoky Mountains.  The amount of elevation that you gain to reach these falls is just over 300 feet, and it is only a 2.3 mile roundtrip hike.  I have yet to hike this trail because it is generally very crowded and the parking area is generally full.  It is recommended that if you want to hike this trail that you do so early in the morning before the crowds arrive.  Most websites that reference this trail rate it as an easy trail, but there are some steep drop offs, and bears are routinely sighted in this area.
 
Incidentally, if you are staying at Mountains on My Mind, you can take a quick 11 mile drive to reach this trailhead.  Actually, if you are standing on the porch at Mountains on My Mind and look to the left, the long mountain range that you see is Cove Mountain.  Laurel Falls is on the opposite side of Cove Mountain from this vacation cabin.

Flowers along the logging road

When most folks embark on the Laurel Falls Trail from the parking area, they typically hike the 1.15 miles to the falls, which is all paved, and then hike back to their vehicle.  The trail however, extends on and up the mountain.  In fact, Laurel Falls Trail goes all the way to the top of Cove Mountain and end at Cove Mountain Trail 1/10 of a mile from the old Cove Mountain Fire Tower which is at the peak of Cove Mountain.
 
After we purchased Mountains on My Mind, I learned that there is a path to an old logging road that leads up to the old fire tower, which is now used for weather research on top of Cove Mountain.  I knew this would be an awesome hike to take from the cabin, and I knew it would be a solid day hike. 

I filmed our journey, and you can check it out below:

So, on one of our stays, I took my youngest daughter with me, and we set out from the porch of Mountains on My Mind on an epic hike to Laurel Falls, using the path less traveled.  We hiked all the way up the logging road and checked out the weather tower at the summit of Cove Mountain, then found Laurel Falls Trail and hiked all the way down to the falls.  We hung out at the falls for about 45 minutes or so and ate some snacks, re-hydrated ourselves, took some photos, and then finally headed back up Cove Mountain.  Altogether, from the time we left the porch of Mountains on My Mind until the time we returned to the cabin, it was about 8 hours.  From the cabin to the top of Cove Mountain is about 4 miles; then it was roughly another 3 miles to Laurel Falls.  ​

Taking a break

​Having said all that, Laurel Falls is not the only destination available from this cabin.   Once you reach Cove Mountain Trail, if you go east on the trail, in 8.7 miles you will reach the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  There and back again to Sugarlands from this cabin is probably too much to do in a single day; however, you should be able to hike to Sugarlands in under 8 hours I’m guessing and have someone pick you up at the Visitor Center.  The nice thing about this is that from what I understand, going in this direction the 8.7 mile hike from the Fire Tower is all downhill to Sugarlands.  I think I will try this next.  Also, once you are on Laurel Falls Trail, heading down, at about .9 miles you will hit an intersection with Little Greenbrier Trail.  This trail will take you to Little Brier Gap Trail which will take you to Metcalf Bottoms.  You will be able to visit the historic Little Greenbrier School along the way.  From the intersection of Little Greenbrier Trail and Laurel Falls Trail, this jaunt is a little under 4 miles.  So that is another possibility for a day hike, or to simply just hike to Metcalf Bottoms and have someone pick you up.
 
What was so cool was that we were able to hike all the way to famous Laurel Falls from this cabin without ever having to get in a vehicle.  It was an incredible day! 

iPhone picture from trail