Brushy Mountain - Hike to Brushy Mountain in the Smoky Mountains


Trail Features:		Views, Waterfalls, Wildflowers
Trail Location:		Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
Roundtrip Length:		6.8 miles
Total Elevation Gain:		1745 feet
Avg. Elev Gain / Mile:		513 feet
Highest Elevation:		4937 feet
Trail Difficulty Rating:		10.29 (strenuous)
Parking Lot Latitude:		35.68037
Parking Lot Longitude:		- 83.46243

Directions to Trailhead:

Starting from Light 8 in Gatlinburg, turn onto Historic Nature Trail / Airport Road. At 0.7 miles, veer right onto Cherokee Orchard Road, upon which you'll enter into Great Smoky Mountain National Park. After driving another 2.2 miles, you'll enter the one-way Cherokee Orchard Loop. Drive 0.9 miles on the loop before turning right onto the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. The parking lot for the trail to Brushy Mountain will be on the left side of the road, after driving roughly 1.6 miles on this one-way loop. The trailhead is just beyond the parking lot on the opposite side of the road. Because of the extreme popularity of this trail there are additional parking spaces beyond the trailhead. Your best bet is to get there early during peak visitor seasons.

Trail Description:

To reach Brushy Mountain you'll be following the Trillium Gap Trail for most of the way as it meanders through a beautiful old-growth forest, including many eastern hemlocks.

The first section of trail is technically an access trail. At 0.15 mile you'll link up with the Trillium Gap Trail. Continue going straight at this junction.

If you hike the trail during May you'll have the added benefit of witnessing a smorgasbord of wildflowers along the way. Look for trillium, white violets, stitchwort, squawcorn and Dutchman's breeches that are common in this area.

For the most part the trail is a gentle climb to Grotto Falls along a wide, well-worn path. As you proceed to the waterfalls you'll encounter four small stream crossings without the benefit of a footbridge.

At 1.2 miles you'll reach a nice tumbling cascade. Just beyond this point, Grotto Falls comes into view for the first time.

The most distinctive feature of Grotto Falls is that it's the only waterfall in the park that a person can actually walk behind. The 25-foot high waterfall offers a cool, shady, moist retreat for summer hikers, an environment that also happens to be ideal for salamanders as well.

As you walk behind the falls you can hear and feel the thunderous power of the water plunging into the pool in front of you. Watch your step here, especially in the winter - the area around the falls is always wet and slick.

To reach Brushy Mountain, continue on beyond the falls. Roughly a quarter-of-a-mile above the falls the first view of Brushy Mountain can be seen, looking due east through the trees. You'll have intermittent views of your destination for the next half-mile, or so.

At just over 3 miles you'll reach Trillium Gap, where the path meets the Brushy Mountain Trail coming up from Porters Creek. To reach the summit of Brushy Mountain, make sure to take a left at this junction. A turn to the right leads to the summit of Mt. LeConte.

The sign here says that it's only 0.2 miles to Brushy Mountain. Actually, it's about a third of a mile to the summit.

This last push to the summit is a gentle climb through a tunnel of rhododendron, mountain laurel, sand myrtle and other heath family plants. We saw several painted trillium through this section as well.

You'll know you're at the summit when you reach a small semi-circular clearing. This spot offers outstanding views of the entire eastern flank of the Smokies. You'll be able to see from Charlies Bunion, all the way over to Mt. Sequoyah, Mt. Guyot, and beyond. Mt. LeConte will be the dominating feature looking south.

Make sure to continue on the trail for another short distance, about 50 feet, to reach another vantage point. This spot provides spectacular views of Pigeon Forge, Greenbrier and Webb Mountain towards the north.

Please note that the road to the Grotto Falls / Brushy Mountain trailhead is closed in the winter. However, you can still reach Brushy Mountain by starting your hike from the Trillium Gap Trailhead near the Rainbow Falls Trailhead on Cherokee Orchard Road. This will add another 3.4 miles to your roundtrip hike.