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| Cove Mountain | ||
| Trail Features: | Waterfalls, Old Growth Forest | |
| Trail Location: | Little River Road | |
| Roundtrip Miles: | 7.7 miles | |
| Total Elevation Gain: | 1776 feet | |
| Avg. Elev Gain / Mile: | 461 feet | |
| Highest Elevation: | 4139 feet | |
| Trail Difficulty Rating: | 11.25 (strenuous) | |
| Parking Lot Latitude: | 35.67208 | |
| Parking Lot Longitude: | -83.58068 | |
Directions to Trailhead:
From the
From the Townsend “Y” intersection near Cades Cove, the Laurel Falls / Cove Mountain trailhead is 13.7 miles away.
Trail Description:
With
Due to this extreme popularity, the trail to
In just over 1.1 miles, and a climb of about 315 feet, you’ll arrive at the 60-foot falls. If you’ve never seen these falls, you’ll immediately discover why this trail is so popular.
After leaving the pavement, and the crowds, you’ll climb through a canopy of rhododendron for the next half-mile, or so. As you walk through this section of trail, the hum of Laurel Branch Creek can be heard cascading down the valley on your right. From time to time, you’ll have some decent views of the mountains to the south. Further up the trail you’ll also be able to
The trail to
At 2.8 miles, the Little Greenbrier Trail spurs off to the left. Continue straight to reach
At 3.7 miles, you will dead end into the Cove Mountain Trail. Go left here for another 0.1 miles to reach the old fire tower. The tower is no longer used for monitoring fire situations. Instead, the Park Service has transformed it into an air quality monitoring station. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to climb the tower.
Although there’s not much of a view at the summit, the trail is still a very pleasant hike.