Juney Whank Falls Trail - Hike Juney Whank Falls in Smoky Mountains

Juney Whank Falls
Trail Features:		Waterfalls
Trail Location:		Deep Creek
Roundtrip Miles:		0.5 miles
Total Elevation Gain:		194 feet
Avg. Elev Gain / Mile:		776 feet
Highest Elevation:		2032 feet
Trail Difficulty Rating:		0.89 (easy)
Parking Lot Latitude:		35.4643
Parking Lot Longitude:		-83.4342

Directions to Trailhead:

The Juney Whank Falls trailhead is located just north of Bryson City in North Carolina. To get there from Cherokee, head south on Rt. 19. You will drive exactly 10 miles from the intersection of 441 and 19 in Cherokee to Everett Street in Bryson City. Turn right onto Everett and drive for 0.2 miles. Turn right onto Depot Street. After a short distance, take a left onto Ramseur

Street and then an immediate right onto Deep Creek Road. Drive 2.3 miles to the park entrance and then another 0.5 mile to the parking lot for the Juney Whank Falls Trail.

Trail Description:

The trail to Juney Whank Falls is only a quarter of a mile from the parking lot. The trail leads you to a footbridge that gives you an up-close view of the falls. The 80-foot cascade starts above you and then runs under the bridge before emptying into Deep Creek at the bottom of the trail.

The stream and the falls are more than likely named for Junaluska "Juney" Whank, a man said to be buried in the area. However, there are some people who believe Juney Whank is a Cherokee phrase which means "where the bear passes".

For people interested in some additional hiking in the area, you have a couple of options. Toms Branch Falls and Indian Creek Falls are short easy hikes to a couple of additional waterfalls in this area as well. They are both accessed from the same parking lot as the Juney Whank Falls Trail.

Bryson City author Horace Kephart, author of Our Southern Highlanders, lived for a short while with the Bob Barnett family in one of the last houses in the Deep Creek area. Until his death in an automobile accident in 1931, he used the old Bryson Place near where the Left Fork enters the main portion of Deep Creek as his summertime camping spot. A permanent marker there commemorates the site.