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National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map for the Great Smoky Mountains: Contains detailed topo info, clearly marked and named trails, recreational points of interest, and navigational aids.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail Across North Carolina explores the most spectacular, historic and quirky elements of the NC landscape. Stretching 1000 miles from Clingmans Dome in the Smokies, to Jockey's Ridge State Park in the Outer Banks, the route takes in Fraser fir trees and pelicans, old grist and textile mills, working cotton and tobacco farms and Revolutionary War sites.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail stretches roughly 1,000 miles from Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains, to Jockey’s Ridge on the Outer Banks of the North Carolina coast. Although only 500 miles of the footpath are actually built right now, adventurers can still hike across the state using temporary connectors on back roads and state bike routes.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) was built to showcase North Carolina’s diverse landscape. Thru-hikers will experience mountains, rugged gorges, small Piedmont farms, coastal swamps, colonial towns, and barrier islands as they make their way across the Tar Heel State. It climbs both the tallest mountain peak and the highest sand dune in the Eastern United States, passes through three national parks, two national wildlife refuges, three national forests, seven state parks and three lighthouses, including the nations tallest.

The first section of trail, located in the Great Smoky Mountains, runs 26 miles from Clingmans Dome - the highest point in the Park, to the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. From Clingmans Dome, the trail follows the crest of the Smokies along the Appalachian Trail before descending down the Fork Ridge and Deep Creek trails. The trail then begins climbing again, over Thomas Divide to Newton Bald, before descending once again down the Mingus Creek Trail to Newfound Gap Road.

Unfortunately the route immediately beyond the Smokies hasn’t officially been laid-out as of yet. The original plan was to route the trail through the Qualla Cherokee Indian Reservation, but this hasn’t been approved yet.

The Carolina Mountain Club has proposed by-passing the Mingus Creek Trail and the Cherokee Qualla Boundary altogether. Instead, they would prefer that the Mountains-to-Sea Trail follow the Newton Bald Trail down to the Smokemont Campground. From there the MST would follow the Bradley Fork Trail, Chasteen Creek Trail, Hughes Ridge, Enloe Creek, Hyatt Ridge, Beech Gap, Balsam Mountain, Mount Sterling Ridge, Pretty Hollow Gap, and then a short walk down the Cataloochee Road before jumping onto Rough Fork Trail heading towards Polls Gap, and then exiting the park on Heintooga Ridge Road.

Right now, hikers intending to extend their hike beyond the Smokies have been walking along the Blue Ridge Parkway, an option not really considered to be safe.  

Below are some of the current routing details for the MST in the Great Smoky Mountains: