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 Ramsay Cascades
 Trail Features:   Waterfalls, Old Growth Forest
 Trail Location: Greenbrier
 Roundtrip Miles: 8.0 miles
 Total Elevation Gain: 2375 feet
 Avg. Elev Gain / Mile:  594 feet
 Highest Elevation: 4400 feet
 Trail Difficulty Rating:   12.75 (strenuous)
 Parking Lot Latitude:
 Parking Lot Longitude:  

Directions to Trailhead:

 

At the junction of 441 and 321 in Gatlinburg (Light 3), turn right onto 321. Drive 6 miles and turn right into Greenbrier (look for the Smoky Mountain National Park entrance sign on the right). This road will turn into a gravel road in a short distance. Drive 3.1 miles to the fork in the road. Turn left and drive across the bridge to reach the Ramsay Cascades trailhead. The parking lot will be another 1.5 miles from this junction. 

Trail Description:

 

This waterfall in the Greenbrier area goes by two different spellings. Historically, the park has spelled the cascades as: Ramsay. However, in recent publications, and on the park website, it appears the park is now spelling it Ramsey. This properly reflects the correct spelling, since the cascades are named after the Ramsey family that lived in this area. For purposes of search engines finding this site, I'll be using both spellings.

         

The trail to Ramsay Cascades gains 2375 feet in elevation over its 4 mile course and is considered to be a moderately strenuous hike. Despite this, however, the trail is still very popular and you should expect many people along the path and especially at the base of the falls during peak seasons.

The beginning of the Ramsey Cascades Trail follows the remnants of an old gravel road. At 1.5 miles you'll reach an old traffic circle which marks the end of the old roadway you've been following. This location also marks the junction with the old Greenbrier Pinnacle Trail, which takes you to the top of Greenbrier Pinnacle where a fire tower used to stand. This trail is no longer maintained by the park and has become overgrown.

At the end of the old road the trail to Ramsay Cascades continues as a narrow footpath.

Soon you'll enter the largest old-growth forest remaining in the national park. One of the primary reasons that the park was created was in response to the damage that was being done by the logging industry to the ancient forests in this region. This forest was one of the few to remain mostly unscathed. Some of the trees along the trail are among the largest known in the park. Over the last 2 miles the trail passes through an old-growth hardwood forest with large tuliptrees, eastern hemlock, basswoods, silverbells, and yellow birches. 

The trail follows the Ramsay Prong of the Little Pigeon River which drains off of 6621-foot high Mount Guyot, the second highest mountain in the park. There are countless waterfalls and rapids that line the stream, which are intermittingly interrupted by cool clear pools of water.

Ramsey Cascades is the tallest waterfall in the park as well as one of the most spectacular. Water drops 100 feet over rock outcroppings and collects in a small pool where numerous salamanders can be found.

Don’t attempt to climb to the top of the falls. Several people have been killed trying to do so. One other caution for hikers: during the summer months, hikers should watch for hornets' nests hanging over the trail at about eye level and looking like large gray paper balls.