"The mountains are calling and I must go."-John Muir
Eventually I knew I would write about the most beautiful place on earth. There is something that has always drawn me to the mountains. Growing up, my family would go camping at Deep Creek (which is a whole post in itself) The mountains were a huge part of why I left (mostly flat) Alabama and went to a small college in Tennessee. It's tucked into the foothills and you can see the mountains in the distance from campus. I fell in love immediately. Throughout my four years there, going to the grassy bowl to view the mountains on the horizon remained one of my favorite pastimes.
I still live close to the mountains. Though they're not close enough to see from my house, I can easily make a day trip to them. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the U.S., yet I find it easy to get away from the crowds and find my own secluded area. In the last couple of years, I've mostly explored the Tremont area of the park. Little River, which is a pretty typical Smoky Mountain stream, runs through this part of the park. Tremont and the hike to Spruce Flats Falls is the more well-known area. The moderate hike to Spruce Flats Falls starts at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and ends at a beautiful cascade waterfall. You arrive at the top of the waterfall, but it's actually fairly easy to climb down the waterfall to where it spills into Little River below.
If you continue past Tremont on the main road, it winds along beside Little River. There are many secluded pull-offs where you can easily access the stream to sit, swim, or fish. Every time we go, we choose a different section to explore. I really enjoy just sitting and reading by the stream, but it's also fun to hike up or downstream on the rocks. It's hard to do this without getting wet though, so this is best in the summer when the ice cold water feels refreshing.
Finally, if you follow the road all the way up Little River (along a dirt road) until the road ends, you will be at Lynn Camp Prong. The Lynn Camp Prong Cascades is a fairly easy hike from the trailhead. This is the largest and most popular of the waterfalls on this trail, but it's not the only one! I actually prefer the two waterfalls that are farther upstream. They are smaller, but still beautiful and you can climb down right next to them.
One final interesting fact. When we first discovered Lynn Camp Prong over a year ago, there were "no fishing " signs on the trail, however when we went back this past spring, the signs were gone and people were fishing (This is different from the lower part of the stream where fishing has always been allowed). We did a little bit of research and found out that the Lynn Camp Prong part of the stream had been part of a seven year brook trout restoration effort. I wasn't aware of this, but brook trout are the only trout native to the Smokies. Rainbow and brown trout are not native, and they were overrunning the brook trout. The restoration was successful and people are now allowed to fish in this section again. One of my favorite memories was watching and catching baby brook trout in the upper part of the stream this past spring. The tiny fish were congregating in the very shallow pools and it was quite a challenge to catch them with our hands, but they were so pretty to look at!
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth I'm thankful that our ancestors had the foresight to preserve these mountains in their natural state for generations to enjoy. Every time I visit, I fall a little more in love with the park.
Directions: The directions in Google Maps to Lynn Camp Prong, TN are accurate. You can stop anywhere along the Upper Tremont Road or start hiking at the Middle Prong Trail Trailhead.
Eventually I knew I would write about the most beautiful place on earth. There is something that has always drawn me to the mountains. Growing up, my family would go camping at Deep Creek (which is a whole post in itself) The mountains were a huge part of why I left (mostly flat) Alabama and went to a small college in Tennessee. It's tucked into the foothills and you can see the mountains in the distance from campus. I fell in love immediately. Throughout my four years there, going to the grassy bowl to view the mountains on the horizon remained one of my favorite pastimes.
I still live close to the mountains. Though they're not close enough to see from my house, I can easily make a day trip to them. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the U.S., yet I find it easy to get away from the crowds and find my own secluded area. In the last couple of years, I've mostly explored the Tremont area of the park. Little River, which is a pretty typical Smoky Mountain stream, runs through this part of the park. Tremont and the hike to Spruce Flats Falls is the more well-known area. The moderate hike to Spruce Flats Falls starts at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and ends at a beautiful cascade waterfall. You arrive at the top of the waterfall, but it's actually fairly easy to climb down the waterfall to where it spills into Little River below.
If you continue past Tremont on the main road, it winds along beside Little River. There are many secluded pull-offs where you can easily access the stream to sit, swim, or fish. Every time we go, we choose a different section to explore. I really enjoy just sitting and reading by the stream, but it's also fun to hike up or downstream on the rocks. It's hard to do this without getting wet though, so this is best in the summer when the ice cold water feels refreshing.
One final interesting fact. When we first discovered Lynn Camp Prong over a year ago, there were "no fishing " signs on the trail, however when we went back this past spring, the signs were gone and people were fishing (This is different from the lower part of the stream where fishing has always been allowed). We did a little bit of research and found out that the Lynn Camp Prong part of the stream had been part of a seven year brook trout restoration effort. I wasn't aware of this, but brook trout are the only trout native to the Smokies. Rainbow and brown trout are not native, and they were overrunning the brook trout. The restoration was successful and people are now allowed to fish in this section again. One of my favorite memories was watching and catching baby brook trout in the upper part of the stream this past spring. The tiny fish were congregating in the very shallow pools and it was quite a challenge to catch them with our hands, but they were so pretty to look at!
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth I'm thankful that our ancestors had the foresight to preserve these mountains in their natural state for generations to enjoy. Every time I visit, I fall a little more in love with the park.
Directions: The directions in Google Maps to Lynn Camp Prong, TN are accurate. You can stop anywhere along the Upper Tremont Road or start hiking at the Middle Prong Trail Trailhead.
