Alum Cave Trail

This was one of my favorite trails when I visited the Smokey mountains! There were lots of waterfalls some mini and bridges! Unfortunately because of timing I was only able to go to the alum cave part but I'll definitely be back to do the whole thing! There were some stunning mountains views up towards the cave part! The only thing I'd caution on is if you don't like stairs you're probably not going to enjoy this as there were quite a few! Overall it was not that crowded on the day I went and I'm unsure if you had to pay for this as I purchased a pass for the Smokey mountain trails and I believe it was used on this one! One thing I will mention is get there early because this is definitely a popular trail, I believe we got there about 9 and the main parking lots were filled, we had to walk maybe a half of mile from where we parked to the entrance of the trail!

It's clear why this trail was pretty crowded and we had to park a half mile away. It's really beautiful hiking along the stream up to the caves. If cardio isn't your thing it's still worth it to hike up to the first cave before it gets hard. The trail is well paved and clearly marked.

I had been wanting to go hike the Smoky Mountains all summer and after rain in the forecast every chance I had, I was finally able to go yesterday. I started around 6:45am and took 5 hours in total to do the full summit + Cliff Tops view area. Very beautiful trail all throughout and it’s always nice meeting other friendly hikers 🙂