Sure, there are lots and lots of wildflowers in April at Whiteoak Sink and on the hillside at the Townsend Y to make this hike seriously entertaining. But there is a lot more to the Schoolhouse Gap/Chestnut Top combination hike than abundant spring flowers. The views into Townsend from the Chestnut Top ridge are notable, and the forest that surrounds you throughout is enchanting. Since this would be a very lengthy hike as an out and back, my brother and I did it as a shuttle hike, parking a car at each end. We hiked the Schoolhouse Gap and Chestnut Top trails on Wednesday, April 18, 2019 beginning at 8:00AM and finishing about 2:15PM. Our plan was to park a car at the Townsend Y, take the other car to the Schoolhouse Gap trailhead, then hike the two trails back to the Y.

You better be an early bird to catch the parking space at Schoolhouse Gap trailhead throughout the month of April, otherwise you’ll be hoofing it an additional half mile just to start your hike. The parking at this very popular spot fills quickly. We started out leaving one car at the Chestnut Top trailhead at about 7:45, then 15 minutes later, when we arrived at Schoolhouse Gap there were already a half dozen cars ahead of us. The early start makes for dark pictures first thing, as it takes quite awhile for the sun to rise above the ridges that surround this trail.

You notice immediately that Schoolhouse Gap Trail is a former road. Built by Dr. Isaac Anderson in the mid-19th century, the goal was to combine a trail from Tennessee to Bote Mountain with one from North Carolina to Spence Field. Dr. Anderson did his part. Unfortunately, those confounded Carolinians dropped the ball, and Dr. Anderson’s goal of creating a means of commerce and missionary work was never realized. Now, however, more than 150 years later hikers reap the benefit of the work.

The trail begins a gradual climb alongside Spence Branch. Look on the hillside opposite the creek for a variety of spring ephemeral wildflowers. Even in late summer, early fall, expect to see lobelias and cardinal flowers. Just past a mile you reach Dorsey Gap and the junction with Turkeypen Ridge Trail, a means of reaching Cades Cove on foot.

Another 100 feet beyond that is the Whiteoak Sink manway. There is no signage here, as it is not an official trail. You will recognize it by the wooden barrier to keep horses from entering the basin. I’ve previously written about Whiteoak Sink, so I won’t repeat, but you can see my report and photo galleries here. As long as you are on Schoolhouse Gap Trail, Whiteoak Sink is a must see during the month of April.

Once you’ve returned from the marvelous trip to Whiteoak Sink, rejoin Schoolhouse Gap trail to resume the journey deep into the woods south of Townsend. You’ll pass through stands of pine and oak with their enticing scents in the greening season. It’s another 1.2 miles gently uphill to Schoolhouse Gap overlooking Townsend, but this hike doesn’t quite go all the way to the gap. 0.2 before is the junction with Chestnut Top Trail. Take a right here.

Maples and hickories can also be found in this forest. Combined with sourwood trees, they create the brilliant crimson hues that blanket this ridge in the fall. Chestnut Top Trail continues climbing for a little less than another mile until reaching the crest of the Chestnut Top ridge.

From the Chestnut Top ridge the mountains are greening nicely

The trail makes a dip here, to Bryant Gap, then resumes a gradual climb until reaching the highest point 1.5 miles from the Schoolhouse Gap junction. The northern park boundary is on your left through this area. Once you reach this summit it is, as they say, all downhill from here. Some of it is actually quite steep, reaching a 5% grade, a reason we chose to make this hike from west to east.

The forest really is nice along this stretch. It switches from stands of pine, to hardwoods. While I haven’t been here in fall, there is bound to be an abundance of nuts on the trail bed. Nuts usually means bears too, so keep an eye out for signs of their presence. Look too for old chestnut stumps, the namesake of this trail. I always imagine what the forests of the Smokies must have been like 200 years ago when the mighty chestnuts ruled. Inspiring.

Long switchbacks ease the descent. All the while we were glad we didn’t come up this way. With about a mile to go you begin to hear the road sounds of the Townsend Y. A word of caution: in summer the beautiful wildflowers that are pronounced for this last mile are replaced by everyone’s favorite… poison ivy. Just be aware.

The final half mile descent parallels the Townsend road, and the floral bouquet is omnipresent. Look for fire pinks and trillium, stonecrop and violets, lots and lots of purple phacelia, and toothwort, bloodroot, and hepatica. Tons and tons of them. In fact, it’s one of the prized displays in the park.

Finally, when you reach the bottom, cross Townsend road to the parking area to retrieve your vehicle. We then drove back to the beginning to get the other car as well.

Summarizing this hike, if Smokies spring wildflower gazing is a wish, then these trails are definitely for you. Both Whiteoak Sink and the Chestnut Top Trail’s hillside near the Y are some of the best in the park. But don’t discount the beauty of the forest along Chestnut Top ridge, and the views of Townsend from high above. This one is definitely recommended. If you’re a really strong hiker, then consider taking this hike from east to west, but for oldsters like me, the west to east direction is the ticket.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

With the perpetual crowd at The Sinks location in the Smokies, it was surprising to me that hardly anyone hikes this trail that starts at the popular waterfall along Little River Road. Another surprise was the abundance of spring ephemeral wildflowers found along the trail. I counted more than a dozen varieties, and plenty of each. Once you reach Meigs Creek, it’s time to change to your water shoes as you will be crossing the creek frequently. My brother and I hiked Meigs Creek Trail to the first crossing on Tuesday, April 17, 2019 beginning at 2:30PM and finishing about 4:45PM. Our plan was to take the trail to Upper Meigs Falls, then return.

There are a couple of nature trails that take off from The Sinks parking area, so be sure you aren’t starting out the wrong direction. Meigs Creek Trail is on the west side, beyond the stone overlook. It is clearly marked with a Park Service trail sign. It starts up a fancy stone stairway, then levels out as it enters the forest.

And a nice forest it is, oaks and maples mostly, beginning the spring greening on this beautiful mid-April day. Soon, on your left, you will reach a swampy area that once was the channel for Meigs Creek prior to the logging days of the early 20th century.

You make a sharp right turn and begin the ascent of a ridge of Curry He Mountain. The trail is lined with christmas fern and dog hobble, and hundreds of early spring wildflowers. Look for violets and chickweed, dwarf iris and foamflower, lots and lots of purple phacelia, toothwort and bellwort, and plenty of white trillium.

The sounds of Little River below to the right become more muted as you near the top of the initial 400 foot climb. The plentiful mountain laurel that lines the trail will be in full bloom in May, and huckleberry bushes provide a nice late summer snack. Short leaf and white pines mix with the oaks and maples to provide a nice canopy of shade to relieve you from the climb.

Just a warning: Adopt-a-Trail volunteers say they’ve spotted timber rattlers on the sunny spots in warm weather, though that was not our experience in April.

Upon reaching the crest of the ridge, the trail turns east and begins a modest descent, before turning to the south for its arrival at Meigs Creek. This is the first of 18 stream crossings… yes, 18. Have you been practicing your rock hopping? Hopefully so, because you will sure need it.

The crossings are all easy in low water, less so at moderate levels, and may require water shoes and rolled up pants following a rainy period. The latter is what we encountered, and we weren’t prepared with appropriate footwear, mainly because we kinda added this trail on the fly after hiking elsewhere earlier in the day.

So we turned around at this point, but I will be back with my trusty MacKenzie’s in the future to explore the rocky walls and narrow valley that are further upstream. There is also a waterfall up there.

Summarizing Meigs Creek Trail, use this hike to fill a couple hours as far as the first creek crossing like we did, or continue to the end for a seven mile round trip. It’s a surprisingly nice wildflower hike in April. Combine that with spring greening for a very colorful venue. If you wish to continue through the 18 creek crossings, either go during the dry season, or bring appropriate shoes and perhaps a hiking pole.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Exactly what the name implies, Big Creek in the Smokies is larger than some rivers in the area. Add in a 70° day after a couple snow events and Big Creek will really roar. When Big Creek roars, that brings out the kayakers, so there was even more of a show than just the scenery. Big Creek Trail is an old logging road that follows the creek westward beneath the Cammerer and Mount Sterling Ridges. There are two featured waterfalls along the way: Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek. Beautiful spring-like weather and scenery, rapid whitewater and kayakers all made for a delightful trek on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. I hiked Big Creek Trail to Mouse Creek Falls between 10:30AM and 12:45PM. My plan was to simply enjoy the day and the experience while hiking from Big Creek Campground to the waterfalls and back.

When you exit I-40 at Waterville, the first exit in TN west of the state line with NC, you are diving into the Pigeon River Gorge. The Pigeon River flows roughly parallel to I-40 for many miles in western NC. It is impounded by Walters Dam creating the long, narrow Waterville Lake. It enters Tennessee just after the village of Waterville, and continues with I-40 in the same valley northwestward through Hartford to Newport, TN.

The Pigeon River dam was completed in 1930. This concrete dam is 180 ft. high by 800 ft. long. The brick power plant located in Waterville is actually 6.2 miles from the dam at the confluence of Big Creek and the river. A tunnel 6.2 miles long stretches from the dam to the power plant. Periodically, there is a water release from the dam, creating some pretty gnarly recreational whitewater that brings the rafters and kayakers from all over. Scheduled releases from the dam are historically from Memorial to Labor Day on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Saturday, from noon – 6:00 pm, but they also have unscheduled releases off season.

Not far past the power plant Waterville Road crosses Mt. Sterling Road and enters the Big Creek area of the Smokies national park. The ranger station is about a quarter mile in on the right, and the campground is another 0.4 mile farther where Big Creek Rd. ends. The trailhead for Big Creek is on the right just before the parking cul de sac at the end of the road.

Big Creek is one of the lowest areas in the national park at just over 1,700 feet. Combine that with the relatively easy nature of the Big Creek Trail and you have a great hike for beginners and families. In the warmer months when the campground is open it can be quite crowded simply because of the popularity. However, if you venture here off season you might just find that you have Big Creek all to yourself.

With recent heavy snow in the Smokies and a day that actually reached above 70° for the first time in the season, Big Creek was really rippin’ and roarin’ from snow melt. I could tell before I even saw it just from the sound. I was also there about six weeks earlier and it wasn’t nearly as loud. As beautiful as the weather was, I was one of only three cars in the parking area. That surprised me, but by the time I finished it would change.

When you start the Big Creek Trail you head uphill for the first half mile, and the trail leaves Big Creek far below. You might think, wait, why is the trail going away from the creek? Don’t worry, once they rejoin, they stay mated for the duration. The trail itself is an old logging road and therefore nice and wide, and smooth, with a very gradual incline. The climbing isn’t tiring at all. Back in the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps converted the old logging road into the hiking path we still enjoy to this day.

Once back alongside Big Creek, the truly picturesque nature of this hike begins. There are a number of splits in the path of the creek as it flows on either side of small islands. Perhaps sometime in warmer months when the water isn’t flowing as heavy it might be interesting to wade the creek and setup for pictures on one of those islands. At the 1.4 mile mark you reach Midnight Hole, a small in stature, but mean in intensity waterfall. Only about 6-8 feet high, because it is surrounded by large boulders it really packs a punch as the water rushes between the narrow opening.

There is a large pool at the basin of Midnight Hole that is quite popular in summer as a swimming hole, perhaps even late at night. Thus, Midnight Hole. I stopped there for a sandwich and some photos, looked back up at the trail, and saw a couple guys walking by carrying their kayaks over their shoulders. Gee, I thought, I wonder if I wait here 10 minutes if I might be able to get some pictures of them going over the waterfall? My patience was rewarded.

That was fun… really my first chance at action photography out in the wild. Once the kayakers continued on downstream, I packed up and resumed the hike. Another quarter mile later you will pass Bettis Branch coming down from the left (east) into Big Creek. Then, a quarter mile past that, at mile-point two up the trail, you reach the confluence of Mouse Creek with Big Creek. Mouse Creek is a lot bigger than Bettis Branch, especially on this day. The water was just pouring over 45 foot Mouse Creek Falls from the Mount Sterling Ridge high above.

The view point for Mouse Creek Falls is about 40 feet off the main trail to the left. There’s a bench there so you can take a load off. The combination of two torrential creeks joining here made for quite the sight and sound show. It was really loud, and whitewater was splashing everywhere. During previous visits I have climbed down the 20 foot bank to be creek side, but not this day. No how. No way. I just setup my tripod next to the bench and took pictures from the top.

Photos were pretty tough. The sun was really, really bright on this glorious day. Even with multiple filters the whitewater was pretty washed out. But I didn’t care. It was truly a treat just to be there. It was the first time in months I had been outside with just a t-shirt. Particularly with the late February brutal cold, I was thoroughly enjoying every moment of this memorable experience. While I was there, another pair of kayakers went sauntering by. These guys were even braver than the first, starting higher up the watershed.

After 20-30 minutes I’d had enough and decided to head back. Big Creek Trail continues upstream for several more miles eventually reaching Walnut Bottom and a backcountry shelter. There it becomes the Swallow Fork Trail and climbs steeply up Mount Sterling Ridge. If you want to do a major 18-mile loop, you can continue along the ridge to Mount Sterling, then come back down on Baxter Creek Trail. I’m told that large loop is one of the most difficult hikes in the park.

As I ambled my way back down the trail it was well above 70° now and I was in Smoky Mountains heaven. My senses were filled. The sky was a dazzling cerulean blue. The rush of the creek filled my ears and the fresh smell of the clear water teased my nostrils. There were already spores popping out from the moss that covered the long down logs on each side of the trail. It won’t be long until wildflowers.

As I continued back downhill for the next half hour I passed more kayakers with their 8-foot long hats. When I returned to the parking area it was a madhouse. Nearly every one of the two dozen parking spaces were filled, and there were kayaks laying all about. There had to have been at least another 20 guys getting ready to take their plastic crafts up Big Creek. I packed up my gear and skedaddled quickly before I got blocked in.

In summary, Big Creek is a very easy, very scenic hike along a major water artery that defines what the Smokies are all about. Water, water everywhere. Big Creek Trail is easily doable in all four seasons and is family friendly. You are likely to run into big crowds during wildflower season, and in the hot summer when folks are looking for refreshment from a cool Smoky Mountain stream. If you arrive early in the morning you can beat most of the crowd, and still have time to check out some of the other trails that start and end at Big Creek.

Update Sunday, January 21, 2018: Following three weeks of bitter cold at the new year, the air warmed nicely the third weekend of the month. Seemed like a trip to Big Creek was in order. There were still hints of snow and ice around, including on the rocks in Big Creek, and icicles pouring down alongside the trail. This was my first chance to look at Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek Falls in winter, so that was a nice seasonal change. The government was closed on this weekend, but a couple dozen other hikers and I enjoyed our outing despite the turmoil in Washington.

Update March 29, 2019: I haven’t posted any of the spring ephemeral wildflowers that grow along Big Creek Trail. So, consider that taken care of.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.