Visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can embark on an easy hiking trail right at the Sugarlands Visitors Center and take in a few features within a short time.
Entering the national park boundary from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, just inside the park, the visitors center and the national parks team stationed there can provide a wealth of information about maximizing a party’s time in the park. Those interested in discovering more about the Great Smoky Mountains can learn about the area’s plants and animals, get maps, publications, directions and trail information, find out more about weather and camping details, use the restroom facilities or water fountains, or check out the bookstore and gift shop here.
Behind the building, a short paved trail leads to a small bridge. After crossing over the small stream, heading to the right leads hikers to Cataract Falls. A brief journey of approximately a half mile, now on a natural surface (sometimes gravel-covered), will get outdoorspeople to this neat feature tucked away in the Tennessee hillside.
A trail to the left of the 25-foot-tall waterfall makes it simple enough to ascend to the top of the falls, using caution.
The stream flowing over Cataract Falls (come to find out, cataracta was the Latin word for “waterfall”) was rolling strong following a period of heavy December rain.
Take the trail back to the starting point, and another loop going the other direction leads to the John Ownby Cabin, a 18-by-20-foot structure constructed in 1860, one of the residences from centuries past still preserved in the park.
While this Sugarlands trail is certainly not the most isolated spot in the expansive wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountains, it makes for a peaceful, scenic destination, and the trails there present a fairly easy walk for almost all ages, located only two miles from the bustling downtown Gatlinburg strip.
A visiting group saw numerous deer, turkeys and squirrel, although the only bear sighted was the stuffed one in the visitors center.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers lovely mountain streams, picturesque peaks and an abundance of wildlife at every turn; for an introductory taste of the Smokies, pay a visit to Cataract Falls and the Ownby Cabin, located behind the Sugarlands Visitors Center.
Sugarlands Visitor Center / Cataract Falls
1420 Fighting Creek Gap Rd., Gatlinburg, Tennessee
865-436-1200
