Closed, abandoned, and forgotten trails of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Tennessee Trails

(return to index) Foothills Parkway
All but 1.6 miles of the parkway between Walland and Wears Valley have been completed. This "missing link" divides the uncompleted portion of the parkway into two sections: a nine mile stretch accessible from US 321 near Walland, and another four mile section that terminates at 321 in Wears Valley. The eastern and western halves were formerly open to hikers, bikers, and horses, but when construction resumed both portions were closed in spring and December 2010, respectively.

Construction on this section of the parkway began in 1966, and since then the road has been extended sporadically in small increments. In the late 1990's a series of construction accidents and rockslides halted work on a series of 10 bridge viaducts which would carry the highway over the rough terrain. Three of these bridges are complete as of 2010.

Parking for the western trailhead is available just below the twin spans of the highway 321 overpass. Although the route is paved, grasses and weeds are slowly overtaking the roadway from the shoulders. The road climbs uphill for two steep miles, then levels out to follow the summit of Bates Mountain before dropping to Carr Creek. The roadway west of the Carr Creek bridge is older and is shaded by overhanging tree limbs in many places, but the newer stretch of road east of the creek is more exposed during mid day. Frequent large rock cuts illustrate the challenges that construction crews faced in building this portion. The road climbs steeply uphill, eventually reaching the three bridge viaducts that have been completed as of August 2010. The bridges offer spectacular views of Townsend and Rich Mountain to the south, but if you look at the rock face just over the northeast corner of the first bridge, you will see a small plaque dedicated to the memory of a construction worker who lost his life in a crane accident at this site. As of August 2010, the road abruptly ended beyond the third bridge, while it's future path continued along a bulldozer track beyond an "entry prohibited" sign. During the winter of 2010-2011, construction crews extended the road grade eastward beyond the three viaducts and began building several new viaducts west of the eastern half. Much of this progress can be viewed from Townsend.

The last status update I heard word-of-mouth from the park superintendent indicated that the road is projected to be open in 2016; the entire uncompleted portion will remain closed to all visitors until then.

Bunker Hill
USGS topo maps show a well graded gravel road leading from Parson Branch Road to the summit of Bunker Hill. A firetower once stood at the end of the road, but was removed shortly after the park was established. The road appeared on park maps as a maintained backcountry trail until the mid 1980's, but has since been abandoned.

The trail generally follows the spine of the ridge, rising and falling gently as it skirts between hilltops without gaining any significant elevation from start to finish. Most of the trail follows a ridgetop dominated by pines, making for a hot, dry hike in the summer months. This one is best saved for the winter, when the brush and brambles are less of a problem. The first half mile is fairly easy to follow, with occasional downed trees and light brush. At just over half a mile, you come to the first of three overgrown patches. I've been unable to find any information confirming this, but it appears that pine beetle outbreaks killed many of the trees along the ridge, which exposed the forest floor to sunlight and led to the rise of small saplings and thick brush. You'll have to work your way through three of these difficult stretches, pushing your way through the branches of pine saplings that grow very densely in the trail. The first patch gives you an opportunity to change your mind and turn around if you are having second thoughts about this trail. It gets worse.

The second pine patch is virtually impassable, and I ended up backtracking and skirting around the clearing on the north facing, oak dominated slope to the right of the trail. A very well defined manway can be seen on this slope, leading me to wonder if the detour was intentionally graded or if this trail was once very heavily traveled. After 0.2 miles, it rejoins the road at a small saddle. The third patch is much easier to navigate, with many fallen trunks to traverse but much less dense brush.

After the third clearing, the trail descends before making a sharp right hand turn. The forest here is mostly oaks and the understory is very open; it is easy to navigate despite the road being very difficult to see in places. After a final ascent to the summit of Bunker Hill, the roadbed ends at the remains of a steel firetower. All that remains today are the concrete blocks of the foundation and a few scraps of metal. Because the hilltop is fairly flat and the forest dense, there is no view even in the winter.

Whiteoak Sinks
This is perhaps the most well known and heavily traveled of all the unofficial trails in the park. Although many locals know about the trail, it is understandable that the NPS would not like to publicize the destination: Whiteoak Sink, a large basin drained by numerous caves which are not only hazardous, but are ecologically sensitive environments that are home to several endangered species, including the Indiana Bat. The most impressive feature of the sinks is Whiteoak Falls, which tumbles 30 feet over a cliff before disappearing straight into the mouth of a deep cave.

Immediately north of the junction between the Schoolhouse Gap and Turkeypen Ridge trails, look for a thin trail blocked from horse travel by a narrow wooden fence. The trail follows a small unnamed branch downhill then heads steeply uphill before turning downhill into Whiteoak Sink. Once at the bottom of the sink, several dead end trails split off in various directions. One of the trails lead to Whiteoak Falls, while other trails head off to cave entrances or sinkholes. While some of the caves have been blocked off by metal grates to prevent unauthorized entry, it is possible with a bit of exploration to find unblocked entrances into the caverns below. Gated or not, entry into any caves in the park requires a permit.

Blanket Mountain
This is one of the many dead end trails that were removed from park maps during the 1980's. Although no longer maintained, this three quarter mile track is well worn and easy to follow. From the trail junction at Jakes Gap, look northward to find a faint trail leading in the general direction of the summit. The trail gets much easier to follow as you ascend, although the brush gets thicker. The upper half of the trail ascends through thick rhododendron which blocks out any views from the peak. At the very top of the mountain are several grassy clearings and the remains of a firetower and cabin.

Greenbrier Pinnacle
I hiked this trail several times during the summer of 2008 while assisting with a research project on the precipitous slopes near the top of Greenbrier Pinnacle. At one point, there were impressive views from the summit, but the peak has become overgrown with trees and brush in recent years. This trail has two things working against it: first, while lower portions of the trail are fine, the upper section is eroded and overgrown with brush and brambles. Second, with the firetower and the view both long gone, there is not much of note at the top of the pinnacle to make the strenuous trek worthwhile. I suspect that the NPS has decided that it is not worth conducting the extensive repair work that would be required to bring this trail up to acceptable safety standards.

To locate the trail to the pinnacle, look for a thin obscured track branching leftward off of the Ramsay Cascades Trail just after the looping culdesac. Initially, the trail meanders through a forest of tall hardwoods with relatively little underbrush and is easy to follow. Some distance after the switchback at 3,800 feet elevation, however, the terrain and vegetation suddenly change. The soil becomes dry and rocky, and brush begins to crowd out the trail. The final ascent above the Cat Stairs is narrow with steep, eroded dropoffs, and it appears that the thick tangle of brush and rhododendron is all that keeps the trail from sliding away completely. Just before reaching the top, however, the forest returns and the path becomes slightly easier to follow. Evidence of the former firetower can still be found at the summit.