Hiking Trails

Great Smoky Mountains National Park protects over 520,000 acres of the southern Appalachians and contains more than 800 miles of maintained hiking trails — everything from half-mile paved loops to the 71-mile park section of the Appalachian Trail. Beyond the park, the surrounding Pisgah, Cherokee, and Nantahala national forests add hundreds of additional miles, and state parks on both the Tennessee and North Carolina sides round out the catalog.

This index covers every named trail in our database, from the crowd-free Ace Gap and Gregory Bald to the tourist-favorite Alum Cave and Laurel Falls. Filter mentally by difficulty: easy trails under two miles with minimal elevation; moderate day-hikes under six miles; strenuous routes with 2,000+ feet of climb; and multi-day backcountry classics. Every trail links to its trailhead coordinates, an official NPS or USFS page where one exists, and a Stay22 lodging map centered on the trail itself.

A Park It Forward parking tag is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes inside GSMNP — $5 daily, $15 weekly, or $40 annual, available at visitor centers or recreation.gov. Carry more water than you think you need, expect zero cell signal at most trailheads, and respect the bears: 1,500 of them share the park, and good food-storage habits keep both sides safe.