Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A 15-foot, quartz-streaked cascade beyond a wooded creek walk.
Overview
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Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Great Smoky Mountains audio tourRecorded for this place
Smokemont and Chasteen Creek Cascade“You're nearing Smokemont, the starting point for the walk to Chasteen Creek Cascade. The creek slides over quartz-streaked sandstone in a broad, fifteen-foot cascade, a modest waterfall after a wooded creek walk.”
Plays as you drive up to Chasteen Creek Cascade in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Chasteen Creek Cascade is a 15-foot waterfall where the creek spreads over smooth, quartz-streaked sandstone in the Oconaluftee area. Reaching it takes a 3.6-mile round trip from Bradley Fork Trailhead at Smokemont. Set aside time for the walk; parking at the trailhead is limited.
The route follows an old logging road beside Bradley Fork through hardwood forest, with open stretches and thin stands of flowering dogwood, yellow birch, sycamore, and tuliptree. It is relatively flat, though occasional roots and rocks break up the path. Horse riders use this stretch too, and pets aren't allowed. The nearest restroom is at Smokemont Campground.
At the cascade, look for quartz streaks in the sandstone beneath the water. For a photo, keep the full sheet of water and that rock together so the distinctive surface stays visible around this modest drop. Spring brings abundant wildflowers along the route. Chasteen Creek was named for Chasteen Reagan, who lived in the area with his family before the park was established.
Wildlife
1,569 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
900 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
13 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
142 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
26 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
42 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Smoky Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingDry Sluice Gap Trail16.4 mi · 10.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA long Smokemont climb to the Appalachian Trail, then back.
ModerateCabin Flats Trail9.9 mi · 5.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA 10-mile creekside walk ends at a Smokies backcountry camp.
ChallengingBradley Fork Trail14.6 mi · 9.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA long creekside walk ends in a rocky climb to Hughes Ridge.
ModerateChasteen Creek Trail to Cascade3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA streamside walk ends at a modest cascade over smooth bedrock.
ModerateSmokemont Nature Trail0.6 mi · 45 min · 2 mi awayA short campground loop with creek crossings and a ridge view.
ModerateSmokemont Loop Trail6.1 mi · 4 hr · 2.2 mi awayCreekside approach, steep ridge climb, and Smokemont history.
ModerateHughes Ridge Trail4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA remote ridge connector to the Appalachian Trail at Pecks Corner
ChallengingNewton Bald Trail11 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayA steady forest climb to a wooded bald with few views.
Campground · 1.9 mi awaySmokemont CampgroundA wooded Smokies campground on the site of a logging town.
Picnic area · 2 mi awayCollins Creek Picnic AreaA shady picnic break with a short creekside walk
Sight · 2.4 mi awaySmokemont Baptist ChurchA hilltop church preserves Smokemont’s community story.
Sight · 2.5 mi awaySmokemont Riding StablesCross a river on horseback, or ride the Old Turnpike by wagon.
Campground · 3.4 mi awayTow String Horse CampThree wooded sites for campers bringing their own horses.
Sight · 4.7 mi awayMingus MillAn 1886 turbine mill with its flume beside Mingus Creek.
Sight · 5 mi awayCharlies BunionEight miles through forest to a raw, rocky mountain perch.Parkwolf’s Great Smoky Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
