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Cliff Tops Viewpoint in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cliff Tops Viewpoint

A wide LeConte panorama, best saved for sunset.

Photo: Public Domain
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.4 mi
Audio stories
2 nearby
  • Scenic viewpoint
  • #25 of 72 sights
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Alum Cave Trailhead

Overview

About Cliff Tops Viewpoint

Why stop

  • A broad ridge panorama from a signed summit viewpoint.

Heads up

  • Cloud can hide the view after a strenuous hike.
Cliff Tops Viewpoint is the signed rocky lookout near Mount Le Conte’s summit, reached on foot after a long hike. On a clear day, the ridges stack deep across the Smokies. It’s a great stop if the panorama is what brought you up; clouds can hide it after a demanding climb.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe view is the payoff

Map

Where it is

Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full map
SightCliff Tops Viewpoint35.65446, -83.44430
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts

  • ClosureHurricane Helene backcountry trail closures and hazardsHurricane Helene damage has closed backcountry trails and left hazardous crossings; avoid closed routes and heed trail-specific restrictions.Official details
  • CautionBear-related trail, road, shelter, and campsite restrictionsBear activity has closed trails, a shelter, and campsites and restricted pedestrian access on Cherokee Orchard Road; follow the vehicle restrictions and avoid closed areas.Official details
See all 7 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide

Your drive to Cliff Tops Viewpoint, narrated.

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 tour

Recorded for this place

Alum Cave Trailhead
0:00 / 0:27
“You're coming up on the Alum Cave trailhead, where a forest hike leads through Arch Rock to a huge rock overhang.”

Plays as you drive up to Cliff Tops Viewpoint in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Chimney Tops Trailhead
  • Grotto Falls from Trillium Gap
  • Baskins Creek Falls Trailhead
  • Tulips Above Your Head
  • 188 audio storiesacross Great Smoky Mountains’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Elk, Bald Eagle, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 197 trails, 100 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“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!!!!”
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Cliff Tops Viewpoint

Save it for sunsetCliff Top is the classic sunset stop; nearby Myrtle Point is a separate signed viewpoint for…

Cliff Top is the classic sunset stop; nearby Myrtle Point is a separate signed viewpoint for sunrise. The late light across the ridges makes this one of Le Conte’s best photo stops. Let the overlapping mountains fill the frame, or bring the broken rock slabs into the foreground. If you stay for sunset, plan the return hike in the dark.

Pick your approach before you goSeveral trails reach Mount Le Conte, so Cliff Tops isn’t a drive-up stop.

Several trails reach Mount Le Conte, so Cliff Tops isn’t a drive-up stop. Trillium Gap is one option: the round trip is 13 miles, with 25-foot Grotto Falls about 1.5 miles in before the trail continues uphill. Expect steep, rocky footing, stairs and bridges. On this approach, the nearest restroom is at Rainbow Falls Trailhead, so make that stop before setting out.

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Wildlife

Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains

All Great Smoky Mountains wildlife maps
Black Bear1,566 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapElk899 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapBald Eagle13 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 9 AMSighting mapTimber Rattlesnake142 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapBobcat26 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapRiver Otter42 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Smoky Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Cliff Tops Viewpoint

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyMyrtle Point Trail0.7 mi · 45 min · 0.4 mi awayA sunrise detour reached only after the climb to Mount Le ConteChallengingMount Le Conte via Alum Cave Trail10 mi · 7 hr · 1.8 mi awayA creekside climb through rock passages to high mountain views.ModerateAlum Cave Trail to Alum Cave Bluffs4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayA forest climb to a 75-foot rock shelter and natural arch.ChallengingChimney Tops Trail3.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA steep stair climb ends at a view of the fire-scarred pinnacles.ChallengingTrillium Gap Trail to Mount Le Conte13 mi · 9 hr · 2.1 mi awayA long climb to Le Conte, with Grotto Falls along the way.ChallengingBrushy Mountain via Trillium Gap Trail6.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA waterfall walk climbs to a heath bald with two views.ModerateGrotto Falls Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA shaded 2.6-mile walk to a waterfall you can walk behind.ModerateBaskins Creek Trail to Baskins Creek Falls3.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayA waterfall walk with a steep finish and a climb back.

More stops nearby

Lodging · 0.2 mi awayLeConte LodgeA historic hike-in lodge on Mount LeConte with family-style meals.Sight · 0.7 mi awayMyrtle PointA serious hike earns one of Le Conte's best signed views.Sight · 1.1 mi awayAlum Cave BluffsA 4.6-mile Smokies hike ends beneath a 75-foot rock overhang.Sight · 1.2 mi awayRainbow FallsA steep Smokies climb to a waterfall named for its rainbows.Sight · 1.3 mi awayArch RockTake the stone steps right through a natural arch.Sight · 1.4 mi awayGrotto FallsWalk behind a 25-foot waterfall on a shaded stream-crossing hike.Picnic area · 2.8 mi awayChimneys Picnic AreaA shady lunch stop beside a cold, boulder-strewn river.Sight · 2.9 mi awayBen Morton OverlookA west-facing Smokies overlook with a seasonal sunset alignment.

Parkwolf’s Great Smoky Mountains ranking

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Take Parkwolf to Great Smoky Mountains.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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