Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A rock summit and a 1930s fire tower reward a big climb.
Overview
Map
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 area
The Otters That Came Back“Seeing a river otter in the Smokies is a glimpse of a species brought back. Habitat destruction and unregulated trapping had wiped them out here by the early nineteen hundreds.”
Plays on the road 1.6 mi from Mount Cammerer Lookout Tower 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
Mount Cammerer Lookout Tower is an octagonal stone-and-timber fire lookout on the rocky summit above Cosby, in the park’s northeast corner. Keep it for a clear day when you want a long hike with a big payoff. This is a summit destination, not a roadside stop: the common route climbs Low Gap Trail from Cosby, follows the Appalachian Trail, then takes the short Mount Cammerer spur.
Plan on about 11 miles round trip and roughly 3,000 feet of climbing on the Low Gap approach; route totals vary slightly by start point and mapping. Much of the way is wooded, so the views open up mainly near the top. The rocky final spur takes care and you still have the full descent ahead of you. Set navigation to the Cosby trailhead rather than the tower pin; the lookout is reached on foot.
The tower sits among broad, exposed rocks, with long ridges stretching in nearly every direction when the summit is clear. Check the forecast and start early enough to leave time for the hike back; cloud can hide the main reward. For a photo, include summit boulders in front of the stone base and timber room so the frame shows how the lookout fits into the rocky summit.
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the lookout between 1937 and 1939 as part of the era’s fire-management system. Its octagonal stone base and timber observation room give it a low profile that feels very different from a tall metal fire tower. Historic records also call it White Rock Lookout Tower.
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
ChallengingLower Mount Cammerer Trail14.8 mi · 8 hr · 2.6 mi awayA long day of creek crossings and ridge climbing to the AT.
EasyCosby Nature Trail1.3 mi · 45 min · 2.6 mi awayA wooded creek loop with log bridges and rocky crossings.
ModerateCosby Horse Trail0.3 mi · 10 min · 2.6 mi awayA short, steep path near Cosby Campground.
ChallengingLow Gap Trail5.4 mi · 5 hr · 2.7 mi awayCreek crossings and a steep climb to the remote Walnut Bottom junction.
ChallengingLow Gap, Appalachian Trail and Snake Den Ridge Loop Trail13.1 mi · 9 hr · 2.7 mi awayA full-day loop links Low Gap, the AT, and Snake Den Ridge.
ModerateSutton Ridge Overlook Trail3.5 mi · 2 hr · 2.7 mi awayA short, steep spur reaches a north-facing view over Riding Fork.
ChallengingMount Cammerer Trail11.1 mi · 7 hr · 2.7 mi awayA steep climb to a historic tower above the Smokies.
ModerateGabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls4.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayA rooty 4.3-mile out-and-back ends at a steep 90-foot waterfall.
Sight · 2.6 mi awayMouse Creek FallsA 41-foot waterfall with Midnight Hole along the way.
Sight · 2.6 mi awayMidnight HoleA shaded Big Creek pool reached by a steep, rocky scramble.
Campground · 2.7 mi awayCosby CampgroundA shady, tent-heavy base with hiking routes nearby.
Picnic area · 2.7 mi awayCosby Picnic AreaA shady 35-site picnic stop beside Cosby Creek
Campground · 3 mi awayBig Creek CampgroundTwelve tent sites by the creek, with big hikes close at hand.
Picnic area · 3 mi awayBig Creek Picnic AreaBreak by Big Creek before setting out on a nearby trail.
Campground · 3.1 mi awayBig Creek Horse CampA five-site creekside base for horse campers and backcountry rides.Sight · 4.3 mi awayHen Wallow FallsA 90-foot cascade makes the rooted climb worthwhile.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.
