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Myrtle Point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Myrtle Point

A serious hike earns one of Le Conte's best signed views.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.3 mi
  • Scenic viewpoint
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Alum Cave Trailhead

Overview

About Myrtle Point

Why stop

  • One of the two best signed viewpoints near Le Conte's summit.

Heads up

  • Reaching it takes a long mountain hike.
Myrtle Point is a signed overlook near the top of Mount Le Conte. NPS points hikers to it and Cliff Top as the two best viewpoints by the summit. If Le Conte is already on your plan, follow the sign and fit this stop in; it adds an eastern panorama after the climb. This is a high mountain viewpoint, not a roadside stop.
Parkwolf’s verdictA summit view worth making time for

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightMyrtle Point35.65329, -83.43181
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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 Myrtle Point, 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 Myrtle Point in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Tulips Above Your Head
  • Chimney Tops Trailhead
  • Ben Morton Overlook
  • Grotto Falls from Trillium Gap
  • 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 Myrtle Point

Look eastThe view runs across layered ridges of the Eastern Smokies.

The view runs across layered ridges of the Eastern Smokies. Sunrise is a popular time to aim for the panorama, though cloud and mist can soften or hide the distant ridges. For a photo, include firs or a bare snag in the foreground instead of aiming only at the haze.

Getting to the pointReaching Myrtle Point means hiking up Mount Le Conte.

Reaching Myrtle Point means hiking up Mount Le Conte. NPS lists Alum Cave at 10 miles round trip, the shortest listed route, and Trillium Gap at 13 miles, passing Grotto Falls about 1.5 miles in. Those are route lengths to Le Conte, not separate Myrtle Point mileage; follow the summit signs once you're up. Alum Cave is steep and rocky, with stairs and bridges. In winter, NPS warns about ice and falling icicles on that route.

hikingmountainsunriseviewpoint

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 Myrtle Point

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyMyrtle Point Trail0.7 mi · 45 min · 0.3 mi awayA sunrise detour reached only after the climb to Mount Le ConteChallengingMount Le Conte via Alum Cave Trail10 mi · 7 hr · 2 mi awayA creekside climb through rock passages to high mountain views.ModerateAlum Cave Trail to Alum Cave Bluffs4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2 mi awayA forest climb to a 75-foot rock shelter and natural arch.ChallengingChimney Tops Trail3.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayA steep stair climb ends at a view of the fire-scarred pinnacles.ChallengingTrillium Gap Trail to Mount Le Conte13 mi · 9 hr · 2.5 mi awayA long climb to Le Conte, with Grotto Falls along the way.ChallengingBrushy Mountain via Trillium Gap Trail6.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayA waterfall walk climbs to a heath bald with two views.ModerateGrotto Falls Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA shaded 2.6-mile walk to a waterfall you can walk behind.ModerateCharlies Bunion via Appalachian Trail8 mi · 5 hr · 2.9 mi awayAn 8-mile Appalachian Trail out-and-back to an exposed Smokies outcrop

More stops nearby

Lodging · 0.5 mi awayLeConte LodgeA historic hike-in lodge on Mount LeConte with family-style meals.Sight · 0.7 mi awayCliff Tops ViewpointA wide LeConte panorama, best saved for sunset.Sight · 1.2 mi awayArch RockTake the stone steps right through a natural arch.Sight · 1.2 mi awayAlum Cave BluffsA 4.6-mile Smokies hike ends beneath a 75-foot rock overhang.Sight · 1.7 mi awayGrotto FallsWalk behind a 25-foot waterfall on a shaded stream-crossing hike.Sight · 1.9 mi awayRainbow FallsA steep Smokies climb to a waterfall named for its rainbows.Sight · 2.5 mi awayFern Branch FallsWaterfall, old homesteads and spring flowers make the four miles count.Sight · 2.6 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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