Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A roadside cascade with no approach hike.
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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
Place of a Thousand Drips“You're coming up on Place of a Thousand Drips, a roadside cascade with no approach hike. Water divides into many little falls across the rock face, especially after heavy rain; in dry weather, expect thin threads.”
Plays as you drive up to Place of a Thousand Drips in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
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“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
Place of a Thousand Drips is a roadside cascade over a rock face near stop 15 toward the end of Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Water divides into many small falls rather than one tall plunge. You can see it from the car or a nearby pull-off, with no hike to the falls.
The waterfall is a brief stop on a narrow, winding, 5.5-mile one-way road. Traffic and other stops can stretch the drive to hours, so I’d make this one pause on the full loop rather than drive in just for the cascade. The road closes seasonally; check the park’s road status before setting out.
The cascade is most pronounced after heavy rain; in drier weather, the water can run in only thin threads. Stay in the designated viewing area. The wet rocks are slick and have caused injuries.
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
ModerateTwin Creeks Trail3.8 mi · 2.3 hr · 1.8 mi awayA shaded creek walk with a historic retreat near its far end.
EasyNoah “Bud” Ogle Place Nature Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 2 mi awayA short farmstead loop to a cabin, mill and log barn.
ModerateBaskins Creek Trail to Baskins Creek Falls3.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayA waterfall walk with a steep finish and a climb back.
ModerateGrotto Falls Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayA shaded 2.6-mile walk to a waterfall you can walk behind.
ChallengingBrushy Mountain via Trillium Gap Trail6.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayA waterfall walk climbs to a heath bald with two views.
ChallengingTrillium Gap Trail to Mount Le Conte13 mi · 9 hr · 2.4 mi awayA long climb to Le Conte, with Grotto Falls along the way.
ChallengingMount Le Conte via Rainbow Falls Trail13 mi · 9 hr · 2.5 mi awayRainbow Falls is the first milestone on this long Le Conte climb.ChallengingRainbow Falls Trail5.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.5 mi awayClimb a boulder-lined creek valley to an 80-foot waterfall.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayAlfred Reagan House and Tub MillA quick stop for a Smokies homestead and its historic tub mill.Sight · 1.1 mi awayBaskins Creek FallsA two-tier waterfall, earned by a steep hike back out.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayEphraim Bales CabinA family farm preserved down to its dog-trot breezeway.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayJim Bales PlaceThree farm buildings, including a cabin moved across the park.
Picnic area · 2 mi awayTwin Creeks Picnic PavilionA wooded group pavilion for gatherings of up to 150.
Sight · 2 mi awayNoah Bud Ogle PlaceA rare saddlebag cabin beside a creek-powered mill.
Scenic pullout · 2.7 mi awayGatlinburg Scenic OverlookGatlinburg below, Le Conte and the Smokies behind it.
Sight · 3.1 mi awaySugarlands Riding StablesGuided rides on wooded trails, streams, and mountain terrain.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.
