Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cross a river on horseback, or ride the Old Turnpike by wagon.
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 place
Smokemont Riding Stables“Smokemont Riding Stables is coming up, with guided rides on wooded trails from spring through late fall. I'd choose the one-hour horseback loop for its river ford and tunnel beneath the highway.”
Plays as you drive up to Smokemont Riding Stables 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
Smokemont Riding Stables is a guided horseback and wagon concession at Smokemont, near Cherokee. Choose the one-hour horseback loop for a river ford and a tunnel beneath U.S. 441, or spend 2.5 hours on the longer ride to Chasteen Creek Waterfall. The roughly 40-minute wagon ride follows the river along the Old Turnpike Road.
The horseback trips follow narrow, wooded trails rather than roads. Expect uneven footing, and ask about rider limits and suitability when booking; horseback riders must be at least five. The wagon ride is the option for anyone who wants the scenery without riding a horse.
On the longer route, the ride follows mountain streams to Chasteen Creek Waterfall. Riders dismount there for about 15 minutes, so this outing gives you a pause beside the falls rather than only a passing view.
The stable traces its history here to 1962 and remains family-run. Its riding season generally runs from mid-March through late November. Reserve directly and confirm the current departures and rider requirements before you go.
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
ChallengingNewton Bald Trail11 mi · 6.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA steady forest climb to a wooded bald with few views.
ModerateSmokemont Loop Trail6.1 mi · 4 hr · 0.4 mi awayCreekside approach, steep ridge climb, and Smokemont history.
ModerateSmokemont Nature Trail0.6 mi · 45 min · 0.5 mi awayA short campground loop with creek crossings and a ridge view.
ModerateTow String Horse Trail2.2 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.7 mi awayA quiet woodland link between Tow String Horse Camp and Bradley Fork.
ModerateChasteen Creek Trail to Cascade3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA streamside walk ends at a modest cascade over smooth bedrock.
ChallengingBradley Fork Trail14.6 mi · 9.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayA long creekside walk ends in a rocky climb to Hughes Ridge.
ChallengingDry Sluice Gap Trail16.4 mi · 10.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayA long Smokemont climb to the Appalachian Trail, then back.
ModerateCabin Flats Trail9.9 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayA 10-mile creekside walk ends at a Smokies backcountry camp.
Sight · 0.2 mi awaySmokemont Baptist ChurchA hilltop church preserves Smokemont’s community story.
Campground · 0.7 mi awaySmokemont CampgroundA wooded Smokies campground on the site of a logging town.
Campground · 1 mi awayTow String Horse CampThree wooded sites for campers bringing their own horses.
Picnic area · 2 mi awayCollins Creek Picnic AreaA shady picnic break with a short creekside walk
Sight · 2.1 mi awayMingus MillAn 1886 turbine mill with its flume beside Mingus Creek.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayChasteen Creek CascadeA 15-foot, quartz-streaked cascade beyond a wooded creek walk.
Visitor center · 2.6 mi awayOconaluftee Visitor CenterHistory indoors, elk country and an easy river walk outside.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayMountain Farm MuseumA short walk through farm buildings gathered from across the Smokies.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.
