Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A grassy crest meadow with June laurel and a grazing past.
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.
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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
Spence Field is a grassy meadow on the Smokies’ high crest, where the Appalachian Trail meets Bote Mountain Trail. It is a walk-in stop, not a roadside overlook. One approach from the Anthony Creek Trailhead at the far end of Cades Cove picnic area is 10.3 miles round trip with 2,842 feet of climbing. The meadow opens up about 100 yards east of the trail junction. Make this a hiking day, not a quick scenic stop.
The Appalachian Trail crosses the open grass, with forest and ridgelines around the clearing. When visibility is good, you can see toward the North Carolina side of the Smokies. Take a pause here before continuing along the ridge.
Mountain laurel grows around the meadow and often flowers in June, adding soft pink and white to the open hillside. Bloom timing shifts with the season, so treat that month as a general guide.
James Spence built a cabin here in 1830, and his family grazed livestock in the high country during warmer months. Settlers cleared these crest meadows as summer pasture; after the park was established, woody growth began reclaiming many of the openings. The grassy clearing is part of the Smokies’ human history, not simply a natural bald.
There are no visitor services at the meadow, so carry food and water for the hike. Spence Field Shelter is a separate backcountry stop south of the meadow; its facilities are not at this viewpoint.
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
ChallengingSpence Field via Lead Cove Trail9.5 mi · 7 hr · 3.1 mi awayA steep, all-day climb to a historic meadow on the AT
ModerateFinley Cane, Bote Mountain and Lead Cove Loop6.9 mi · 4 hr · 3.1 mi awayA rhododendron tunnel leads to a rocky ridge with valley views.
ModerateTurkeypen Ridge Trail3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.1 mi awayA ridge walk through old cove fields and cool, moist hollows.
ModerateAnthony Creek Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 3.3 mi awayA shaded creek climb to the Bote Mountain junction.
ChallengingRussell Field Trail9.6 mi · 6.5 hr · 3.3 mi awayA steep climb to a small meadow reclaimed by forest.
EasyCades Cove Nature Trail0.8 mi · 30 min · 3.5 mi awayA shaded sub-mile loop with a creek crossing.ChallengingRocky Top and Thunderhead Mountain Trail13.9 mi · 9.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayA steep day to Rocky Top and Thunderhead's quiet high point.ChallengingSpence Field and Russell Field Loop13.2 mi · 8 hr · 3.6 mi awayA strenuous loop from Anthony Creek to two high Smokies meadows.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayRocky TopA rocky Appalachian Trail summit with broad western Smokies views.
Campground · 3.5 mi awayAnthony Creek Horse CampThree reserved horse campsites with trail access near Cades Cove.
Campground · 3.6 mi awayCades Cove CampgroundA woodland base for the cove's historic loop and wildlife.
Picnic area · 3.6 mi awayCades Cove Picnic AreaCreekside lunch tables and charcoal grills at the loop entrance.
Store · 3.7 mi awayCades Cove Campground StoreBike rentals, camp supplies and soft-serve before the loop.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayCades Cove Riding StablesA horse, carriage or hayride gives the cove a different pace.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayCarter Shields CabinA last-loop homestead cabin with a stream just behind it.
Sight · 4.8 mi awayJohn Oliver CabinA short walk to Cades Cove’s oldest preserved cabin.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.
