Parking
Use the Jakes Creek Trailhead lot at the end of the road through Elkmont; the trail starts through the gate at the far end. A park parking tag is required for vehicles parked longer than 15 minutes.
Overview
About Avent Cabin Trail
Why go
- A distinctive historic cabin and art-studio destination above Jakes Creek.
- The approach passes tangible traces of Elkmont’s logging and resort past.
Heads up
- The final spur is unsigned, steep and slick in wet weather.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,254–2,825 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Avent Cabin Trail, 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Elkmont Historic District and Daisy Town0:00 / 0:32
“You're nearing Elkmont Historic District, where Daisy Town's restored summer cabins make an easy history stop. Look inside the restored cabins; the interiors give this former resort community its character.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Elkmont Campground and Nature Trail
- The Blue Ghost's Long Glow
- Laurel Falls Trailhead
- Maloney Point
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Avent Cabin Trail
The hikeAvent Cabin Trail is a 2.
Avent Cabin Trail is a 2.6-mile out-and-back from Jakes Creek Trailhead to the Mayna Treanor Avent Studio, with roughly 500 feet of climbing. Most of the walk follows a broad old road and rail corridor; the final spur is narrow, steep and easy to miss. Budget about 1¾ hours, with extra time if you stop at the cabin or have to locate the turnoff. The payoff is a small historic cabin above Jakes Creek, not a summit panorama. Some older descriptions round the trip to 2 miles, but the full mapped walk from the lot to cabin is longer, so plan on 2.6.
Follow Jakes CreekPass through the gate at the far end of the Jakes Creek Trailhead lot.
Pass through the gate at the far end of the Jakes Creek Trailhead lot. The first stretch runs by the remains of Elkmont cottages, where old chimneys and stone walls sit beside the former rail corridor. Stay on Jakes Creek Trail at the Cucumber Gap and Meigs Mountain junctions; those branches lead away from the cabin route.
Find the cabin spurThe cabin turn is not signed.
The cabin turn is not signed. After the shallow creek bend, watch the right edge of the trail for a slight dirt indentation and a set of wooden steps. The footpath drops steeply to a long footbridge over Jakes Creek, then climbs to the cabin. The narrow spur can be slick and muddy after rain; use the bridge rail and take care on the steps.
A cabin and an artistHumphrey Ownby built the cabin in 1845.
Humphrey Ownby built the cabin in 1845. Frank Avent bought it in 1918, and his wife, artist Mayna Treanor Avent, used it as a summer studio for about two decades. She worked in oils and watercolors and made Japanese-style woodblock prints. The National Park Service acquired the property in 1932, while the Avent family continued using it under a lifetime lease until 1992; the studio was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
What you reachThe cabin is tucked among trees above the creek.
The cabin is tucked among trees above the creek. Its porch and large studio window face the wooded stream setting, so expect a close-up historic stop rather than an open view. From the footbridge, look uphill to the right for the roof through the trees. Pets are not allowed on this trail; in the park, leashed pets are permitted only on the Gatlinburg and Oconaluftee River trails.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains
1,566 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
899 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.
