Parking
Use the paved Quiet Walkway Parking #4 pullout on Newfound Gap Road. Vehicles parked longer than 15 minutes require a park parking tag.
Overview
About Balsam Point Quiet Walkway
Why go
- A real loop with a bench, rock wall, and small stream.
- A short spring wildflower stop.
Heads up
- One short drop to the bench is steep.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,372–2,474 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 Balsam Point Quiet Walkway, 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 area
A New Rack Every Year0:00 / 0:30
“If you see a bull elk with fuzzy antlers, you're looking at a new set still growing. That soft covering is called velvet, and its blood vessels feed the developing antlers.”
Plays near this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Chimney Tops Overlook
- Carlos Campbell Overlook
- Chimneys Picnic Area and Cove Hardwood Trail
- Chimney Tops Trailhead
- 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 Balsam Point Quiet Walkway
A small loop by the roadBalsam Point Quiet Walkway is a short wooded loop reached by an access path from a Newfound Gap…
Balsam Point Quiet Walkway is a short wooded loop reached by an access path from a Newfound Gap Road pullout. The full walk from the lot and back is about 0.36 mile; the circuit itself is about 0.21 mile. Allow around 30 minutes if you stop at the log bench and stream. It’s a good leg-stretcher when you want a small nature walk instead of a long hike. Pets aren’t allowed on this trail. Vehicles parked in the Smokies for more than 15 minutes need a parking tag.
The bench and rock wallThe lightly graveled path reaches a split: one branch follows a rock wall on a relatively level…
The lightly graveled path reaches a split: one branch follows a rock wall on a relatively level line, while the other drops steeply to a log bench in a clearing. The loop comes back up on an easier grade. Take the steep descent slowly; you don’t need to add another route to see the walkway’s main features.
A little streamAn opening in the rock wall leads to a flat spot beside a narrow stream.
An opening in the rock wall leads to a flat spot beside a narrow stream. Spring observations have recorded Fringed Phacelia and daffodil foliage there. A short side path near the bench reaches a view of the West Prong, but it doesn’t make a clear connection to the longer river walk farther north, so return the way you came if you explore it.
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.
