Parking
Use Rough Fork Trailhead parking at the end of Cataloochee Entrance Road; the Big Fork Ridge start is a short walk along the access road.
Overview
About Big Fork Ridge Loop Trail
Why go
- A true loop across three trail sections
- A ridge viewpoint toward Balsam Mountain
- Old valley sites and big trees along the route
Heads up
- Long wooded miles, wet footing and repeated creek crossings
This 9.3-mile loop starts at Big Fork Ridge Trailhead, links Big Fork Ridge with the southwest section of Caldwell Fork and Rough Fork, then returns by the access road. Allow about 5.5 hours; published estimates put the climb near 1,800 feet. It is a long, uneven day with a real ridge climb, creek crossings and a lot of wooded tread. Pick it for a full Cataloochee hike, not a quick waterfall walk.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,818–4,157 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 Big Fork Ridge Loop 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
Rough Fork Trailhead and Steve Woody House0:00 / 0:23
“Up ahead is Rough Fork Trailhead, for a creekside walk to Steve Woody House. The two-mile round trip takes about an hour to an hour and a half, on a broad, mostly level path with a couple of narrow log footbridges.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Caldwell Place
- Beech Grove School
- Palmer Chapel
- Cataloochee Campground and Caldwell Fork
- 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 Big Fork Ridge Loop Trail
Start on Big Fork RidgeGo clockwise.
Go clockwise. The route first crosses Rough Fork on a footlog, then passes wet seeps and branches near an old farm field before the climb gets drier. Elk acclimation pens stood in that field in 2001 during the park's five-year reintroduction experiment. On the ridge, a switchback opens toward Balsam Mountain; dead hemlocks remain visible on the slope. The descent has loose debris and eroded gullies. At the viewpoint, the hemlock skeletons make a striking foreground against the mountain.
Along Caldwell ForkFrom the Big Fork junction, the loop follows Caldwell Fork southwest.
From the Big Fork junction, the loop follows Caldwell Fork southwest. It passes an old school site, a bowed footlog and the McKee Branch confluence, then reaches a rock-hop ford at Double Gap Branch. The mossy boulder field and Big Hemlock campsite break up the wooded stretch. Side paths reach the graves of Levi Shelton and Elzie Caldwell; a separate spur leads to the Big Poplars.
Rough Fork back to the valleyRough Fork brings you back toward the trailhead past rocky water and more footlogs, then eases…
Rough Fork brings you back toward the trailhead past rocky water and more footlogs, then eases onto a roadbed for the finish. The route is mostly shaded forest, but the open ridge view is the payoff. Going counterclockwise puts the steeper Rough Fork climb near the start.
Access and rulesUse Rough Fork Trailhead parking at the end of Cataloochee Entrance Road; the Big Fork Ridge…
Use Rough Fork Trailhead parking at the end of Cataloochee Entrance Road; the Big Fork Ridge start is a short walk along the access road. Pets are not allowed on this trail. Expect muddy footing around seeps and several stream crossings; the Double Gap Branch ford and footlogs can be slick, and high water can make crossings unsafe.
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.
