Parking
Use the small parking area at the far end of Smokemont Campground’s D loop. A park parking tag is required; campground restrooms are the nearest.
Overview
About Bradley Fork Trail
Why go
- Bridged creek crossings and a gentle first four miles.
Heads up
- A 14.6-mile return with a steep, rocky upper section.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,293–5,085 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts
- ClosureHurricane Helene trail damage and backcountry restrictionsHurricane Helene damage has restricted backcountry trail access; avoid damaged crossings and observe trail-specific limits.Official details
- CautionBear-related trail, campsite, and road restrictionsBear activity has closed trails, a shelter, and campsites and restricted pedestrian access on Cherokee Orchard Road; stay out of closed areas and follow vehicle-only rules.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Bradley Fork 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
Smokemont and Chasteen Creek Cascade0:00 / 0:28
“You're nearing Smokemont, the starting point for the walk to Chasteen Creek Cascade. The creek slides over quartz-streaked sandstone in a broad, fifteen-foot cascade, a modest waterfall after a wooded creek walk.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Smokemont Baptist Church
- Reading the White Blazes
- Smokemont Riding Stables
- Collins Creek Picnic Area
- 200 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, 137 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 Bradley Fork Trail
A full-day creek hikeBradley Fork Trail is the full out-and-back from the back of Smokemont Campground to Hughes…
Bradley Fork Trail is the full out-and-back from the back of Smokemont Campground to Hughes Ridge. The 7.3-mile one-way route is 14.6 miles round trip; budget about nine to ten hours. Its first four miles follow a broad, gently climbing old roadbed beside the creek, with bridges over creek crossings. Beyond Cabin Flats, the tread narrows and climbs steeply over rocks for 3.3 miles to Hughes Ridge; return the same way.
How the route changesAt about 1.2 miles, the Chasteen Creek Trail junction leads to a 0.1-mile spur for campsite 50.
At about 1.2 miles, the Chasteen Creek Trail junction leads to a 0.1-mile spur for campsite 50. Camping there requires a backcountry permit. At about mile four, the Cabin Flats junction marks the start of the rougher upper section. Keep going to Hughes Ridge only if you have time and energy for the full climb.
Creekside sceneryDog hobble and rhododendron edge parts of the creek, and seasonal wildflowers appear along the…
Dog hobble and rhododendron edge parts of the creek, and seasonal wildflowers appear along the route. The trail also provides fishing access and is shared with horseback riders. Its draw is the extended creek corridor and the change to a rugged backcountry climb.
Start at SmokemontUse the small parking area at the far end of Smokemont Campground's D loop; a park parking tag…
Use the small parking area at the far end of Smokemont Campground's D loop; a park parking tag is required. The campground has the nearest restroom. Pets are not allowed. The trail is not ADA accessible, though the park's GRIT Freedom Chairs can be used on the first 1.3 miles from this end. That section still has uneven dirt, gravel, rocks and exposed roots.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains
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.
