Parking
Use the Porters Creek Trailhead parking area in Greenbrier. From US 321, follow Greenbrier Road about 3.1 miles to the fork, stay straight, then continue nearly another mile. The final approach is gravel.
Overview
About Brushy Mountain Trail from Greenbrier
Why go
- Two distinct summit views from a small heath bald.
- Settlement history comes before the long climb.
Heads up
- A strenuous full-day out-and-back with about 3,000 feet of climbing.
Brushy Mountain Trail from Greenbrier is an 11.7-mile out-and-back from Porters Creek Trailhead. It follows Porters Creek past old-settlement remains, then climbs the north flank of Mount Le Conte to Brushy Mountain’s heath bald and two small viewpoints. Allow 8 to 10 hours for roughly 3,000 feet of climbing. Choose it for a long day with history and open summit views; Porters Creek itself is the shorter outing from this same access.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the full-day hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,054–4,839 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 Brushy Mountain Trail from Greenbrier, 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
Porters Creek and Fern Branch Falls0:00 / 0:26
“You're nearing the Porters Creek trailhead, where an old farm road passes stone walls and Ownby Cemetery. For a shorter history walk, take the spur near the one-mile mark to the Messer barn, with its overhanging hayloft.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Grapeyard Ridge Trailhead
- Greenbrier Picnic Area
- Ramsey Cascades Trailhead
- Water Written in Quartz
- 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 Brushy Mountain Trail from Greenbrier
Take the right turnsThe first mile follows the old gravel road beside Porters Creek.
The first mile follows the old gravel road beside Porters Creek. At about two-thirds of a mile, stone walls and Ownby Cemetery sit on the right. Near the one-mile mark, a short spur reaches the John Messer farm site; return to Porters Creek Trail, then take the right-hand Brushy Mountain junction when it appears. The left spur at that junction leads toward Fern Branch Falls.
The long climb brings you to Trillium Gap after roughly 4.5 miles from the Brushy Mountain junction. Turn right toward Brushy Mountain; left continues toward Mount Le Conte.
A long climb, then a heath baldFrom the Porters Creek junction, the ascent to Trillium Gap gains about 2,500 feet over roughly…
From the Porters Creek junction, the ascent to Trillium Gap gains about 2,500 feet over roughly 4.5 miles. The summit spur adds about 0.4 mile. Expect a sustained uphill day, followed by the same route back to the trailhead; there is no loop.
The views face two waysThe summit opens into a small clearing surrounded by rhododendron, mountain laurel and other…
The summit opens into a small clearing surrounded by rhododendron, mountain laurel and other heath shrubs. The first view looks east and southeast across the ridges toward Charlies Bunion, Mount Sequoyah, Mount Chapman and Mount Guyot. Continue about 50 feet for a different view north over Webb Mountain, Greenbrier and Pigeon Forge. For a photo, leave some of the heath in the foreground so the ridge panorama still feels rooted in this small bald.
Greenbrier history on the approachStone walls and Ownby Cemetery are remnants of the earlier Porters Creek settlement.
Stone walls and Ownby Cemetery are remnants of the earlier Porters Creek settlement. The Messer farm site is a short side trip before the climb: it includes a cantilevered barn dating to about 1875 and a cabin the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club built in the 1930s. Club members used the cabin for overnight stays until 1981.
Start at Porters CreekFrom US 321, follow Greenbrier Road about 3.
From US 321, follow Greenbrier Road about 3.1 miles to the fork, stay straight, and continue nearly another mile to the Porters Creek Trailhead parking area. The final approach is gravel. Pets aren’t allowed on this route.
Is this the full-day hike for you?The 6.8-mile approach from Trillium Gap and Grotto Falls is a separate hike.
The 6.8-mile approach from Trillium Gap and Grotto Falls is a separate hike. These miles start in Greenbrier and include the Porters Creek approach.
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.
