Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN · NC
A wooded point-to-point trail shared with horses.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
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
Cades Cove Campground Store and Riding Stables“You're approaching Cades Cove Campground Store, with the riding stables nearby. The seasonal store is useful for a quick deli-style bite, a soft-serve cone, or forgotten camping supplies.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Cades Cove Horse Trail is a 2.3-mile point-to-point hike from the Horse Trailhead beside Cades Cove Riding Stables to a junction with Anthony Creek Trail. It follows natural dirt tread through woods, sharing the route with horses. It’s a good short choice if you want a manageable walk on an equestrian path. Allow about 1.5 hours one way. Without a pickup, walking back makes it about 4.6 miles.
Horses use this trail, so keep children close and step aside when riders approach. The grade is easy overall, with the route climbing toward Anthony Creek. Dogs aren’t allowed on this trail.
Begin at the Horse Trailhead beside the stables, near the campground entrance road. There’s auto parking and a restroom at the stable. The far end joins Anthony Creek Trail rather than returning to your car, so arrange a pickup, continue on the trail network, or turn back. The nearby stable also runs guided horseback, carriage and hay rides; those are separate concession outings.
Wildlife
1,567 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.
Keep exploring
ModerateRich Mountain Loop Trail8.5 mi · 5 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn 8.5-mile loop with a cove view and a waterfall finish
EasyCades Cove Nature Trail0.8 mi · 30 min · 0.4 mi awayA shaded sub-mile loop with a creek crossing.
ChallengingRocky Top and Thunderhead Mountain Trail13.9 mi · 9.5 hr · 0.4 mi awayA steep day to Rocky Top and Thunderhead's quiet high point.ChallengingSpence Field and Russell Field Loop13.2 mi · 8 hr · 0.4 mi awayA strenuous loop from Anthony Creek to two high Smokies meadows.
ChallengingCrooked Arm Ridge Trail4.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.4 mi awaySteep forest gives way to a late view into Cades Cove
ChallengingRussell Field Trail9.6 mi · 6.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA steep climb to a small meadow reclaimed by forest.
ModerateAnthony Creek Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA shaded creek climb to the Bote Mountain junction.
EasyJohn Oliver Cabin Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 0.9 mi awayA short paved walk to a preserved cabin and its homesite.
Sight · At the trailheadCades Cove Riding StablesA horse, carriage or hayride gives the cove a different pace.
Store · 0.2 mi awayCades Cove Campground StoreBike rentals, camp supplies and soft-serve before the loop.
Campground · 0.3 mi awayCades Cove CampgroundA woodland base for the cove's historic loop and wildlife.
Picnic area · 0.4 mi awayCades Cove Picnic AreaCreekside lunch tables and charcoal grills at the loop entrance.
Sight · 1 mi awayJohn Oliver CabinA short walk to Cades Cove’s oldest preserved cabin.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayCarter Shields CabinA last-loop homestead cabin with a stream just behind it.
Sight · 2 mi awayCades Cove Primitive Baptist ChurchA hand-built 1887 church beside the cove’s oldest cemetery.
Sight · 2.2 mi awayCades Cove Methodist ChurchA modest church with two doors and one surprising congregation story.Parkwolf’s Great Smoky Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
