Parking
Start at the Caldwell Fork access on Cataloochee Road beside Cataloochee Campground. The far end is a backcountry junction, not a second road lot; a one-way walk needs a separate exit plan.
Overview
About Caldwell Fork Trail
Why go
- Creekside route with old pasture traces and a school site
- Connects with Rough Fork, Hemphill Bald and the Boogerman route
Heads up
- The 6.3 miles are one way; a same-way return is about 12.6 miles
- Several stream crossings, including unbridged Clontz Branch
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,726–4,055 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 Caldwell 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
Cataloochee Campground and Caldwell Fork0:00 / 0:34
“You're nearing Cataloochee Campground and the Caldwell Fork trailhead. The campground has just twenty-seven sites, a good fit for a quiet night in the valley if you're happy without showers or hookups.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Will Messer Barn
- Jarvis Palmer House
- A Turnpike Full of Hooves
- Palmer Chapel
- 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 Caldwell Fork Trail
A long Cataloochee traverseCaldwell Fork Trail is a 6.
Caldwell Fork Trail is a 6.3-mile point-to-point route between Cataloochee Road and the Rough Fork Trail junction. It follows its namesake creek through forest, past the old Caldwell Fork School site and backcountry campsite 41. Allow about four hours one way. The road-to-junction route climbs roughly 1,400 feet; without an exit plan, hiking it from the road and back makes a 12.6-mile day. Reaching the Rough Fork end from Polls Gap adds about 3.5 miles on Rough Fork Trail, outside Caldwell Fork's distance.
Water and footingThe route stays close to Caldwell Fork and its branches, with beech, red maple and white oak…
The route stays close to Caldwell Fork and its branches, with beech, red maple and white oak along the way. The native tread is shared with hikers and horses; horse traffic can leave muddier stretches. Clontz Branch crosses without a footbridge, and several more streams cross farther along, so footing can be wet and uneven.
A working valleyOld fence posts and grassy openings mark former pasture.
Old fence posts and grassy openings mark former pasture. Near the McKee Branch junction stood the Caldwell Fork School, one of three community schools in Cataloochee. Children divided their days between classes and farm work, and the school term was said to last about five months. Farther along, campsite 41 is a backcountry overnight stop on the same corridor.
Plan the accessUse the Caldwell Fork access on Cataloochee Road beside the campground.
Use the Caldwell Fork access on Cataloochee Road beside the campground. The Rough Fork end is a backcountry junction, not a roadhead; a one-way trip needs an exit plan or a continuation over connected trails. Dogs are not allowed on this route; the park permits leashed pets only on the Gatlinburg and Oconaluftee River trails.
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.
