Parking
Use the marked Cataloochee Horse Trailhead Parking at the west end of the creekside segment. From I-40, follow Cove Creek Road about 11 miles into Cataloochee; the approach includes roughly 15 minutes on gravel.
Overview
About Cataloochee Horse Trail
Why go
- A creekside walk with a documented link to the valley’s old road.
- A gentle outing that fits into about an hour to an hour and a half.
Heads up
- Horses share the same trail corridor.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,636–2,747 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 Cataloochee Horse 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
Beech Grove School0:00 / 0:34
“Beech Grove School is coming up, a two-room schoolhouse reached by a short walk across Palmer Creek. Cross the wooden footbridge near Pretty Hollow Gap, then follow the walkway to the building.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Palmer Chapel
- Caldwell Place
- Rough Fork Trailhead and Steve Woody House
- 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 Cataloochee Horse Trail
A quiet valley walkAt 3.
At 3.1 miles round trip, Cataloochee Horse Trail is a gentle out-and-back on native tread from the marked horse-trail parking to the campground-side junction and back. The route follows a creek through Big Cataloochee; allow about 1 to 1½ hours and expect roughly 110 feet of climbing on the return. The draw is the creek and the old valley road corridor, not a summit.
Follow the old roadPart of the route follows the approximate line of the old road into Big Cataloochee, along the…
Part of the route follows the approximate line of the old road into Big Cataloochee, along the creek past former fields and a church on the way toward the schoolhouse. It gives this short walk a tangible link to how people traveled through the valley before the modern road.
Share the trailHikers and horses use this same route, so give mounted parties room when they pass.
Hikers and horses use this same route, so give mounted parties room when they pass. The native surface and modest grade make it an easy-to-moderate walk, though it is not paved. Pets are not allowed on this trail. The horse camps are seasonal, and the park advises against horseback riding from early December through May because maintenance conditions can include swollen streams, washed-out bridges, downed trees, and erosion; that seasonal advice is for riders, not a hiking closure.
Plan the driveFrom I-40, follow Cove Creek Road about 11 miles into Cataloochee; roughly 15 minutes of the…
From I-40, follow Cove Creek Road about 11 miles into Cataloochee; roughly 15 minutes of the approach is gravel. The access road is narrow and winding, with steep unguarded drop-offs, and drivers may need to back up to let oncoming vehicles pass. No food stop was found on the route, and the horse camp has no potable water, so bring your own.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains
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.
