Parking
Park at Sugarlands Visitor Center; the trail starts behind the center. Vehicles parked longer than 15 minutes need a park parking tag.
Overview
About Cove Mountain Trail
Why go
- Cataract Falls and the wooded ridge give the long climb two distinct landmarks.
Heads up
- About 17 miles round trip, with a sustained climb to a closed tower and limited summit views.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation1,519–4,035 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts
- ClosureLaurel Falls and Sugarlands Mountain trails closedMentions this trailLaurel Falls Trail and the Fighting Creek Gap Road section of Sugarlands Mountain Trail are closed during trail rehabilitation; choose another route or waterfall.Official details
- ClosureHurricane Helene trail damage and backcountry restrictionsHurricane Helene damage has restricted backcountry trail access; avoid damaged crossings and observe trail-specific limits.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Cove Mountain 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
Sugarlands Visitor Center0:00 / 0:34
“You're coming up on Sugarlands Visitor Center, a useful stop if you want help choosing a walk that fits your day.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Sugarlands Riding Stables
- Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail
- Taking Attendance in the Smokies
- A Bear Den Above the Ground
- 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 Cove Mountain Trail
A full-day ridge hikeCove Mountain Trail climbs west from the Sugarlands Visitor Center area to the summit of Cove…
Cove Mountain Trail climbs west from the Sugarlands Visitor Center area to the summit of Cove Mountain, an 8.5-mile one-way route through forest. The summit hike returns on the same trail for about 17 miles round trip; allow roughly 10 to 12 hours. It is a hard, sustained climb, not the short Cataract Falls walk nearby.
From SugarlandsThe trail begins behind the visitor center and reaches Cataract Falls within about the first…
The trail begins behind the visitor center and reaches Cataract Falls within about the first tenth of a mile. Beyond the falls, a natural-surface path continues across the wooded ridge toward Mount Harrison and Cove Mountain. The climb gains roughly 2,700 feet before reaching the summit; the upper route remains mostly forested.
At the summitA fire tower marks the high point, but it is closed to visitors and the summit has limited…
A fire tower marks the high point, but it is closed to visitors and the summit has limited views. Treat it as a landmark rather than an open lookout. Turn around there and return on the same corridor; this route is not a loop. The shorter approach from Fighting Creek Gap via Laurel Falls is a different itinerary and does not define this mapped trail.
Start and accessUse the Sugarlands Visitor Center parking area; the trail entrance is behind the center.
Use the Sugarlands Visitor Center parking area; the trail entrance is behind the center. Vehicles parked longer than 15 minutes need a park parking tag. Pets are not permitted on this trail.
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.
