Parking
Start at the Deep Creek Trail access pullout on Newfound Gap Road near milepost 16.5; leave another vehicle at the Deep Creek Trailhead past Deep Creek Campground on Deep Creek Road. A park parking tag is required for stays over 15 minutes.
Overview
About Deep Creek Trail
Why go
- One-way downhill route avoids retracing the full corridor
- The lower creekside stretch passes Tom Branch Falls
Heads up
- Requires a second vehicle at the two ends
- Upper-route footing and crossings are not well described
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation1,913–4,757 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 Deep Creek 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 area
Deep Creek Valley Overlook0:00 / 0:18
“You're nearing Deep Creek Valley Overlook, a quick roadside stop with parking beside the view. If low clouds have settled into the valley, this is a good place to pause and look down over them.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Waterfall as a Refuge
- Newfound Gap and the Rockefeller Memorial
- Luftee Overlook
- Ben Morton Overlook
- 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 Deep Creek Trail
The full traverseDeep Creek Trail is a 14.
Deep Creek Trail is a 14.3-mile, one-way point-to-point hike from Newfound Gap Road down to the Deep Creek Trailhead. Many hikers choose this downhill direction. Allow about eight hours on foot as a planning estimate; the trail is long, and you will need a second vehicle at the lower end. This is the full backcountry corridor, not the short waterfall outing.
The lower creekside stretchNear Deep Creek, the trail becomes a wide gravel path with occasional roots and rocks.
Near Deep Creek, the trail becomes a wide gravel path with occasional roots and rocks. Tom Branch Falls is about 0.3 mile from the lower trailhead; around 0.7 mile, the path reaches the Indian Creek Trail junction. Benches line the creek, and an overlook looks down on Deep Creek. Indian Creek Falls is another 520 feet along the separate Indian Creek Trail, so it is a detour rather than part of this through-route.
The upper milesThe corridor climbs from Deep Creek toward the higher Smokies before reaching the Newfound Gap…
The corridor climbs from Deep Creek toward the higher Smokies before reaching the Newfound Gap Road pullout. Published descriptions give little detail about the upper stretch, so do not assume the gravel tread and benches near the creek describe the full route. Check the park's current backcountry cautions before setting out.
Access and rulesStart at the Deep Creek Trail access pullout on Newfound Gap Road, around milepost 16.
Start at the Deep Creek Trail access pullout on Newfound Gap Road, around milepost 16.5, and leave a second vehicle at the Deep Creek Trailhead past Deep Creek Campground on Deep Creek Road. A parking tag is required when parked in the park for more than 15 minutes. Pets are not allowed 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.
