Parking
Use the designated hiker lot at Cosby Picnic Area, then walk about 100 yards back along the entrance road to the signed trail start. A parking tag is required for visits over 15 minutes; the restroom is at the picnic area.
Overview
About Gabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls
Why go
- A 90-foot cascade widens dramatically below its narrow brink.
- Early creek crossings and the shaded forest make the approach interesting before the falls.
Heads up
- A steady climb over roots and rocks takes more effort than the mileage suggests.
- The final falls spur is steep, and its broken-rock base is slick.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,205–2,920 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 Gabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls, 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
Cosby Picnic Area and Hen Wallow Falls0:00 / 0:31
“Up ahead is Cosby Picnic Area, a shady place for lunch beside Cosby Creek. Bring your own picnic; the tables have charcoal grills. The picnic area is seasonal, generally spring through fall.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Nest That Can Stretch
- Apples for the Long Haul
- A Nut in the Bark
- A Woodpecker's Sap Wells
- 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 Gabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls
The outingThis is a 4.
This is a 4.3-mile round-trip out-and-back from Cosby Picnic Area to Hen Wallow Falls, usually about 3½ hours. The walk climbs steadily through forest for nearly two miles, then drops down a short, steep spur to a 90-foot cascade. Expect around 900 feet of climbing and rough, rooty footing; the falls, rather than broad mountain views, are the payoff.
Starting in CosbyPark in the designated hiker lot at Cosby Picnic Area, then walk about 100 yards back along the…
Park in the designated hiker lot at Cosby Picnic Area, then walk about 100 yards back along the entrance road to the signed Gabes Mountain Trail start. A parking tag is required for visits longer than 15 minutes. The nearest restroom is at the picnic area. Pets are not allowed on this trail.
The climb and the turnThe tread is rocky near the start.
The tread is rocky near the start. A connector to Cosby Campground branches left around the first third of a mile; keep to Gabes Mountain Trail. Several stream crossings and footlogs, including at Rock Creek, come early. Roots become more noticeable as the steady climb continues under the hardwood canopy. At roughly 2.1 miles, watch for the marked sharp left toward Hen Wallow Falls and campsite 34. The longer Gabes Mountain Trail continues beyond this turn, so follow the falls spur rather than walking on.
At Hen Wallow FallsThe short spur descends steeply, and you climb it again on the way back.
The short spur descends steeply, and you climb it again on the way back. Hen Wallow Creek starts as a narrow stream at the brink, then splits and fans across a broad rock face at the foot of the 90-foot drop. The base is broken, slick rock, not a broad splash pool; stay on the path instead of scrambling over wet boulders. Water flow can be modest after dry weather. Salamanders are often visible in the pool. From stable ground near the viewing area, frame both the narrow upper cascade and the wider lower fan.
Forest and old tracesMost of the approach is shaded, with hardwoods, hemlock, rhododendron and ferns rather than…
Most of the approach is shaded, with hardwoods, hemlock, rhododendron and ferns rather than long-range views. Rosebay rhododendron may show white or pink blooms in early July. The route was also known as Messer Trail; a few reports describe an old roadbed and stonework remnants among the trees, though its history is not well documented. Look for a quartz-seamed boulder on the falls spur, too.
If you want a shorter waterfall walkLynn Camp Prong Cascades is a separate hike elsewhere in the park, listed at 1.
Lynn Camp Prong Cascades is a separate hike elsewhere in the park, listed at 1.4 miles round trip. It is a much shorter option if the sustained climb to Hen Wallow Falls is more than you want.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains
1,566 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.
