Parking
Use the roadside pull-off on Little River Road, about half a mile beyond Big White Oak Quiet Walkway. The number of spaces at this access has not been verified. A parking tag is required if you leave a vehicle for more than 15 minutes.
Overview
About Hickory Flats Quiet Walkway
Hickory Flats Quiet Walkway is about 0.8 mile round-trip, combining a short cemetery loop with a longer branch toward Hickory Flats Branch. From the roadside access, follow the path into the woods to a four-way junction, visit the cemetery loop, then continue along the less-used branch. Allow about 30–45 minutes. The route is a quiet woodland walk rather than a viewpoint hike.
Why go
- A short loop reaches a small historic cemetery.
- The branch follows a stone-walled old roadbed beside small streams.
Heads up
- The cemetery loop has a brief steep, eroded climb.
- The longer branch may lose its tread before reaching Hickory Flats Branch.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation1,593–1,681 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 Hickory Flats Quiet Walkway, 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
A Bear Den Above the Ground0:00 / 0:30
“In the Smokies, a standing hollow tree can be a black bear's winter den, high above the ground. Pregnant females give birth inside their dens, usually in late January or early February.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Maloney Point
- Sugarlands Visitor Center
- Laurel Falls Trailhead
- Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail
- 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 Hickory Flats Quiet Walkway
Cemetery loopThe path climbs briefly to Fighting Creek Cemetery, a small clearing with family graves, then…
The path climbs briefly to Fighting Creek Cemetery, a small clearing with family graves, then returns to the junction. The earlier field description records a short, steep, rutted climb. Stay on the path and leave the markers undisturbed.
Creek branchThe longer branch follows an old roadbed, crosses Whistlepig Branch, and passes low stone walls.
The longer branch follows an old roadbed, crosses Whistlepig Branch, and passes low stone walls. An older route description says the tread fades before Hickory Flats Branch near a broken washtub; its present condition has not been confirmed. Turn around while the path is still clear rather than pushing through brush.
Getting thereThe roadside access is on Little River Road, about half a mile beyond Big White Oak Quiet…
The roadside access is on Little River Road, about half a mile beyond Big White Oak Quiet Walkway. The exact number of parking spaces has not been verified. Great Smoky Mountains National Park requires a parking tag when a vehicle is parked for more than 15 minutes. Pets are not permitted on this walkway.
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.
