Parking
Neither end has road-access parking. Camp 84 is on Hazel Creek, commonly reached by boat across Fontana Lake and the Hazel Creek Trail. Spence Field is a backcountry junction on the AT; plan a larger route or exit.
Overview
About Jenkins Ridge Trail
Why go
- A long ridge traverse links the Hazel Creek backcountry with Spence Field.
- Higdon Cemetery and old homesite remnants add a sense of Hazel Creek's history.
Heads up
- No road access at either end; plan it as part of a larger backpacking route.
- The steep, rough tread and summer growth can slow travel and route-finding.
Jenkins Ridge Trail is an 8.8-mile, one-way backcountry route from Backcountry Camp 84 on Hazel Creek to the Appalachian Trail at Spence Field. It starts on a broad old road, then turns into a steep ridge track with open grassy gaps and stream crossings before the final climb to the AT. The view from Spence Field is the payoff. This is a strenuous connector for a planned backpacking trip, not a drive-up day hike. Budget about six hours for the trail itself; reaching either end adds more time.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,287–5,033 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 Jenkins Ridge 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 tour- 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 Jenkins Ridge Trail
Plan the backcountry accessCamp 84 sits on Hazel Creek, with no road access or parking at the trail junction.
Camp 84 sits on Hazel Creek, with no road access or parking at the trail junction. Hikers commonly reach the Hazel Creek area by boat across Fontana Lake, then follow the Hazel Creek Trail. The other end meets the AT at Spence Field, so plan a longer route, a continuation along the AT, or another exit before starting. Overnight camping requires an advance backcountry permit and a reserved site. Dogs are not allowed on Jenkins Ridge; only two park trails permit leashed dogs.
From Hazel Creek to the ridgeFrom Camp 84, a wide old road follows Haw Gap Branch and Sugar Fork.
From Camp 84, a wide old road follows Haw Gap Branch and Sugar Fork. A short spur climbs to Higdon Cemetery; farther along, a small stream marks a faint abandoned homesite. At Pickens Gap, turn onto a narrow, steep track along the ridge. It levels briefly, then climbs to Woodward Knob, drops, and rises again toward Cherry Knob through shaded oak woods. A sharp turn beyond Cherry Knob leads down toward Haw Gap, where an old log structure remains near the gap.
Haw Gap to Spence FieldHaw Gap is a grassy bald, and summer weeds can hide the tread.
Haw Gap is a grassy bald, and summer weeds can hide the tread. Its rocky exit has scattered views of the Smoky divide. Two smaller stream crossings lead into Meadow Gap; after Gunna Creek, the route climbs for a long stretch across the head of Eagle Creek and skirts the southern edge of another grassy bald. It then emerges from rhododendron at Spence Field and ends at the AT. Expect rough, narrow footing and several demanding climbs along the way.
A Hazel Creek communityCherokee people lived in the Hazel Creek watershed before non-Cherokee settlers arrived from…
Cherokee people lived in the Hazel Creek watershed before non-Cherokee settlers arrived from Cades Cove in the 1830s. The settlement had a gristmill by 1852 and a church and school by 1886; by 1887, families lived near Sugar Fork. Farming later gave way to mining and logging. Higdon Cemetery, an abandoned homesite, and the remains near Haw Gap connect parts of the route to that history; not every remnant lies on Jenkins Ridge itself.
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.
