Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN · NC
A short paved walk to a preserved cabin and its homesite.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
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
John Oliver Cabin“John Oliver Cabin is coming up, a short walk from the loop road to Cades Cove's oldest preserved historic structure. I'd stop if you want a closer look at a mountain home, with about half an hour to walk and explore.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
John Oliver Cabin Trail is an easy out-and-back from roadside parking on Cades Cove Loop Road to the log cabin and homesite. The published distance is 0.3 miles round trip, but the mapped paved corridor is about 0.22 miles one way, so it measures roughly 0.43 miles back to the start. Allow about 30 minutes to walk and look around. The path is mostly paved and nearly flat, changing to level packed gravel at the cabin complex. It is described as well graded for wheelchairs and strollers, but it is not listed as meeting ADA standards.
The Olivers were among Cades Cove's early European settlers. John W. Oliver resisted the land purchases that created the park and went to court several times before he lost. The cabin is the oldest historic structure preserved in the Cove. This is a short history stop rather than a substantial hike; the split-rail fence and open clearing help show the cabin in its homesite.
Parking is limited beside the trailhead on the one-way Cades Cove Loop Road, so arrive in the direction of the drive. A Smokies parking tag is required for a stop longer than 15 minutes. The nearest restrooms are at Cades Cove Picnic Area before the loop or at the Visitor Center farther along, past the cabin. Pets are not allowed on this trail.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ChallengingCrooked Arm Ridge Trail4.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.7 mi awaySteep forest gives way to a late view into Cades Cove
ModerateRich Mountain Loop Trail8.5 mi · 5 hr · 0.9 mi awayAn 8.5-mile loop with a cove view and a waterfall finish
EasyCades Cove Horse Trail2.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayA wooded point-to-point trail shared with horses.
EasyCades Cove Nature Trail0.8 mi · 30 min · 1.2 mi awayA shaded sub-mile loop with a creek crossing.
ChallengingRocky Top and Thunderhead Mountain Trail13.9 mi · 9.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayA steep day to Rocky Top and Thunderhead's quiet high point.ChallengingSpence Field and Russell Field Loop13.2 mi · 8 hr · 1.4 mi awayA strenuous loop from Anthony Creek to two high Smokies meadows.
ChallengingRussell Field Trail9.6 mi · 6.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA steep climb to a small meadow reclaimed by forest.
ModerateAnthony Creek Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA shaded creek climb to the Bote Mountain junction.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayJohn Oliver CabinA short walk to Cades Cove’s oldest preserved cabin.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayCades Cove Riding StablesA horse, carriage or hayride gives the cove a different pace.
Store · 1.1 mi awayCades Cove Campground StoreBike rentals, camp supplies and soft-serve before the loop.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayCades Cove Primitive Baptist ChurchA hand-built 1887 church beside the cove’s oldest cemetery.
Campground · 1.2 mi awayCades Cove CampgroundA woodland base for the cove's historic loop and wildlife.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayCarter Shields CabinA last-loop homestead cabin with a stream just behind it.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayCades Cove Methodist ChurchA modest church with two doors and one surprising congregation story.
Picnic area · 1.3 mi awayCades Cove Picnic AreaCreekside lunch tables and charcoal grills at the loop entrance.Parkwolf’s Great Smoky Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
