Parking
The named walkway pull-off is on Fighting Creek Gap Road; use the short connector to reach the loop. A parking tag is required for park parking over 15 minutes. Capacity is not documented.
Overview
About Laurel Falls Quiet Walkway
Why go
- A very short creek-side loop through the forest
Heads up
- It does not reach Laurel Falls; the far turn may be subtle
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,144–2,201 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts
- ClosureLaurel Falls and Sugarlands Mountain trails closedMentions Laurel Falls, referenced in this guideLaurel Falls Trail and the Fighting Creek Gap Road section of Sugarlands Mountain Trail are closed for rehabilitation; Laurel Falls is expected to reopen sometime in 2027.Official details
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Laurel Falls 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
The Blue Ghost's Long Glow0:00 / 0:28
“On an early-summer night, a pale light drifting through the woods may be a blue ghost firefly. The males can keep glowing for thirty or forty seconds at a time, giving you a chance to follow one small light as it moves.”
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
- Laurel Falls Trailhead
- Why the Corn Crib Has Gaps
- Elkmont Campground and Nature Trail
- Maloney Point
- 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 Laurel Falls Quiet Walkway
A short creek-side loopLaurel Falls Quiet Walkway is a short native-surface loop beside Laurel Branch, reached from…
Laurel Falls Quiet Walkway is a short native-surface loop beside Laurel Branch, reached from Fighting Creek Gap Road. From the mapped walkway parking pull-off, the full walk is about 0.4 mile: the loop itself is 0.3 mile, with the access connector walked out and back. Allow about 20 minutes. This is a brief forest ramble, not the much longer Laurel Falls waterfall hike.
Beside Laurel BranchThe route crosses a small creek near the start, then climbs gently alongside Laurel Branch…
The route crosses a small creek near the start, then climbs gently alongside Laurel Branch before circling back. Expect a natural dirt path rather than pavement. The creek and the change of scene are the payoff; this is a quick woodland walk, not a waterfall destination.
Watch for the returnThe far turn can be easy to miss.
The far turn can be easy to miss. Older directions mention a cairn and a fallen maple there, but those markers may have changed, so follow the trail's actual continuation rather than counting on them. Pets are not permitted on this route. A parking tag is required for park parking longer than 15 minutes.
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.
