Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN · NC
A backcountry ridge link with several unbridged creek crossings.
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 tourMore 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
Long Hungry Ridge Trail is a 4.6-mile, one-way backcountry segment between the junction of Twentymile Trail and Twentymile Loop and the junction of Gregory Bald Trail and Gregory Ridge Trail. It is a long uphill forest route, not a road-to-road hike or a loop. Allow about three to four hours for this segment alone. The 4.6 miles start at the lower junction, not at the parking area.
The native tread follows the drainage by Proctor Branch, crosses the branch without a bridge, and passes several smaller creek crossings. It then leaves the creek and climbs toward Rye Patch, around 4,400 feet, before continuing to the upper junction. A spur reaches backcountry campsite 92. The Long Hungry Ridge segment stops below Gregory Bald; the summit spur is on Gregory Bald Trail.
The lower parking is at Twentymile Ranger Station, off NC 28. Follow Twentymile Trail about 3.1 miles to the lower junction; there is no road access at the start of this segment. A customary one-way outing from that parking to Gregory Bald is about 8.5 miles with the approach and summit spur included. It is not a loop, and returning the same way makes a very long day. Plan the return before setting out. Dogs 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
ChallengingLost Cove Trail2.7 mi · 2 hr · 1.3 mi awayA steep, shaded descent from the A.T. to Lakeshore Trail.
ChallengingShuckstack Fire Tower Trail6.8 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA steep Appalachian Trail climb ends at a tower above Fontana Lake
EasyTwentymile Cascade Trail1.2 mi · 45 min · 2.5 mi awayA short creekside walk ends beside a mossy cascade.
ChallengingTwentymile Trail10.1 mi · 7 hr · 2.5 mi awayA quiet 10-mile climb from Twentymile Creek to the AT.
ChallengingWolf Ridge Trail to Sheep Pen Gap13.7 mi · 9 hr · 2.5 mi awayA steep, remote out-and-back to Sheep Pen Gap.
ModerateTwentymile Loop Trail7.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA forest loop with mossy cascades, log bridges, and a waterfall spur.
ChallengingAppalachian Trail71.1 mi · 2 days · 2.8 mi awayA week on the high ridge, with spruce-fir and rocky overlooks.
ChallengingBenton MacKaye Trail93.4 mi · 3.3 days · 3 mi awayA 93-mile Smokies crossing from Fontana Dam to Big Creek.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayTwentymile CascadeA short creekside walk to a 22-foot sandstone cascade.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayFontana DamA 480-foot dam doubles as an Appalachian Trail crossing.
Sight · 3 mi awayGregory BaldAn open summit of flame azaleas, earned by a long Smokies hike.
Sight · 6.5 mi awayHenry Whitehead PlaceSpot the “granny hole” in Cades Cove’s older cabin.
Visitor center · 6.9 mi awayCades Cove Visitor CenterA handy loop break with a water-powered mill right beside it.
Sight · 6.9 mi awayCable Mill Historic AreaSee an 1870s mill where water powered a working cove.
Sight · 7.2 mi awayDan Lawson PlaceAn 1856 log home that grew into a post office and store.
Sight · 7.3 mi awayTipton PlaceA cabin, a clever barn and a farmstead’s working details.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.
