Meigs Mountain Trail

Meigs Mountain Trail is a 6.0-mile, one-way backcountry corridor from the Jakes Creek junction to the Meigs Creek/Lumber Ridge junction. Allow about 3½ hours for the named trail. It is a wooded, rolling point-to-point route, not a loop; the recorded distance begins at the Meigs Mountain junction and excludes the roughly 0.7-mile approach from Jakes Creek Trailhead parking.

From the Jakes Creek parking area in Elkmont, follow Jakes Creek Trail toward the Meigs Mountain junction. The approach passes former resort cottages; Cucumber Gap branches left around a third of a mile in, so stay on Jakes Creek. A footbridge crosses Jakes Creek at about 0.6 mile, with a small waterfall just upstream. Turn onto Meigs Mountain Trail shortly beyond the junction.

A 4.6-mile round trip from Jakes Creek parking turns around at the small dam on Blanket Creek and retraces the same route. That is a pleasant shorter outing on the beginning of Meigs Mountain Trail, not the full named corridor. Beyond the dam, the trail continues past the Curry Mountain junction to the backcountry junction with Meigs Creek and Lumber Ridge.

There is no road at the western end. To hike the corridor and return, retrace the 6 miles; the Jakes Creek approach adds about 0.7 mile each way. A longer point-to-point outing continues on Meigs Creek Trail to Sinks Bridge on Little River Road, roughly 3.4 miles farther, and needs a shuttle. Ordinary pets are not allowed on this trail; only the Gatlinburg and Oconaluftee River trails allow leashed pets in the park, with trained service animals excepted.