Parking
Park in Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and cross the small bridge north of the picnic area; the trail starts just beyond it. Restrooms and picnic tables are at the picnic area. A parking tag is required for vehicles parked more than 15 minutes.
Overview
About Metcalf Bottoms Trail
Why go
- Little Greenbrier School gives the short walk a clear historic destination.
Heads up
- Roots, rocks and a few steeper stretches make the dirt path uneven.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation1,679–1,783 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts
- ClosureHurricane Helene trail damage and backcountry restrictionsHurricane Helene damage has restricted backcountry trail access; avoid damaged crossings and observe trail-specific limits.Official details
- CautionBear-related trail, campsite, and road restrictionsBear activity has closed trails, a shelter, and campsites and restricted pedestrian access on Cherokee Orchard Road; stay out of closed areas and follow vehicle-only rules.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Metcalf Bottoms 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area0:00 / 0:24
“Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area is coming up, a place to stop for lunch beside the Little River. Tables and charcoal grills sit near the water, but bring your own food; there's no concession.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Bat Beneath the Leaves
- Little Greenbrier School and Walker Sisters Place
- The Flakes That Make a Rock Sparkle
- The Sinks
- 200 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, 137 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 Metcalf Bottoms Trail
A short walk to the schoolhouseMetcalf Bottoms Trail is about a 1.
Metcalf Bottoms Trail is about a 1.4-mile out-and-back from Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area to Little Greenbrier School and back. The route climbs gradually through hardwood forest on packed dirt; expect roots, rocks and a few steeper spots, so it is rougher underfoot than the short mileage suggests. Allow about 45 minutes to an hour, including a pause at the school.
Find the trail across the bridgePark at Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and cross the small bridge at its north end.
Park at Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and cross the small bridge at its north end. The trail starts just beyond the bridge. Restrooms and picnic tables are at the picnic area. A parking tag is required for vehicles parked more than 15 minutes.
Stop at Little Greenbrier SchoolThe one-room schoolhouse is the destination on this route, set within the historic Little…
The one-room schoolhouse is the destination on this route, set within the historic Little Greenbrier community. The Walker Sisters homesite lies farther uphill on the separately named Little Brier Gap Trail; continuing there adds another section and mileage. This trail's distance stops at the school before you return the same way.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains
1,569 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
900 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.
