Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN · NC
A sunrise detour reached only after the climb to Mount Le Conte
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 area
Alum Cave Trailhead“You're coming up on the Alum Cave trailhead, where a forest hike leads through Arch Rock to a huge rock overhang.”
Plays on the road 1.9 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
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“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
Myrtle Point Trail is an out-and-back viewpoint walk from High Top on Mount Le Conte. Follow the Boulevard Trail to the Myrtle Point junction, then take the spur to open rock ledges above the Eastern Smokies. The summit detour is about 0.8 mile round trip (roughly 0.4 mile each way); allow 45 minutes to an hour with time at the overlook. It is a good addition to a Mount Le Conte hike, but it is not a separate walk from a road.
Continue east along the Boulevard Trail for roughly 0.2 mile, then turn right onto the signed Myrtle Point spur for another roughly 0.2 mile. The trail ends at the overlook; return the same way. The route is short, but the summit tread is native and the final viewpoint is rocky, so take care on the uneven surfaces.
Myrtle Point opens onto broad ridges east of the summit toward Mount Guyot and the Eastern Smokies. It is one of the marked summit viewpoints and a popular sunrise stop. Cloud and fog can hide the distant layers. For a photo, include the bare snag and brushy foreground slope with the ridges behind it; that gives the panorama depth.
There is no road access to High Top. The shortest park-listed approach to Mount Le Conte is via Alum Cave Trail, at 10 miles round trip; other approaches are longer. That hike is steep and rocky, with stairs and bridges, so plan a full day for the approach and this extra detour. Cold weather can bring trail ice and falling icicles; microspikes are recommended in winter. 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
ChallengingMount Le Conte via Alum Cave Trail10 mi · 7 hr · 1.9 mi awayA creekside climb through rock passages to high mountain views.
ModerateAlum Cave Trail to Alum Cave Bluffs4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA forest climb to a 75-foot rock shelter and natural arch.
ChallengingChimney Tops Trail3.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA steep stair climb ends at a view of the fire-scarred pinnacles.
ChallengingTrillium Gap Trail to Mount Le Conte13 mi · 9 hr · 2.3 mi awayA long climb to Le Conte, with Grotto Falls along the way.
ChallengingBrushy Mountain via Trillium Gap Trail6.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA waterfall walk climbs to a heath bald with two views.
ModerateGrotto Falls Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA shaded 2.6-mile walk to a waterfall you can walk behind.
ModerateBaskins Creek Trail to Baskins Creek Falls3.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA waterfall walk with a steep finish and a climb back.
ModerateCharlies Bunion via Appalachian Trail8 mi · 5 hr · 3 mi awayAn 8-mile Appalachian Trail out-and-back to an exposed Smokies outcrop
Lodging · 0.2 mi awayLeConte LodgeA historic hike-in lodge on Mount LeConte with family-style meals.Sight · 0.3 mi awayMyrtle PointA serious hike earns one of Le Conte's best signed views.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayCliff Tops ViewpointA wide LeConte panorama, best saved for sunset.Sight · 1.2 mi awayAlum Cave BluffsA 4.6-mile Smokies hike ends beneath a 75-foot rock overhang.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayArch RockTake the stone steps right through a natural arch.Sight · 1.5 mi awayGrotto FallsWalk behind a 25-foot waterfall on a shaded stream-crossing hike.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayRainbow FallsA steep Smokies climb to a waterfall named for its rainbows.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayBen Morton OverlookA west-facing Smokies overlook with a seasonal sunset alignment.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.
