Parking
Small roadside widening beside the Old Deep Creek Quiet Walkway marker on Newfound Gap Road, about 1.2 miles past Clingmans Dome Road; described as fitting a few cars, not a formal lot.
Overview
About Old Deep Creek Quiet Walkway
Why go
- A quick signed step into quiet forest off Newfound Gap Road.
- Spring wildflowers have been recorded along the walkway in late April.
Heads up
- The short mapped section is steep, so the return climb is noticeable.
- The faint lower continuation to Deep Creek Trail is not fully mapped.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation4,722–4,818 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts
- 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
- CautionBear-related trail, road, shelter, and campsite restrictionsBear activity has closed trails, a shelter, and campsites and restricted pedestrian access on Cherokee Orchard Road; follow the vehicle restrictions and avoid closed areas.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Old Deep Creek 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
Deep Creek Valley Overlook0:00 / 0:18
“You're nearing Deep Creek Valley Overlook, a quick roadside stop with parking beside the view. If low clouds have settled into the valley, this is a good place to pause and look down over them.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Newfound Gap and the Rockefeller Memorial
- A Waterfall as a Refuge
- Ben Morton Overlook
- The Beetle That Clicks Upright
- 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 Old Deep Creek Quiet Walkway
A short drop off the highwayOld Deep Creek Quiet Walkway is a signed point-to-point footpath off Newfound Gap Road.
Old Deep Creek Quiet Walkway is a signed point-to-point footpath off Newfound Gap Road. The mapped segment is 0.11 mile one way; if you turn around at its end, you’ll cover about 0.22 mile. The descent is steep, so the return climb takes more work than the mileage suggests. Allow roughly 20–30 minutes for an out-and-back on the mapped section.
Don’t count on the lower connectionThe route is associated with Deep Creek Trail, but the mapped line stops short of that junction.
The route is associated with Deep Creek Trail, but the mapped line stops short of that junction. A 2015 field account describes about 0.3 mile from the road to the junction and says the lower two-thirds were faint, with vegetation and downed limbs. That account is the last detailed description available, so treat the through-connection as uncertain. If you’re walking only the mapped section, plan to retrace it rather than relying on a shortcut into Deep Creek Trail.
What the forest opens ontoThe quick drop screens Newfound Gap Road behind rhododendron and red spruce.
The quick drop screens Newfound Gap Road behind rhododendron and red spruce. With leaves off, there’s a glimpse through the trees into the Deep Creek valley, not a broad overlook. A late-April visit found Spring Beauty, Fringed Phacelia and Trout Lily among the flowers along the walkway.
Finding the entranceLook for the small Quiet Walkway marker at a wide spot on Newfound Gap Road, about 1.
Look for the small Quiet Walkway marker at a wide spot on Newfound Gap Road, about 1.2 miles past Clingmans Dome Road. The roadside space was described as holding only a few cars, so don’t expect a formal parking lot. Ordinary pets aren’t allowed on this trail; the park permits them on only two designated trails.
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.
