Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN · NC
Creek fords and a wooded ridge link two remote park ends.
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 trailhead
Abrams Creek Campground and Cooper Road“You're approaching Abrams Creek Campground, a small, seasonal base beside the water. Its sixteen sites need reservations, and there's no cell reception or camp store, so book and buy supplies before driving in.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More 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
Rabbit Creek Trail is a 7.7-mile one-way route between Abrams Creek Ranger Station and the Abrams Falls Trailhead. It connects the two areas through wooded ridges and several creek crossings. Allow about five hours for this leg, plus time for breaks and water crossings. It suits hikers ready for a long backcountry day; it is more commitment than a short walk to the falls.
This is a point-to-point route, not a loop. Leave a car at each end or arrange a ride; walking back the same way makes it about 15.4 miles. A separate loop can use Abrams Falls and part of Hannah Mountain, but that adds other trails and is not the line mapped here.
From the ranger-station end, Rabbit Creek reaches the Hannah Mountain junction near Campsite 16, then continues toward Cades Cove past Campsite 15. The route climbs over Pine Mountain and Coon Butt; the sources describe an open view near Pine Mountain, while much of the walk stays in the woods. Coon Butt uses an old landform term for an isolated, steep-sided hill with a flatter top. Campsite 15 is a backcountry stop along the trail, with a water source described there for refills.
Expect creek crossings, including a broad Abrams Creek ford. Rabbit Creek can be rock-hopped only when the water is low; the broad Abrams Creek ford may be deep during high water, and crossings get harder after rain. Do not attempt a crossing when the water is unsafe. Pets are prohibited 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
ModerateCooper Road Trail10.9 mi · 7 hr · 0.2 mi awayA long old road linking Abrams Creek with Cades Cove.
ModerateCane Creek Trail10.5 mi · 6 hr · 0.3 mi awayCreek crossings, reclaimed farmland, and a cemetery above the path.
ModerateLittle Bottoms Trail2.3 mi · 1.3 hr · 1 mi awayA rough backcountry link from Cooper Road to Hatcher Mountain.
EasyLook Rock Tower Trail1 mi · 36 min · 1.6 mi awayA short, paved climb to a tower with Smoky Mountain views.
EasyGold Mine Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayAn old-road climb from Cooper Road toward Gold Mine Gap.
ModerateHatcher Mountain Trail2.8 mi · 1.8 hr · 3.2 mi awayA pine-lined connector with May blooms and winter ridge glimpses.
ModerateAbrams Falls Trail5 mi · 3 hr · 4.8 mi awayFive forest miles to a 25-foot waterfall over sandstone.ChallengingAbrams Falls, Hannah Mountain and Rabbit Creek Loop11.1 mi · 8 hr · 4.8 mi awayA demanding 11-mile loop pairs Abrams Falls with three creek fords.
Campground · 0.2 mi awayAbrams Creek CampgroundA quiet creekside base for camping and longer trail days.
Sight · 1.7 mi awayLook Rock TowerA 1967 tower at a mountain lookout with 19th-century history.
Picnic area · 2 mi awayLook Rock Picnic AreaA 51-site picnic stop beneath the trees along Foothills Parkway West.
Campground · 2 mi awayLook Rock CampgroundWooded campsites with a short trail to the Look Rock tower.Sight · 3.2 mi awayAbrams FallsA 25-foot cascade makes the long Cades Cove hike pay off.
Sight · 4.8 mi awayElijah Oliver PlaceA short walk to a farmstead with Cades Cove’s only surviving springhouse.
Sight · 5.4 mi awayCable Mill Historic AreaSee an 1870s mill where water powered a working cove.
Visitor center · 5.5 mi awayCades Cove Visitor CenterA handy loop break with a water-powered mill right beside it.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.
