Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN · NC
A steep climb to a shaded cove and a small cascade.
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
The Younger Rocks Under Cades Cove“The rocks beneath Cades Cove are younger than the rocks in the mountains around it. During mountain building, a huge sheet of older rock was pushed over younger limestone.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from the 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
Rich Mountain Trail is a 4.6-mile out-and-back from Rich Mountain Road to backcountry Campsite 5 on Double Mountain. You walk the 2.29-mile trail in and back out the same way, gaining about 1,550 feet on the climb. Allow around four hours, with time for the creek crossings. The uphill starts right away, so this is for hikers who want a sustained climb and a shaded cove at the far end, not a quick stop. The 8.5-mile Rich Mountain Loop is a different outing that adds neighboring trails.
The trail climbs through Christmas ferns and pine-oak forest, then follows a dry ridge. Around 0.2 mile it leaves the road corridor. Some western views near 0.8 mile are partly blocked; at about 1.2 miles, the trail reaches the park boundary and opens to partial views toward Dry Valley.
At about 1.9 miles, the trail reaches Hesse Creek, with a small cascade below it. The final quarter mile crosses the creek several times, so expect to pick your way over rocks. The upper cove is shaded, cool and damp. The trail ends at Campsite 5, a small backcountry site on Double Mountain; a signed spring is about 100 yards downhill, but its water treatment status is not established. Overnight camping requires an advance permit and reservation.
The trail starts at Rich Mountain Road. That road is one-way and seasonal, scheduled open April 10 through November 9; high-clearance vehicles are recommended, and long vehicles and passenger vehicles towing trailers are prohibited. Dogs are not allowed on this trail. Check current road and trail conditions before setting out.
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
ModerateAce Gap Trail10.7 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA shaded ridge walk and an old logging railroad crossing.
ModerateScott Mountain Trail3.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayRhododendron, a spring crossing, and old forest on a ridge connector.
ChallengingCrooked Arm Ridge Trail4.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.7 mi awaySteep forest gives way to a late view into Cades Cove
EasyJohn Oliver Cabin Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 2.7 mi awayA short paved walk to a preserved cabin and its homesite.
ModerateRich Mountain Loop Trail8.5 mi · 5 hr · 3 mi awayAn 8.5-mile loop with a cove view and a waterfall finish
EasyCades Cove Horse Trail2.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.1 mi awayA wooded point-to-point trail shared with horses.
ChallengingRocky Top and Thunderhead Mountain Trail13.9 mi · 9.5 hr · 3.4 mi awayA steep day to Rocky Top and Thunderhead's quiet high point.ChallengingSpence Field and Russell Field Loop13.2 mi · 8 hr · 3.4 mi awayA strenuous loop from Anthony Creek to two high Smokies meadows.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayJohn Oliver CabinA short walk to Cades Cove’s oldest preserved cabin.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayCades Cove Methodist ChurchA modest church with two doors and one surprising congregation story.
Sight · 2.8 mi awayCades Cove Missionary Baptist ChurchA quiet church stop with a story dating to 1839.
Sight · 3 mi awayCades Cove Primitive Baptist ChurchA hand-built 1887 church beside the cove’s oldest cemetery.
Sight · 3.1 mi awayCades Cove Riding StablesA horse, carriage or hayride gives the cove a different pace.
Store · 3.3 mi awayCades Cove Campground StoreBike rentals, camp supplies and soft-serve before the loop.
Picnic area · 3.3 mi awayCades Cove Picnic AreaCreekside lunch tables and charcoal grills at the loop entrance.
Campground · 3.4 mi awayCades Cove CampgroundA woodland base for the cove's historic loop and wildlife.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.
