Parking
Park at Cades Cove Picnic Area. The Anthony Creek trailhead is at the far end of the picnic area.
Overview
About Russell Field Trail
Why go
- A remnant meadow, historic grazing site and shelter at the Appalachian Trail.
Heads up
- A long, steep out-and-back with rocky creek crossings.
Russell Field is a hard, roughly 9.6-mile out-and-back from the Anthony Creek trailhead at Cades Cove Picnic Area to Russell Field Shelter on the Appalachian Trail. The route follows Anthony Creek first, then climbs the named Russell Field Trail to a high ridge. Allow six to seven hours and about 2,250 feet of climbing. Most of the walk is under trees, with a steep, rocky upper climb. This is a full day on foot, not a quick walk to an overlook. The shelter is the turnaround; the longer Russell and Spence Field loop continues east and is a different hike.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation2,096–4,354 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 Russell Field 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
Cades Cove Picnic Area0:00 / 0:28
“Ahead is Cades Cove Picnic Area, at the entrance to the one-way loop road. I'd use it for a lunch break under the trees, with tables between Abrams Creek and Green Branch Creek.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Cades Cove Campground Store and Riding Stables
- Rich Mountain Loop Trailhead
- Lead Cove and Finley Cane Trailheads
- John Oliver Cabin
- 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 Russell Field Trail
Up Anthony Creek, then climbStart from the far end of the picnic area on Anthony Creek Trail.
Start from the far end of the picnic area on Anthony Creek Trail. It follows the creek through forest, passes the Crib Gap junction about three-tenths of a mile in, then goes by Anthony Creek Horse Camp. Turn right at the Russell Field Trail junction. The named trail climbs steeply beside Left Prong, with a short footlog and rocky creek crossings. Campsite 10 on Leadbetter Ridge is an early landmark on the climb.
Past the campsite, the grade steepens through mixed hardwoods and hemlocks. A switchback brings you into rhododendron, and gaps in the trees open a view toward Rich Mountain across Cades Cove. The trail is shared with horses, and the upper section gets rockier underfoot.
The field and shelterNear the end, short side paths lead to a small meadow, the remnant of a much larger clearing.
Near the end, short side paths lead to a small meadow, the remnant of a much larger clearing. Cades Cove residents cleared Russell Field for sheep and cattle; forest has reclaimed most of it, so this is a historic grazing field rather than a natural grassy bald. The name may refer to Russell Gregory, a Cades Cove settler killed in 1863, though that connection is uncertain. In late spring and early summer, mountain laurel and rhododendron may bloom around the ridge.
Russell Field Shelter sits beside the Appalachian Trail junction and marks the end of this hike. Frame the meadow with the surrounding treeline if you stop for a photo; it shows how much of the old clearing has grown back. Turn around at the shelter unless you have planned the longer loop and its return route.
Access and waterPark at Cades Cove Picnic Area and walk to the Anthony Creek trailhead at its far end.
Park at Cades Cove Picnic Area and walk to the Anthony Creek trailhead at its far end. No exact parking capacity or overflow pattern was established. A 2016 trail account reported a spring near the upper end, but its current reliability was not verified. Bring enough water for the full hike and treat any water you collect. Dogs are not allowed on this trail; trained service animals are permitted where visitors may go. A day hike does not use the shelter reservation system, but an overnight stay requires a backcountry campsite reservation.
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.
