Parking
Park at the Deep Creek Trailhead lot at the end of Deep Creek Road. A parking tag is required for stays longer than 15 minutes; no reservation is required.
Overview
About Tom Branch Falls Trail
Why go
- A tiered waterfall is an easy, short walk from the trailhead.
- Benches face the falls across Deep Creek.
Heads up
- Summer foliage can hide the falls and their sign.
- Dogs are prohibited on this trail.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation1,913–2,096 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 Tom Branch Falls 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
Deep Creek Waterfalls and Picnic Area0:00 / 0:34
“You're coming up on Deep Creek, where waterfall walks and a creekside picnic can fill a relaxed afternoon.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Boulders from a Colder Smokies
- Flowers Across the Lake
- Fontana's Wartime Power
- Room for the Next Rain
- 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 Tom Branch Falls Trail
The quick falls walkTom Branch Falls Trail is a 0.
Tom Branch Falls Trail is a 0.5-mile round-trip out-and-back on lower Deep Creek Trail, following a broad path upstream to a multi-tiered waterfall across Deep Creek. Allow about an hour if you want to sit at the viewing area. This is the short waterfall stop; for more walking, continue to Indian Creek Falls on the separate 1.6-mile round trip, or take the 2.4-mile loop that visits three falls.
Following Deep CreekThe approach continues from the trailhead along a paved section, then turns to gravel beyond a…
The approach continues from the trailhead along a paved section, then turns to gravel beyond a turnaround. It is wide and mostly level, with the creek beside you. The falls can be surprisingly easy to pass when summer foliage hides the sign: look for the small clearing by a large oak and the benches facing the cascade across the water.
A small name storyThe falls break into several tiers as they drop over rock ledges into Deep Creek.
The falls break into several tiers as they drop over rock ledges into Deep Creek. Local place-name accounts say the branch was probably named for Tom Wiggins, who operated a gristmill here from 1854 to 1892; that connection is plausible, not certain. Winter and early spring, especially after rain, generally make the falls easier to see; summer leaves and lower flow can hide them.
Making the stopPark at the Deep Creek Trailhead at the end of Deep Creek Road.
Park at the Deep Creek Trailhead at the end of Deep Creek Road. A parking tag is required for stays longer than 15 minutes, and no reservation is required. The nearby Deep Creek Picnic Area is a separate stop with tables, grills and a pavilion; no food service is on the route. Dogs are prohibited on this trail.
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.
