Parking
Park at the road-end trailhead beyond Twentymile Ranger Station. The small lot has no restrooms. An NPS parking tag is required for stays longer than 15 minutes.
Overview
About Twentymile Trail
Why go
- A quiet corner of the park with a streamside start
- Wide old roadbed and a steady climb through hardwood forest
Heads up
- A long out-and-back with few broad views on the main route
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map
Full mapElevation1,447–3,730 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Great Smoky Mountains alerts
- ClosureHurricane Helene trail damage and backcountry restrictionsHurricane Helene damage has restricted backcountry trail access; avoid damaged crossings and observe trail-specific limits.Official details
- CautionBear-related trail, campsite, and road restrictionsBear activity has closed trails, a shelter, and campsites and restricted pedestrian access on Cherokee Orchard Road; stay out of closed areas and follow vehicle-only rules.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Twentymile 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
Twentymile Trailhead and Cascade0:00 / 0:27
“You're nearing Twentymile trailhead, where a short creekside hike leads to Twentymile Cascade. Allow about forty-five minutes for roughly a mile and a quarter there and back, mostly on a broad gravel roadbed.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Shuckstack Fire Tower Trailhead
- Fontana Dam
- 200 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, 137 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 Twentymile Trail
Is this your hike?Twentymile Trail is a 10.
Twentymile Trail is a 10.1-mile out-and-back from the road-end trailhead to its Appalachian Trail junction. The name comes from nearby Twentymile Ranger Station, not the hike's length. Expect about five miles climbing out of a stream valley, then return the same way, with roughly 2,300 feet of ascent. Plan on about seven hours with stops. It is a quiet, full-day forest walk; most of the main route has few broad views.
Stay on the main trailThe lower path follows a wide former roadbed beside a mountain stream.
The lower path follows a wide former roadbed beside a mountain stream. About half a mile in, a junction and short spur lead to Twentymile Cascade. That separate waterfall outing is 1.2 miles round trip from the same trailhead. Continue on Twentymile Trail for the longer climb to the AT. The grade is purposeful but generally not sharply steep, and the forest keeps much of the climb shaded.
Add the tower if you want a viewTwentymile Trail ends at the AT near Shuckstack Fire Tower.
Twentymile Trail ends at the AT near Shuckstack Fire Tower. The tower is less than a mile farther along the AT and gives you a broad view above the canopy. That is an optional extension; the 10.1-mile figure stops at the Twentymile junction and doubles back.
Start preparedThe trailhead is at the road's end beyond Twentymile Ranger Station.
The trailhead is at the road's end beyond Twentymile Ranger Station. The small lot has no restrooms, and an NPS parking tag is required for stays longer than 15 minutes. Pets are prohibited on this route; park trails allowing pets are limited to Gatlinburg and Oconaluftee River.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains
1,569 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
900 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.
