Chimney Top

Great Smoky Mountains National Park encompasses 800 square miles of land and 95 percent of it is forested. In the park, the Appalachian Trail follows the ridges between the states of North Carolina and Tennessee, and it crosses the highest point on the entire Trail at Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet. The Smokies get more annual visitors than any other National Park in the U.S., but surprisingly most people never see the backcountry which has some of the most pristine wilderness in the Southeast.

The Chimney Tops trail is a steep 1300′ climb to a rocky formation made of quartzite and slate. The Chimney Tops rise sharply from the surrounding valley and are a worthy site on their own. But from a recently created platform you can view the surrounding mountains – including Mount LeConte (6,593′) across the valley.  In the first mile the trail is fairly mild – crossing a series of bridges over Road Prong Creek and ascending only about 300′. However, the Chimney Tops trail gets much more difficult – climbing nearly 1000′ in the final mile.  The trail was ravaged by fire in 2016 and only recently reopened to the public. The National Park Service still has the final 0.2 miles of the trail gated off to hikers to prevent the badly burned area from further erosion.