Trail Run Project Logo

A steady climb and descent along an old roadbed through dense, diverse forests.


Your Rating: Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty:
Your Favorites: Add To-Do · Your List
Zoom in to see details
Map Key

3.9

Miles

6.3

KM

69%

Runnable

3,536' 1,078 m

High

2,201' 671 m

Low

1,342' 409 m

Up

1,104' 336 m

Down

12%

Avg Grade (7°)

27%

Max Grade (15°)

Dogs No Dogs

Features Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers

Description

The Smokemont Loop Trail begins at the lower end of the campground on an old concrete bridge over Bradley Fork that once serviced a county road following up the Oconaluftee before the newer Newfound Gap Road was built by the federal government. Beyond the bridge, the trail follows the old county road through weedy clusters of great lobelias, wild golden-glows, Joe-pye-weeds, and black-eyed Susans for 340 yards before leaving the roadbed and turning up to the right on a conventional graded path. The trail climbs only a few yards before intersecting an access path that exits left down the slope to the Bradley Cemetery. The cemetery harbors about fifty graves, most of which are marked by weathered fieldstones.

The climb continues through a pine heath and into a dry-ridge mix of pignut hickories, yellow poplars, and scarlet and chestnut oaks. A noticeably level plot of grass shaded by a grove of eastern hemlock heralds a quarter-mile approach to a ridgeline where the trail switchbacks right to begin a steep descent to Bradley Fork. From the ridgeline, Thomas Divide can be seen ranging along the far side of the Oconaluftee River Valley.

A mile below the switchback, the trail eases into a bottomland that was once cleared for farmland. At a footlog over a feeder stream, the Smokemont Loop Trail turns upstream along Bradley Fork and proceeds 120 yards to cross on a long springy footlog. Twenty-five yards above the footlog, the Smokemont!Loop Trail terminates into the Bradley Fork Trail.

This content was contributed by author Ken Wise. For a comprehensive hiking guide to the Great Smoky Mountains and to see more by Ken, click here.

Flora & Fauna

Pignut hickories, yellow poplars, scarlet and chestnut oaks, eastern hemlock, great lobelias, wild golden-glows, Joe-pye-weeds, and black-eyed Susans are abundant along the trail.

Contacts

Shared By:

Ken Wise

Trail Ratings

  4.0 from 4 votes

#4

in Oconaluftee

#11784

Overall
  4.0 from 4 votes
5 Star
25%
4 Star
50%
3 Star
25%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#4

in Oconaluftee

#455

in North Carolina

#11,784

Overall
9 Views Last Month
1,199 Since Jul 20, 2016
Intermediate/Difficult Intermediate/Difficult

0%
0%
67%
0%
33%
0%

Photos

Smokemont Baptist Church
Sep 25, 2020 near Cherokee, NC
Across the Fork to the trail.
Oct 12, 2016 near Cherokee, NC
Bridge across Bradley Fork.
Oct 12, 2016 near Cherokee, NC
The Smokemont Loop Trail serves up a steep climb that adds up to a lot of work for a short trail.
Jun 13, 2017 near Cherokee, NC

0 Comments

Weather


Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

none

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.