Chestnut Top Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Overview: As a ranger in the Smokies, Chestnut Top was one of my favorite trails to introduce visitors the vast diversity of life found in these mountains. It is a great hike year-round, but it truly shines in April, during the peak of wildflowers. The first mile or so will take you along rich soils that give rise to a spectacular array of wildflower species. On one trip, we counted more than 50 different species in bloom. After a mile the trail turns at the ridgeline which marks the border of the park. The slopes are now drier and so the species turn to pine, oak, and laurel, you might even spot the namesake of the trail, an American Chestnut Tree, root-sprouts only the majestic tree has been decimated by a fungus. In the fall, this stretch is a great place to observe bears in their natural habitat.

Tips: Chestnut Top's Trailhead is at the Townsend Wye. This is where the Middle Prong and East Prongs of the Little River merge in a near head-on collision to form the Little River. By road, the trailhead is just inside the park boundaries where Route 73 from Townsend, Little River Road from Gatlinburg, and Laurel Creek Road from Cades Cove merge. There is some parking, but come early. Photographers fill the lot in spring and bathers fill it in the summer.
The trail climbs for 2 ¾ miles until it tops Chestnut Top itself. It will then drop to Bryant Gap at mile 3.25. The remaining mile will undulate up and down until you reach the junction with Schoolhouse Gap Trail at the park boundary. From here you may backtrack to the trailhead, turn right and leave the park or turn left and follow Schoolhouse Gap Trail 2 miles to Laurel Creek Road.