Name: Cades Cove Nature Trail
Rating: 4.5

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Dogs Unknown

Features River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Family Friendly Gives your kids a new appreciation for wildlife.

Description

Cades Cove is a broad, verdant valley surrounded by mountains and is one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies. It offers some of the best opportunities for wildlife viewing in the park. This short loop allows you to experience the rich history of the valley as you you'll pass through open fields, dense forest, and over creeks. This loop is a memorable trip you'll never forget, and you may want to come back every year. At the beginning of this trail is a campground that is open year round.

Flora & Fauna

The area is home to many diverse animal species, from turkeys and deer to bear. You may even catch sight of a fox!

Contacts

Local Club: Smoky Mountains Hiking Club

Land Manager: NPS - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Shared By:

Parker Hertenstein with improvements by Jay Fulton

Full Details

Trail Ratings

4.5 from 16 votes

#1

in Cades Cove

#502

Overall

4.5 from 16 votes

5 Star		56%
4 Star		38%
3 Star		6%
2 Star		0%
1 Star		0%

Trail Rankings

13 Views Last Month

5,635 Since Sep 4, 2015

		8%
		17%
		67%
		0%
		8%
		0%

0 Comments

Weather

Current Trail Conditions

Unknown

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Check-Ins

Jul 6, 2026

Avrohom Ausband

Jun 18, 2026

Anonymous

Apr 21, 2024

Rachel Solorio

Apr 14, 2024

Jacee Reihing

Mar 25, 2024

Anson Han

0.8mi — 4h 48m

Nov 24, 2023

Summer King

Nov 1, 2023

Connie Ruiz

Sep 5, 2023

Aaron Fagerwick

Saw a mother black bear and two cubs 0.9mi — 0h 24m

Aug 6, 2023

Debbie Meade

Feb 6, 2023

Ron Digby

1h 30m

Feb 6, 2023

Theresa Digby

1h 30m

Sep 29, 2022

Angie Marsh

Jun 13, 2022

Rachel Hill

Dec 16, 2021

Michael Vifquain

Sep 28, 2021

Wendy White

Jun 16, 2021

Zachary Troyer

0.8mi

Jun 13, 2021

jeff nye

May 9, 2021

Heather Franke

Apr 25, 2021

Private User

Apr 5, 2021

Merideth Miller

Oct 6, 2020

Anna Wallace

Aug 13, 2020

Daniel McCloskey

Jul 29, 2020

Sara Mills

May 22, 2020

Amy Streifer

Nov 24, 2019

Tara Harris

Oct 7, 2019

Mark Parrish

Oct 1, 2019

Kasia Reiley

Sep 25, 2019

Sydney Herron

Aug 30, 2019

Sung Chung

Neat little trail close to campgrounds. Only 1 marker for trail so you may miss it if your not looking. Lots of deer and other critters. Roots a… 0.8mi — 0h 20m

Aug 23, 2019

Morgan Jurkowski

Jul 30, 2019

Melissa B

Jul 21, 2019

Sean Sparks

.8 miles

Jul 10, 2019

Zach Anzelmo

Jul 9, 2019

Jeff Hogan

Jun 22, 2019

Mariay Cm

May 21, 2019

Crystal Blair

May 11, 2019

Patrick Olchawa

Fun short hike with some educational signs to boot. 1.1mi

May 1, 2019

francis Matejik

Apr 26, 2019

Kim Scalamandre-Lee

Apr 25, 2019

Kim Scalamandre-Lee

Jan 27, 2019

Morgan Cullen

Oct 18, 2018

Bryan Younger

Sep 7, 2018

Linda Brown

Jul 1, 2018

Alexandra Joan

May 22, 2018

Steve Bair

May 6, 2018

Joel Lawson

Apr 29, 2018

Megan McKinney

Apr 22, 2018

Leslie Dobbelstein

Mar 10, 2018

Melissa B

Dec 31, 2017

Chris Frazier

0.8mi

Nov 28, 2017

Erin Chakalos

Oct 29, 2017

Tamer A

Sep 9, 2017

Joe King

Aug 16, 2017

Janelle Terry

Jul 29, 2017

Naomi C

1mi

May 28, 2017

Alicia Leo

May 8, 2017

Vingoosel Beezy

Mar 18, 2017

Jessica Nelson

Sep 4, 2016

Amelia Conner

Aug 31, 2016

Diane Pastor

Bike 11mi

Aug 28, 2016

Opal Rathbone-Duncan

Aug 10, 2016

Sandra Marocco

MOFF

Aug 10, 2016

Matthew Koczanski

Jul 22, 2016

Liz Whitley

Just beautiful and peaceful

Jul 19, 2016

Erica Miller

Jul 10, 2016

Shaoyi Zhang

Mar 5, 2016

August Huang

Nov 27, 2015

Jon Walk

Drove it 0.8mi

Nov 21, 2015

Katie Stansbery

Apr 27, 2014

Heather Knouse

Mar 10, 2014

Omnia Bsiso

Jul 16, 2012

Julie Navrotsky

Jul 5, 2010

Brian Larkin

May 21, 2010

Holly Molly

Aug 1, 2004

Bridget Simpson

Sep 20, 2002

Grace Koehn

0.8mi

Sep 15, 2002

Grace Koehn

0.8mi

Nearby Recommended Routes

The path narrows as it works its way through the fields of Spence Field. Imagine fields like this being used for cattle grazing when settlers lived in the park.

Spence Field Loop

13.7 mi 22.0 km • 3,125' Up 952.51 m Up • 3,125' Down 952.37 m Down

Robbins…, NC

Looking south from the AT, you can see Fontana Lake in the distance.

Jakes Creek AT Loop

24.5 mi 39.4 km • 4,600' Up 1402.01 m Up • 4,600' Down 1402.23 m Down

Gatlinburg, TN

An old abandoned cottage at the beginning of the Little River Trail in Elkmont. You can find a community of vacation homes from the 1920s in Elkmont before the the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established in 1934.

Cucumber Gap Loop

5.5 mi 8.8 km • 774' Up 235.94 m Up • 735' Down 224.18 m Down

Gatlinburg, TN

The trail is narrow through this section and climbs along the ridges under a canopy of trees. Here, two hikers descend from Twentymile Trail toward Wolf Ridge Trail

Twentymile Loop Trail

8.0 mi 12.8 km • 1,385' Up 422.02 m Up • 1,384' Down 421.98 m Down

Robbins…, NC

Laurel Falls

2.5 mi 4.1 km • 351' Up 107 m Up • 351' Down 106.93 m Down

Gatlinburg, TN

Plenty of mountains to view from Clingman's Dome.

Kuwohi (fka Clingmans Dome)

1.3 mi 2.1 km • 327' Up 99.71 m Up • 326' Down 99.42 m Down

Bryson…, NC

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Cades Cove Nature Trail

“A great loop full of wildlife and historic structures. ”

0.8

1.3

Loop

2,148' 655 m

1,942' 592 m

210' 64 m

198' 60 m

9%

24%

Toolbox

Know This Trail?

Dogs Unknown

Features River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Family Friendly Gives your kids a new appreciation for wildlife.

Description

Flora & Fauna

Contacts

Shared By:

Trail Ratings

#1

#502

#1

#7

#502

0 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

Check-Ins

Nearby Recommended Routes

Spence Field Loop

Jakes Creek AT Loop

Cucumber Gap Loop

Twentymile Loop Trail

Laurel Falls

Kuwohi (fka Clingmans Dome)

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