Dogs No Dogs
Features
River/Creek
Family Friendly
Moderate grades and a manageable length make this trail a viable option for families with children. Kids will enjoy following the creek as it handrails the trail.
The trailhead for Cooper Creek is accessed through a residential area. Obtain permission from local residents before leaving your vehicle.
Description
The Cooper Creek Trail is a short connector between the park boundary at Cooper Creek Road and the
Deeplow Gap Trail.
Access to the trailhead is 185 yards off Cooper Road.
Once inside the park, the trail follows the roadbed upstream along Cooper Creek — from the trailhead, the stream marks the park’s boundary. The two diversions to the right of the trail enter private property and are not a part of the park.
Part way up the trail, an outlet stream of Cooper Creek flows down the roadbed, often leaving the course deep in water and difficult to hike. The best option is to exit the trail to the left and follow a well-worn path that circumvents the flooded section of the trail.
The outlet stream remains in the trail for an interval of 115 yards. Immediately above this point the road forks, stay straight as the trail continues following along Cooper Creek. At this elevation the creek is more characteristic of a cut-bank stream than a mountain torrent, and thus trees encroach closely on the banks. A quarter-mile above the fork in the road hikers will encounter an old homesite before crossing Little Creek via a footlog. Shortly after the crossing, the trail ends at the intersection with
Deeplow Gap 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.
Contacts
Shared By:
Ken Wise
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