Name: Alum Cave Trail
Rating: 4.6

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Land Manager: NPS - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Trail Ratings

4.6 from 24 votes

#1

in Mount Le Conte

#191

Overall

4.6 from 24 votes

5 Star		71%
4 Star		21%
3 Star		8%
2 Star		0%
1 Star		0%

Trail Rankings

23 Views Last Month

1,772 Since Nov 15, 2018

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Photos

Sep 3, 2015 near Gatlinburg, TN

Resting the legs after a long hike up. This view from atop Mt. Leconte is known as Cliff Top.

Mar 31, 2016 near Gatlinburg, TN

Dec 30, 2015 near Gatlinburg, TN

Some portions of the Alum Cave Trail have stairs.

Apr 9, 2017 near Gatlinburg, TN

Oct 17, 2016 near Gatlinburg, TN

Sep 3, 2015 near Gatlinburg, TN

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Current Trail Conditions

Minor Issues 20 days ago

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Check-Ins

Jun 20, 2025

Jacob Bobeck

7am-11am ascent/ 12pm-330pm descent 11mi

Aug 11, 2024

Aryaman S

Upto Peregrine Peak and back; Took a 15-30 min break at Arch Rock/Alum Cave Bluff. 5mi — 3h 05m

Oct 29, 2023

Jeremy Diamond

10.3mi

Jul 31, 2023

Rebecca Walthour

Jul 13, 2023

Meredith Wozniak

Jun 2, 2023

Rachel Bevier

May 23, 2023

Lauren Bricker

top of trail closed.. went to cave 1105 elevation gain 4.8mi — 2h 33m

Oct 11, 2022

Toni G

Absolutely breathtaking hike along the mountain side. The cave was massive and worth it. We got engaged with the mountain range as our backdrop❤️ 5mi

Oct 2, 2022

Amanda Alcantara

Sep 20, 2022

Alyssa Smith

Jul 24, 2022

Emily Utt

May 25, 2022

Andrew Smyth

2h 36m

Mar 30, 2022

D G

Feb 11, 2022

Lisa Shively

Beautiful hike, the creek was flowing perfectly, so clear. 53 degrees and sunny. Quite a few people out enjoying the day. 2.5mi — 1h 40m

Oct 12, 2021

Kirk Larrabee

Oct 4, 2021

Mary Underwood

Sep 10, 2021

Larry Corso

May 31, 2021

Bryanna McFarland

Pretty tricky for us, stopped quite a few times up. It coming down is always easier 5mi — 2h 20m

Nov 27, 2020

David Scott

Jul 8, 2020

Jennifer Poston

Incredible trail. We only did a small portion of it but it has beautiful creek views, incredible wildlife sightings, wooden bridges, and more.

Jul 3, 2020

Jessica Sutherland

Best hike in the south east. Micah and I found the little cabin and even had a deer get really close to us. Playing in the river, bears, weird ppl

Jul 2, 2020

Venu Gopal

10mi

Feb 18, 2020

Tim Rainey

Went halfway and back 4.6mi

Dec 14, 2019

Justin M

Nov 9, 2019

Jay Swank

Oct 14, 2019

Tammy E

Great trail!

Oct 8, 2019

Jenny Bennett

Oct 6, 2019

Ashley Neumann

4.8mi — 2h 37m

Sep 27, 2019

Jennifer Wicker

Saw the eye of the needle, and the Alum Cave 2.2mi

Aug 20, 2019

Carl M

Aug 3, 2019

Phaedra Reed

Hiked Aug 3 and went to Mount LeConte!!!!!

Aug 2, 2019

TN Vol77

Jun 5, 2019

Ted Zuzula

Went to the bluff and back

May 26, 2019

Maxx Dillon

May 26, 2019

Isabell Krueer

May 22, 2019

Sarah Hess

Apr 17, 2019

Kevin Carey

Mar 13, 2019

Matt Milburn

Jan 27, 2019

Morgan Cullen

Jan 13, 2019

Charlie Nichols

5mi

Jan 9, 2019

Ronald Griswell

The trail was absolutely breathtaking. The trip up was icey - poles and ice traction for shoes are suggested. The hike down was warm, and quick. 5.5mi

Jul 15, 2018

Melissa Postlethwait

Oct 29, 2017

Megan Hanson

Jun 27, 2016

Robert Fetters

First trip all the way to Le Conte 8:30-10:50 5mi

May 24, 2014

Arnold Bishop

8mi — 8h 00m

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Mount LeConte after a winter storm on the AT. Clouds hug the ridges and hoarfrost covers the trees.

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Alum Cave Trail

5.0

8.1

Point to Point

6,368' 1,941 m

3,856' 1,175 m

2,550' 777 m

39' 12 m

10%

26%

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Know This Trail?

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Trail Ratings

#1

#191

#1

#3

#191

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Nearby Recommended Routes

Great Smoky Mountains Peak Loop

Chimney Tops Trail

Mount Le Conte Loop

Andrews Bald Out and Back

Charlies Bunion via Kephart Loop

Gatlinburg Trail

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