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On the Trail in the Smokies

Loop hikes from Lakeview Drive terminus

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No stretch of road—long or short—in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has generated nearly as much controversy and ill will over the years as the 6.5-mile Lakeview Drive near Bryson City. Derisively called The Road to Nowhere by many Swain County residents, the scenic drive was originally intended to extend along the entire North Shore of Fontana Lake, facilitating relatively easy access to displaced residents’ cemeteries that became remote with the building of Fontana Dam and resulting lake.  

Road construction along the North Shore was halted more than 50 years ago because of mounting environmental and economic concerns. The lingering raw feelings over that decision stem from a 1943 agreement in which the federal government agreed to build a new road along the North Shore to replace state highway 288, which was substantially submerged by the lake after Fontana Dam was completed in late 1944. Since then, visitors have encountered a strange sight: a 1,200-foot-long tunnel that is off limits to vehicle traffic, oddly signaling the unforeseen end of road construction.

As of this writing, Lakeview Drive was undergoing a $15.7-million makeover requiring full closure of the road to visitors for 90 days until mid-November 2023. According to a GSMNP news release, the reconstruction was to include “replacement of all guardrails, construction of ADA accessible parking spaces, new road signs, drainage repair and other miscellaneous work.” But no, new road construction beyond the lengthy tunnel was not in the mix and never will be according to terms of a $52-million settlement finally reached with Swain County several years ago.

Upon the road’s reopening, the parking area near the forlorn, graffiti-riddled tunnel was to revert to being the jumping-off point for several hiking options, including some lengthy ones. The 290-mile-long Benton MacKaye Trail, starting at famed Springer Mountain, Ga., and ending at Big Creek in the Smokies, also runs through the tunnel before following the road itself for a short distance and piggybacking Noland Creek Trail.

A relatively short hike, one that is especially appealing in winter because of its lower elevations, is Goldmine Loop. You can reach this trail either by walking through the infamous tunnel from the eastern terminus of Lakeshore Trail or by taking Tunnel Bypass Trail. If you do the latter, you will be hiking Goldmine Loop clockwise before connecting with Lakeshore Trail and turning right to walk through the tunnel itself. Either way, the entire hike will be under 3 miles total, though you will have descended a few hundred feet in elevation toward a finger of Fontana Lake with a hefty climb in return. Along the way you will see signs of old homesites and farm life, as well as the Goldmine Branch backcountry campsite (No. 67 on the Smokies roster.)  

A more ambitious and, in my view, enjoyable hike is a figure-eight loop that travels 9.5 miles over four trails, including a very pleasant stretch along Forney Creek. As with Goldmine Loop, you can begin the hike either by walking through the tunnel or by taking Tunnel Bypass Trail.

Upon exiting the tunnel Lakeshore Trail soon crosses the lower end of Forney Ridge, trading the Noland Creek watershed for that of Forney Creek. Through the trees are some wintertime views of Welch Ridge, crowned by the nearly mile-high High Rocks summit, before the trail begins a rather long descent. After a switchback, it travels through a moist, rhododendron-laced cove until the path reaches a junction with Whiteoak Branch Trail, where you turn right.

Soon after setting out on Whiteoak Branch Trail you reach Gray Wolf Creek, which may require a short rock-hop to cross depending on recent rainfall. You then enter a pleasant open cove before a sharp switchback precedes a descent to Whiteoak Branch and junction with Forney Creek Trail. Here you turn left to hike downstream, ascending briefly before a longer descent brings the trail near creek level.

For the next 1½ miles of downstream hiking, you’ll enjoy many lovely stream scenes through gaps in the rhododendron bordering the trail, including a number of short waterfalls and clear pools. It’s relaxing hiking on a gently descending railbed built for logging in pre-park days.

You then hike past a junction with Bear Creek Trail before arriving at a handsome backcountry campsite called Lower Forney. It’s a broad, level site, slightly above the creek, with several suitable tent sites if not a lot of privacy. The fact that it’s a horse site, and a popular one at that, with a hitching post near the middle of the camp may deter some backpackers from camping here.

From here, you turn east onto Lakeshore Trail and begin climbing out of the Forney Creek valley. As you ascend you may get a glimpse of a finger of Fontana Lake. You then cross a bridge over Gray Wolf Creek, below its Whiteoak Branch Trail crossing, and travel an old roadbed for a short distance in making your way back to the Lakeshore/ Whiteoak Branch trail junction. From the junction, it’s a steep climb up Forney Ridge.

After passing the first junction with Goldmine Loop Trail, you turn right onto Tunnel Bypass Trail, which takes you back to the parking area in about 1½ miles. The somewhat narrow path offers partial views of the formidable Welch Ridge.

Less than one half-mile from parking, you reach Goldmine Loop’s eastern terminus in an attractive open area. Soon you arrive at the Tunnel Bypass trailhead, where there’s a trail sign that, like one near the road barricade, is made of metal rather than wood. Instead of being painted on, the trail names and distances are perforated into the metal itself. Both seem destined to endure at least as long as The Road to Nowhere dispute.

About the author: Ben Anderson is author of Smokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (blairpub.com).

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