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On the Trail in the Smokies

Twentymile Loop

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If you’re looking for a moderate, low-elevation hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the winter, the Twentymile Creek section is a good place to go. 

Although the altitude on the Tennessee side of GSMNP dips as low as 876 feet—nearly 200 feet lower than that of the city of Atlanta – Twentymile’s lowest elevation of about 1,300 feet is the closest you can get to sea level on the North Carolina side. Often muggy and buggy in summer, Twentymile offers a fine hiking option in winter if you don’t mind a bit of a drive to get there. 

Regarding that drive, the Twentymile area of the Smokies park is located several winding miles northwest of Fontana Village Resort, off N.C. 28. At the Lake Cheoah bridge below Fontana Dam, the road departs Graham County to re-enter Swain County. The Swain reprise is the result of the damming of the Little Tennessee River during World War II, creating Fontana Lake and flooding several Swain communities plus much of a state highway that had provided access to what became the sprawling lake’s north shore. 

Upon exiting N.C. 28 past the Cheoah bridge, you follow a short park road that leads past Twentymile Ranger Station to a small gravel parking area where Twentymile Trail begins. The trail follows an old rail grade used in the 1920s by the Kitchen Lumber Company for its extensive logging operations. The Civilian Conservation Corps upgraded it to a jeep road in the 1930s with the establishment of the Smokies park. 

Twentymile acquired its name long before the onslaught of industrial logging began in the Smokies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name reputedly refers to the distance Cherokee Indians were forced to march in 1838, as part of one route of the merciless Trail of Tears removal, from a point along the Little Tennessee River to Dalton Gap at the Tennessee state line. The Appalachian Trail passed through Dalton Gap before being rerouted after World War II to cross the top of the recently completed Fontana Dam.

At the start of the hike, Twentymile Creek is strewn with fallen trees, many of them likely toppled by a fierce storm that blew through several years ago. In one-half mile, just above a bridge crossing Moore Spring Branch, you reach a junction where you can turn right to continue on Twentymile Trail or turn left to pick up Wolf Ridge Trail. The latter heads up the branch, whose breadth and depth would seem to rate no less than creek status. Regardless of its designation, it’s a beautiful stream whose source is indeed the reliable Moore Spring, high on the North Carolina side of the Smokies crest.

Although you can complete the 7.6-mile hike either way, I recommend bearing left at the junction and hiking the loop clockwise in the event high water makes a handful of branch crossings difficult despite their foot logs—a vital consideration in winter. If the crossings prove daunting, you can turn back toward Twentymile Trail before having hiked several miles from the opposite direction. 

During its first mile or so, to its junction with Twentymile Loop Trail, Wolf Ridge Trail dances back and forth across the lovely branch via its foot logs. The crossings are typically easy enough to negotiate, as none of them exceeds a dozen paces or so. But again, all bets are off if there’s been a foot-log washout or water levels are unusually high, making the branch seem more like a small river. 

Soon you pick up Twentymile Loop Trail, which courses nearly three miles east to Proctor Field Gap. At the gap you reconnect with Twentymile Trail, veering right on it in order to return to the trailhead in just over three more miles.

About 100 yards before returning to the bridge crossing Moore Spring Branch, look for a short side trail on your left that leads you to Twentymile Creek Cascade. It’s a nice additional reward for your efforts in hiking a remote but beautiful part of the Smokies. Perhaps best of all, you don’t need to hike anywhere near 20 miles to enjoy it. 

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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