Chimney Tops Trail
Chimney Tops Trail, about halfway between Newfound Gap and Sugarlands Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has long been a crazily popular path. The prominent twin spires—rocky outcrops that resemble natural chimneys—at the end of the short but steep route rank as one of the park’s most visited trail destinations.
Unfortunately, the Chimneys area also is now known as the site where the most devastating fire in park history originated: the Chimney Tops 2 blaze in late 2016. Although the fire somewhat miraculously spared park structures, it did scorch 11,000 acres of park forestland as it roared northward on its way to a night of terror and tragedy in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, that claimed 14 lives.
Enduring effects of the catastrophic fire also truncated Chimney Tops Trail itself. Because the incinerated area is now prone to erosion, hikers are now obliged to hike only as far as a Chimneys overlook rather than scrambling up rock faces for even more commanding views. Yet the views from the overlook continue to make it a worthwhile destination.
It should be noted that because of the path’s continuing popularity, parking is often limited or nonexistent at the trailhead parking area. In addition, access to the trail frequently isn’t possible from Newfound Gap Road as a result of road closures that can occur most any time of year, as was the case this past August when the transmountain road washed out south of Alum Cave Bluffs trailhead and closed the Tennessee section of the road for six weeks.
Yet if the path is in fact accessible from Newfound Gap Road, you will appreciate the excellent trail rehabilitation work accomplished several years ago by the Trails Forever crew. Nearly 400 rock steps were laid during the rehabbing; almost 300 locust log steps were constructed; and roughly 700 square feet of retaining walls were built as part of the $450,000 project that took about three years to finish. Heavy foot traffic notwithstanding, the open section of the trail remains much easier to hike than it was before the rehab though you should still be prepared for significant elevation change over its relatively short length.
Chimney Tops Trail
Despite the steep climb to the Chimneys, you initially go downhill from the trailhead in order to cross Walker Camp Prong on a foot bridge. The trail then climbs to clear Road Prong, which joins forces with Walker Camp Prong to form yet another prong: the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River. Soon the trail passes, on the left, the terminus of Road Prong Trail that has followed a wet, rocky course from the Smokies crest and Appalachian Trail. At this point Chimney Tops Trail begins climbing in earnest toward its destination.
As you start ascending sharply via rock and log steps, the valley, creased by a tributary of Road Prong, begins to resemble a ravine more than a valley. The climb is unrelenting until a switchback swings the trail to the left, followed in short order by another that sends the path back to the right on a northerly course toward the Chimneys. From this point, the climbing is mostly moderate, not unlike many well-graded trails in the Smokies.
At a clearing, there’s a fine view of both Mingus Lead and Sugarland Mountain, the two towering ridges flanking Road Prong Trail. Here you’re closing in on the Chimneys. You then round a bend in the trail, where the path briefly becomes miry, and enjoy a straight-on view of the soaring Chimney pinnacles that are such an attraction. Because of the devastating fire, this point is now the end of the line for Chimney Tops Trail, still a worthwhile adventure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ben Anderson is author of Smokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (blairpub.com).