Grotto Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

See the Gatlinburg Region web page for an interactive location map.

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Length: 1.4 miles, one way
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy to moderate

The trailhead for the Trillium Gap Trail is located on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a loop road near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. In fact, the road you must take to get there, Cherokee Orchard Road, actually begins in Gatlinburg, so you may have to travel through the downtown area to reach it, and that alone can be a traffic nightmare.

As you drive along Cherokee Orchard Road and eventually the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, you will first come to the parking area for the Rainbow Falls Trail. The Trillium Gap Trail actually begins here, but the only reason to start here is if you are planning a hike to the top of Mount LeConte and want to make a loop hike by combining the Rainbow Falls Trail and Trillium Gap Trail. This way you end up back at the same parking lot at the end of your hike. However, if all you want to do is hike to Grotto Falls, then continue down Cherokee Orchard Road, enter the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Trail, and use the parking lot specifically for the Trillium Gap Trail. It is about two miles between the two parking lots, and this shaves off 1.7 miles from the hike.

During the tourist season—particularly in the fall—you won’t get near either parking area if you arrive much after sunrise. I tried to hike the Trillium Gap Trail four times during my fall visit. The three times I arrived in the late morning or early afternoon, I just left due to the parking situation. On my fourth try I arrived at 8 AM and still had to park pretty far down the road. People were parking anywhere they could fit a car. You may end up hiking as far from your car to the trailhead as you will to Groto Falls.

Parking situation at the Trillium Gap Trail parking area

The Trillium Gap Trail runs for nearly seven miles to the top of Mount LeConte, but most everyone is only hiking 1.4 miles to Grotto Falls, making it a 2.8-mile round-trip hike. Waterfall trails are always the most popular at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so you might as well be hiking in downtown New York City (or Gatlinburg, for that matter). However, go beyond the falls and you are likely to be all alone.

Trailhead at the Trillium Gap Trail parking area

The hike begins on a connector trail that proceeds up a small hill for .2 mile until reaching the actual Trillium Gap Trail. You have the option to hike towards the Rainbow Falls Trail or to Grotto Falls. Hiking beyond the falls takes you to the top of Mount LeConte.

The trail surface is largely free of rocks and roots, a rarity for a trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In fact, much of it is as smooth as a dirt road. The hike is a series of short, level stretches followed by mild ascents up the mountain. The National Park Service claims it is moderate in difficulty, but it’s an easy moderate. When I visited, an old lady with a hunchback and a cane made it to the top. I don’t know if that’s a testament to the trail’s difficulty or if that was Wonder Woman when she got old. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.

Typical terrain on the Trillium Gap Trail on the way to Grotto Falls

Just before reaching the waterfall is a fairly large cascade of water that might be mistaken as Grotto Falls. The real waterfall is just a few minutes farther ahead.

Cascade before Grotto Falls

Path leading up to Grotto Falls

Grotto Falls is one of the better waterfalls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fact that the hike isn’t very long and it is pretty easy makes it all the better. If you see people standing behind the waterfall, they didn’t ignore warning signs about danger and climb down to it anyway. The Trillium Gap Trail actually goes behind the falls. You won’t even get wet—I didn’t even feel a mist.

Standing behind Grotto Falls

Unless you are continuing on to the top of Mount LeConte, this is the end of the hike. It is 1.4 miles from the parking lot to the waterfall, and it takes about an hour to get there. I spent a little over two hours on the hike, including time to take photos. As mentioned, Rainbow Falls is also in the area, but if you only have time to hike to one waterfall, Grotto Falls is definitely the better of the two.

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