Trail Map
See the Greenbrier Region web page for an interactive location map.
Length: 6 miles round-trip
Time: 3.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
The Grapeyard Ridge Trail runs between Greenbrier Road and Roaring Fork Road, a 7.7-mile one-way hike. My goal was not to hike the trail in its entirety—a 16-mile out-and-back journey without a ride waiting at one end—but to reach the wreck of an old, self-propelled steam engine used by logging companies to power a large lumber saw back before Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created. Supposedly the guy driving it was drunk and drove off the side of a cliff one day back in the 1920s, and it landed in Injun Creek where it remains to this day. I love old stuff, so this hike was one of the more highly anticipated hikes I had planned for my trip to the Smokies. By the way, the creek name is not slang for Indian, but a result of an uneducated surveyor trying to spell Engine.
I began the hike from Greenbrier Road at the eastern end of the trail. The parking area comes just before the intersection with Ramsey Prong Road. A trail sign marks the start.
Eastern trailhead for the Grapeyard Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The hike begins on a steep incline from the parking area, but this is just momentary and soon evolves into a moderate ascent with a few short stretches of level ground. Though there are hills throughout the hike, this is probably one of the easier trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Also, the terrain is quite smooth for the Smoky Mountains. There are some rocky and rooty areas, but for the most part you can walk without much concern as to where you need to plop your foot on the next step. I even saw a couple of joggers on this trail.
Typical terrain at the eastern end of the Grapeyard Ridge Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
There are two unmarked intersections within the first tenth of a mile, one branching off to the right not long after leaving the parking area and the other on the left shortly afterwards. Use common sense and continue hiking straight ahead on the main trail.
The incline comes to an end after a half mile, and following a brief descent, the trail flattens out. A few minutes later is a creek crossing, and depending on the water level, the stepping stones may be submerged. During my visit, the water came up about an inch on my boots, no problem for me since I had on waterproof boots, but those in tennis shoes will come away with wet feet.
The Grapeyard Ridge Trail crosses Rhododendron Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
For the rest of the hike the Grapeyard Ridge Trail follows Rhododendron Creek and zigzags back and forth across it a number of times. Like before, you must cross on stepping stones. The creek gets its name from the rhododendrons that populate the area, some so thick that they form tunnels over the trail.
Rhododendron tunnel on Grapeyard Ridge Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
There is only one confusing section of the trail, and this comes at the third creek crossing near the 1.25-mile point in the hike. There is a log lying across the water, and it appears as if it is meant to be some sort of bridge. However, if you cross the creek you will no longer be on the trail. Look to your right and you will see the trail through the woods, but you’d have to bushwhack your way back to it. The easiest way to continue is simply to walk up the creek until you come to what appears to be an island with water flowing along both sides (it’s actually not an island and the water on the right side is just a stagnate pool). The water is very shallow, and with boots on your feet will not get wet.
At the two-mile mark the trail begins a second incline, putting an end to a one-mile level section of the trail. It starts off much steeper than the initial climb, and it will get your heart pumping, but it lasts only for a moment before tapering off into a moderate incline. You can look down into the valley where the creek flows. It is easy to imagine a tractor running along the level area down there, and not knowing exactly where the wreck was, I began an intent scanning of the area below but never saw anything.
At 2.85 miles into the hike I had not spotted the engine and was about to give up. The uphill hiking came to an end and I now stood at the apex of the climb with a steep downhill stretch ahead of me. I had no idea if I had already passed the wreck, and I didn’t relish the idea of walking to the bottom of the hill all for nothing and then having to hike back up, but I decided to go a little farther. If I found nothing I’d turn around and keep an even closer eye on the valley on the way back. I made the right decision.
The wreck is at the bottom of the hill where the trail crosses Injun Creek; it is impossible to miss. You’ll have to make your way down into a gully, but it’s not too difficult. This may well be the coolest thing I found in the Smoky Mountains.
The upside down Nichols and Shepard stream traction engine resting in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The tractor was made in Battle Creek, Michigan, by the Nichols and Shepard Company, makers of farm machinery, steam engines, and mill machinery. Threshing machines were its main farm equipment, and the company had about 10 percent of that market by the late 1800s. Another of their products was the steam traction engine, which is what lies in Injun Creek. Basically a steam engine on wheels, this tractor was driven to and from different destinations where it could then be hooked up to any belt-driven machine and used as a source of power. In this case the engine powered a lumber saw. I found a YouTube video showing a Nichols and Shepard steam traction engine doing just that—powering a saw mill. I’m not sure if this is the same model, but the video gives you an excellent idea of what this tractor looked like and how it operated.
The most amazing thing about this engine is that it has been lying in water for nearly 100 years and it’s not that rusted. Some of the parts are missing, including one wheel, but I suppose it’s equally amazing that it hasn’t been picked clean by relic hunters. There are all sorts of ruins like this in the Smokies—machines, cars, homes, cemeteries. I ran into a guy on my very last day who grew up hiking here. His last name is Husky, and his grandmother was forced out when the park was built. You’ll come across the Husky name in many of the old cemeteries in the park. He told me about a place down by Fontana Dam where you can find dozens of old Model Ts and Model As from the Ford Company. I wish I had run into this guy earlier, because he knew where everything was.
Nichols and Shepard tractor body (upside down) and one of its rear wheels resting in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Rear wheel gears of the Nichols and Shepard tractor wreck in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Treads of the rear wheels of the Nichols and Shepard tractor wreck in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Second rear wheel of the Nichols and Shepard tractor wreck in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Front wheel and axle of the Nichols and Shepard tractor wreck in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Identification stamp on the Nichols and Shepard tractor wreck in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Inside the boiler of the Nichols and Shepard tractor wreck in Injun Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
If you hiked the Grapeyard Ridge Trail just to see the steam injun, this is the end of the line. It’s three miles to the wreck from Greenbrier Road. It took me about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there, and I spent about a half hour exploring the wreck. Since I didn’t have to stop for photos on the way back—plus I didn’t waste time looking carefully into the valley for the tractor—I made much better time. I recommend blocking out 3-4 hour for the trip, time well spent if you have an interest in antique machinery.
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Last updated on February 14, 2025
