Hi there!
In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there’s a spot known as the Alum Cave Bluffs.
Here you can see a unique geological formation!
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To get to the Alum Cave Bluffs, along the way you’ll also pass by another unique rock formation and hike through a rock, walk across a long bridge, and also pass by Inspiration Point for scenic views of the Smoky Mountains.
Then, you’ll take some final stairs to make it to the cave bluffs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park!
This is one of the best hikes in the Smoky Mountains!
You can make it a hike to the cave bluffs and turn back around. Some people will continue hiking on the trail further onwards for more spectacular views.
Here are the 2 most popular day hiking options for the Alum Cave Trail, which is the trail you’ll take to hike to Alum Cave Bluffs.
1. Hike to the Alum Cave Bluffs and back
Around 5 miles round trip
Or keep going…
2. Hike to Mt LeConte summit and back!
This will take you to around 6,593 ft (2,010m), said to be the third highest peak in the Smoky Mountains. The Mount LeConte hike is possibly THE solid day hike to do in the Smoky Mountains. This is around 10-11 miles round trip, depending on where you go once in the summit area. For example you can hike to Myrtle Point.
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Below will focus on hiking to the Alum Cave Bluffs only.
More pictures from the hiking trail below, but first…
Basics about the hike to Alum Cave Bluffs
According to the National Park Service:
Alum Cave Bluffs is actually not a cave but a concave cliff 80 feet tall.
On rainy days, the bluff is a dry place to rest while the wet weather passes.
You’ll take the Alum Cave Trail to get to the Alum Cave Bluffs
The distance of this hiking trail to Alum Cave Bluffs is around 2.3 miles one way, so 4.6 miles round trip.
The elevation at the trailhead is around 3,834 ft (1,169m). The elevation at the Alum Cave Bluffs is around 4,970 ft 1,515m). So there is around a 1,136 ft elevation gain in 2.3 miles.
It is officially recommended to allow around 1.5 hours to hike up to the Alum Cave Bluffs one way, and then you can expect that it will likely take a little less than 1.5 hours to hike back down. So it could be good to give yourself around 3 hours for this hike. You might want to spend some time at the bluffs too!
Pack a light picnic lunch and you can sit and eat under the iconic bluffs!
The Alum Cave trailhead is on the popular Newfound Gap Road of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Your destination for google maps can be Alum Cave Bluffs trailhead parking or Alum Cave Bluffs trailhead.
If you’re coming from Gatlinburg, the drive to the Alum Cave trailhead is around a 25 minute drive… if there’s no traffic!
Self-guided tour of Alum Cave Bluffs Trail
At the trailhead, you’ll find a little tour booklet (nature trail guide) that can give you more info about the landscape you’ll see as you’re walking.
The tour book at Alum Cave Bluffs costs $1 so bring along dollar bills so you can pay for it! You can also find them at a Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitor center. If you still have time before your Smoky Mountains vacation, you can order the Alum Cave Bluffs self-guided tour booklet online, along with the Smokies starter kit of tour booklets.
For example, according to the Alum Cave Bluffs nature trail guide:
The Alum Cave Bluffs is an outcrop of the Anakeesta rock formation which is high in sulfur and has interesting chemical properties where it is exposed and weathering.
There are these types of booklets you can find at different areas of the park, so if this sort of thing interests you, it’s good to make sure you bring along dollar bills for your trip to the Smoky Mountains!
No dogs on the trail to Alum Cave Bluffs
In general, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not a pet-friendly park when it comes to hiking trails. Pets are not allowed on the vast majority of hiking trails in the Smoky Mountains, and that includes the trail to the Alum Cave Bluffs.
Parking near the trail to Alum Cave Bluffs
All the top day hikes that can be found along Newfound Gap Road tend to have tons of cars parked around the trailhead.
Each trailhead, including the trailhead that takes you to the Alum Cave Bluffs, has a small parking lot.
When that fills up, you can find cars parking along the side of the road on the gravel shoulder.
With the Alum Cave Trail being among the top hikes in the Smoky Mountains, you can usually expect there to be a ton of cars throughout the day. This means it’s possible you might end up doing a short hike along Newfound Gap Road just to reach the Alum Cave trailhead!
Toilet near the trailhead
At the main parking lot of the Alum Cave Trail, there is a basic no-flush toilet.
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And now…
PHOTOS for a little bit of what to expect when hiking to the Alum Cave Bluffs!
I hiked to the Alum Cave Bluffs in late September 2020. Pictures are from that time.
And then you’ll come across Arch Rock where you’ll walk through the rock…
And then you’ll keep walking up the mountain…
And then you will come across Inspiration Point on the Alum Cave Trail for scenic views of the Smoky Mountains!
And then once you’ve taken in the views at Inspiration Point, you’ll keep walking…
And then once you come across a bunch of stairs, you are almost there to the bluffs!!
And then you’ve made it to the Alum Cave Bluffs of Great Smoky Mountains National Park!!
And then once you’ve had your rest at the bluffs, you can make your way back down the mountain the way you just came…
Or you can continue onwards to the Mt LeConte summit!
Alum Cave Bluffs to Mt LeConte summit, 2.7 miles away.
And that’s a bit about hiking to the Alum Cave Bluffs in the Smoky Mountains!
Pack some picnic food, and the Chimneys picnic area can be the perfect spot to have a post-hike meal! You’ll find it on the drive back up north to Gatlinburg. If you’re driving in the opposite direction down south to North Carolina, then there’s the Collins Creek picnic area.
You’ll also find Smokemont Campground along Newfound Gap Road on the North Carolina side, and this can be a convenient campground to stay at if you’re planning on doing several of the Newfound Gap Road hikes aka more great hikes in the Smoky Mountains with great views!
And also see some great waterfalls hikes in the Smoky Mountains!
And the big list of things to do in the Great Smoky Mountains!
HAPPY HIKING TO SEE THE CAVE BLUFFS IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS!
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