Hi there!
Baskins Creek Falls is one of the less visited waterfalls on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
Even so, Baskin Creek Falls is one of the best waterfalls in the Smoky Mountains!
This is also one of the best hikes near Gatlinburg.
I did the hike to Baskins Creek Falls in September. What the weather will be like from year to year can vary (which means the colors can vary!), but this is what it was like for me!
Despite being located in a popular and relatively convenient area, these waterfalls seem to be overlooked for its more popular neighbor waterfalls.
This Smoky Mountains hike to waterfalls on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail will include hiking through an area that was hit by wildfire, hiking through a forest, and more.
More pictures of the hiking trail below, but first…
Basics about the trail to Baskins Creek Falls
aka Baskins Falls
Hills! You’ll likely mostly feel it on the way back, although it’s not too incredibly bad. This is an out-and-back hike, and on the way to the waterfalls is mostly downhill. This means that you’ll be hiking up on the way back.
You’ll take the Baskins Creek Trail to get to Baskins Falls.
The distance of this hiking trail to Baskins Creek Falls is around 3.2 miles round trip.
It’s recommended to give yourself 2 hours to complete the hike to Baskins Creek Falls. How much time you spend on the trail can depend on your fitness level, how many stops you make, and how long you spend at the waterfalls!
The trailhead is located on the popular scenic drive Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
If you’re coming from Gatlinburg, the drive to the Baskins Creek Trail is around 15 minutes.
Your destination for google maps can be the Baskins Creek Trail trailhead if you will be driving the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail after the waterfall hike.
If you aren’t interested in the motor nature trail on the day you hike to Baskins Falls, then you may want to make your destination for google maps Rainbow Fall Bullhead Parking B, although you may not want to park directly there. (You may want to go a little past it.)
More on this Baskins Creek Falls trailhead parking situation below in a bit.
No dogs on the trail to Baskins Creek Falls
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 Baskins Creek Trail that takes you to Baskins Falls.
Toilets near Baskins Creek trailhead
There are basic no-flush toilets at the Rainbow Falls trailhead that you’ll pass as you’re driving to the Baskins Creek Trail.
Parking near Baskins Creek Trail
So with these waterfalls being quite close to Gatlinburg, I’m kind of surprised how little traffic Baskins Creek Falls seems to get compared to the other 2 popular waterfalls in the area. Being a 15 minute drive from Gatlinburg, it’s in a relatively convenient location.
But one of the downsides is that there is very limited parking directly around the trailhead. And anywhere nearby the trailhead really.
But since the trail itself isn’t too incredibly long, even if you park a little further away, you can just think of it as a slightly longer waterfall hike that’s a part of the trail to the waterfalls! It will be a scenic walk on the road that’ll be added on to your hike!
So, where you want to drive to for your hike to Baskins Falls may depend on what you want to do afterwards!
Why?!
The Baskins Creek trailhead is located directly on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. This is a one way road, and it loops around in a not-so-direct way to take you back to Gatlinburg.
The Rainbow Falls trailhead, located shortly before you reach the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, is also located on a one-way road, but it’s right before the turn-off onto the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. This means that there’s a quicker loop back to Gatlinburg. (And people aren’t driving as slowly.)
There is a small parking area right next to the Baskins Creek trailhead
There is room for maybe 2-3 cars directly next to the Baskins Creek trailhead. This would be the most ideal place to park, if you are driving the motor nature trail afterwards.
But of course, 2-3 parking spaces is not a whole lot.
If there’s no parking here, your only option is to continue driving forward to the next (again, small) parking area up ahead. And if there’s no parking left there, after that, you probably will want to just give up because you might think it’s too much distance to add on to your hike!
And so, I actually think the “safest” thing to do if you are really interested in hiking to Baskins Falls, is to park near the Rainbow Falls trailhead or (more ideally) just before the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail begins. If there are parking spots available here, it will add on around 10-15 minutes round trip to your hike.
There are limited parking spots for a few cars right before you make the turn-off onto Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
This may sound confusing if you’re not familiar with the roads, but looking at a map will make it less confusing, so have a look at the maps below for a better understanding! The one-way roads are noted on google maps with the arrows.
On this map above, you see where the Baskins Creek trailhead is located. It turns into a one-way road heading east just past “Rainbow Fall Bullhead Parking B.” I think the most ideal spot to park will be right before it turns onto the one-way road to the Baskins Creek trailhead. Even this could be risky though, because if there’s no parking here, you just need to keep driving and hope for the best at the Baskins Creek Trail parking! Otherwise, the even “safer” approach could be to park where you find open spots closer to the Rainbow Falls trailhead!
Parking right at Baskins Creek Trail means driving the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail back to Gatlinburg. Explore the map.
Parking before the turn onto Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail means you can drive Cherokee Orchard Road back to Gatlinburg which you can expect to be the quicker drive. Explore the map.
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And now…
PHOTOS for a little bit of what to expect when hiking in Roaring Fork on the trail to Baskins Creek Falls!
I hiked to Baskins Creek Falls in late September 2020. Pictures are from that time.
Baskins Creek Trail connects to Trillium Gap Trail in 0.1 miles.
Baskins Creek Trail to Roaring Fork Road, 2.7 miles away. If you have hikers and non-hikers in your group, the hikers can also hike one way to another part of the Roaring Fork Road to meet up with the non-hikers who drive there! On google maps, this is to the Grapeyard Ridge Trail trailhead on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, right near the Alex Cole Cabin. Hopefully you can find parking, though. Baskins Falls is a “side trail” along the way. Hiking from Baskins Creek trailhead to Baskins Falls to Roaring Fork Road is around 3.2 miles one way.
There’s a side trail to Baskins Creek Cemetery. I walked for around 5 minutes down this trail and didn’t see anything. Starting to go uphill and not knowing how far it was, I turned back around. So maybe it will be 15-20 minutes added on to your hike if you visit the cemetery.
The very last part there’s a steep downhill… so a steep uphill on the way back!
And… you’ve arrived at the waterfalls!
You can enjoy the view from the side you arrived at, and you can also (carefully!) make a water crossing to get to the other side for views of the waterfalls from a different angle.
If you’re climbing or stepping on any rocks, take care, as rocks can be slippery and/or unstable! It’s best to test out a rock or log to see if it moves before you put your full weight on it.
And that’s a bit of what it’s like on the hike to Baskins Falls!
You can also do more waterfall hikes when you do the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
Be sure to see the list of more great waterfall hikes in the Smoky Mountains!
Another popular scenic area of the Smoky Mountains with waterfalls:
HAPPY HIKING TO SEE KIND OF OFF-THE-BEATEN PATH ROARING FORK WATERFALLS!
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