TENNESSEE – GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NAT’L PARK – Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

Notes: To get to this section of the park, in Gatlinburg at traffic light #8, turn uphill (more or less east) onto Airport Road. Continue on Airport Road for about 2.75 miles until you enter a single-lane, one-way loop road. About two-thirds of the way around the loop, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail veers off uphill to the right. This one-way, single-lane, paved road wanders and weaves its way for about 7 miles up, down, and across the wrinkled shirttail of Mt. LeConte. This area is one of the premier spots in the Smokies for spring wildflowers. The optimal time to be here is the last two-thirds of April. Just after the trailhead/parking area for Grotto Falls, the road begins a steep descent. At this point begin to look for the onset of the bloom bonanza. In addition to wildflowers, the verdant, moss-covered cascades of Roaring Fork can also provide worthwhile photo opportunities. Towards the end of the Motor Nature Trail, the Place of a Thousand Drips (on your left) is worth a stop.

&spspspspsps; Cascade on Roaring Fork - Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee &spspspspspspspsp; Foamflower - Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

&spsp.; Large-flowered trillium - Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee &spspspsp; Moss-covered rocks and Roaring Fork - Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee