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    Foothills Parkway

    5.0 (1 review)

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    5 years ago

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    The Sinks - The Sinks in its glory.

    The Sinks

    4.9(37 reviews)
    8.5 km

    I never met a waterfall that I didn't like. We did a driving tour along Little River in Great Smoky…read moreMountains National Park to see if we could spot some wildlife. The Sinks is a lovely waterfall along the river. There is a small parking lot with about a dozen spaces where we found parking. An observation area is a short walk from parking. A sign describes the area and that the falls were manmade. During the late 1800's the river was used to transport logs/timber to the nearby town of Elkmont. After a storm, flood waters caused a jam in the river. Dynamite was used to restore water flow. The blast resulted in a twist in the river and creation of the waterfall. A set of stone steps leads up a hill, offering lovey views of the falls. There are dozens of waterfalls in the Park. Sinks is one of the few that is drivable, which is great for people that cannot hike. I picked up a Waterfalls map at the visitor center that I found interesting and informative. Parking passes are required to park in the lot. There are no amenities at the falls. Plan 15-30 minutes for a stop and photos.

    The Sinks is such a fun outdoor experience! Our boys, ages 11 & 13, loved it! The parking is not…read moregreat though, with only about 15 spots in the parking lot and nowhere else to go. It's super busy in the summer, so just be prepared for that. We had to wait about 15 minutes for someone to leave so we could park. That wouldn't keep us from going back, though.

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    The Sinks
    The Sinks - Observation patio

    Observation patio

    The Sinks - View from path to the platform.

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    View from path to the platform.

    Spruce Flats Falls

    Spruce Flats Falls

    4.5(6 reviews)
    8.3 km

    Beautiful short hike that is around 2 miles total roundtrip in Townsend near the Smoky Mountains…read more A lot of uphill climbing, but worth it for the waterfall. When we were here this trail was still quite crowded and parking was limited/hard to find so be mindful of that. Otherwise, it's a beautiful site to see.

    Looking for short, less populated, but still fabulous waterfall hike while visiting Gatlinburg or…read morethe Great Smoky Mountains? This is it!!! SPRUCE FLATS FALLS is a very short hike that begins at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute @ Tremont. The waterfall trail begins at the exact same point as the Lumber Ridge Trailhead, but the Lumber Ridge Trail goes left while the Spruce Flats trail goes right. The trail is easy to follow for the most part due to the Institute providing additional signs along the way to help guide you. Various hiking websites have differing difficult ratings as well as differing distances to the falls. My personal hiking experience would rate this as mildly moderate and the distance, according to our tracking systems was around .8 miles to the falls for a grand total of about 1.6 miles round trip. ~ MILDLY MODERATE HIKE The distance is easy, and while there are some steep uphill and downhill sections, my heartrate was never elevated to the point of heavy breathing. Experienced hikers would likely rate this trail on the harder side of an easy scale, primarily because of the difficulty of the terrain. It is heavily laced with exposed tree roots and/or embedded with jagged stones making it important to watch your step and balance. ~ OUR EXPERIENCE Our primary reason for visiting the Smokies was to hike Mount LeConte, which we successfully did the day prior to hiking here to Spruce Flats Falls. LeConte is a beast of a hike with an elevation gain of just under 2,900 feet over 5.5 miles. Comparatively, Spruce Flats Falls trail was a delight, but our legs were still extremely sore from our LeConte hike! The pain made our this hike less joyful, but each painful step was well rewarded with a gorgeous waterfall. Our group included myself, an experienced hiker, a grandmother (64), two single moms (29 & 31), their two kids: Adorable 3 year old Jojo and 10 year old Zeke + my yelp daughter Jess (30). My wife was still sore from the LeConte hike and opted to stay back in Gatlinburg. *** LET ME JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY HOW INCREDIBLE MOTHERS ARE!!! Little 3-year-old Jojo's mom carried her probably more then 1/3rd of the hike, particularly over some of the tougher terrains and didn't break a friggin' sweat!!! I carried her tiny 30 pound body up one of the steeper parts of the trail for about 5 minutes and thought I was gonna die! Jojo's 64 year old grandmother who does not hike at all handled the trail like a champion, even leading the way on occasion. Truthfully I was worried by some of the hiking reports for this trail saying it may be difficult for children, seniors and inexperienced hikers, but our group had all of those and it was not a problem. PLUS it had been raining most of the morning (wetting the trail) and continued with a light dewy drizzle most of our hike. ~ FINAL THOUGHTS Yep, my group included three generations of women on a rainy, misty Saturday and we all had a great time! The falls are beautiful! One of the more beautiful ones I've seen in the area, but hard to see in full from the base. This is definitely a waterfall where the pictures are best if you have a drone that can capture it's full grandeur. My difficulty scale: 0 = no effort required 1-3 = easy 4-6 = moderate 7-9 = difficult 10 = extremely difficult WATERFALL ATTRACTIVENESS: 8 out of 10 OVERALL DIFFICULTY: 4 out of 10 (mostly because of terrain) OUR TRACKING DISTANCE: 1.6 miles round trip from parking area across from the Institute @ Tremont. 2020 / 68

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    Spruce Flats Falls
    Spruce Flats Falls
    Spruce Flats Falls

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    Little River Outfitters - Little River Outfitters in Townsend, Tennessee

    Little River Outfitters

    5.0(12 reviews)
    1.4 km
    $$

    Little River Outfitters is a bit of a hidden gem. We decided to visit while we were staying in…read moreGatlinburg, since I've gotten the itch to get back into fly fishing after a 20+ year hiatus. Dennis welcomed my wife and I as soon as we walked in the door and after I explained my situation and target types of waters he took me straight to the perfect affordable setup. He expertly answered my questions and refrained from trying to upsell me to the readily available much more expensive options. Once we'd made our choices he left us to wander the store browsing. In the end I walked out with a nice rod and reel combo, a few extra leads and tippets and a big smile on my face. If you a tired of the big stores where they treat you more like money bags than fellow anglers, check out Little River Outfitters. It's well worth the drive and the personal and very knowledgeable service.

    First of all, this shop is AMAZING!!!!!!! I am 10 years old just starting fly fishing and fly tying…read morethey are very very nice, respectful, and knowledgeable! They gave me a bunch of stickers and even fly tying materials! And even a trout stuffed animal and they put Velcro on it so I could practice casting!!!! They were very kind to me and my dad VERYY GOOD SELECTION from reels and rods to fly tying materials they have benches and fly vises and bobbins and tools very good selection honestly they have whole floor of fly tying materials and a trout hatchery very good prices too!!!!!! Over all just a great shop with amazing employees!! I love em and can't wait to go back

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    Little River Outfitters - Outside the store

    Outside the store

    Little River Outfitters - Inside the store

    Inside the store

    Little River Outfitters - Fly making station

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    Fly making station

    Foothills Parkway - parks - Updated May 2026

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