The "4 Mile" Trail

A funny story here — I was put in charge of finding a reasonably easy trail to hike the second day of our trip. I spent a few hours researching some popular, manageable day hikes in the Smoky Mountain area, and kept coming back to Ramsey Cascades. The trail information puts it at a moderate 8-mile roundtrip hike through old growth, ending at a spectacular view of the tallest falls in the national park. Count me in!

The downfall here was my unpreparedness for ALL of it. I had never been on a hike this long or during the colder months, so I very much overdressed and overpacked. I ended up getting way too hot and carrying too much weight to sustain the hike, and we unfortunately had to cut our adventure short.

All to say, the trail itself was absolutely gorgeous. It was mostly unpaved and hidden deep in the forest, and followed alongide a calm and babbling brook. The atmosphere was calm and serene, and paired with the fall foliage...chef's kiss. All in all, I really do recommend this hike, and I plan on going back to do it again (and make it to the top!).

a trail sign that says 'ramsey cascades trail 4.0'