Mike Maslona Photo

Highlights: wildflower viewing, historic buildings

This narrow, winding, 5-mile-long road invites you to slow down and enjoy the forest and historic buildings of the Roaring Fork area. This area is a favorite side trip for many people who frequently visit the Smokies. It offers rushing mountain streams, glimpses of old-growth forest, and a number of well- preserved log cabins, grist mills, and other historic buildings.

An inexpensive booklet, keyed to numbered posts along the way, is available at visitor centers and at the start of the road.

To access Roaring Fork, turn off the main parkway in Gatlinburg, TN at traffic light #8 and follow Historic Nature Trail Road to the Cherokee Orchard entrance to the national park. Just beyond the Rainbow Falls trailhead you have the option of taking the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (closed in winter). This narrow, paved road winds for six miles beside rich forests, waterfalls, and streams. Buses, trailers, and motor homes are not permitted on the motor nature trail.

Mileage to Roaring Fork:
from Gatlinburg—1
from Cherokee—35

Visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official online store for books, maps, and guides to the park. Operated by the nonprofit Great Smoky Mountains Association, proceeds generated by purchases at the store are donated to educational, scientific, and historical projects in the park.