October 2022 Foliage, Mount LeConte of Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Second day of my road trip to the south Blue Ridge Mountains. I would be hiking to Mount LeConte, an iconic mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mountains in Autumn Colors


Mountains in Autumn Colors

This is actually the most popular trail in the park, per AllTrails. I planned to take a slightly different variation to Myrtle Point, totalling 20.9km roundtrip with 944m of elevation gain (though my GPS tracked closer to 19km).

Unfortunately I had some issues checking into the booked hotel in Pigeon Forge last night, so I woke up late and only left the hotel at 9am. After grabbing breakfast it’s 10am by the time I reached “Alum Cave Trailhead”. It’s a popular trail and the two small parking lots were already filled, so I parked at a turnout 400m from the trailhead. (Unlike many others, I didn’t trust my car’s clearance with parking on the shoulders.) So by the time I started my hike it’s 10:20am.
Here’s GPS tracking:

  • Park Road
    Park Road
    Colors of foliage. Many cars used the road shoulders as overflow parking for Alum Cave Trail.
  • Walker Camp Prong
    Walker Camp Prong
    The first footbridge crossing the creek that flew along the park road.
  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
    The second footbridge crossing the creek that flew along the trail.
  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
    The same creek farther upstream. It only took a few hops from the trail to reach the waters.
  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
    The same creek farther upstream. It only took a few hops from the trail to reach the waters.
  • Park Road
  • Walker Camp Prong
  • Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek

Click here to display photos of the slideshow
Park Road


Park Road
Colors of foliage. Many cars used the road shoulders as overflow parking for Alum Cave Trail.

Walker Camp Prong


Walker Camp Prong
The first footbridge crossing the creek that flew along the park road.

Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek
The second footbridge crossing the creek that flew along the trail.

Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek
The same creek farther upstream. It only took a few hops from the trail to reach the waters.

Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek
The same creek farther upstream. It only took a few hops from the trail to reach the waters.


After leaving the trailhead, the trail first followed Alum Cave and then Styx Branch as its tributary. Foliage was extensive along this section, the golden colors of leaves under the sun’s illumination felt warm and welcoming, as they seemed to reward every step I took with a different view.

  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Footbridge
    Footbridge
    One across Styx Branch.
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Footbridge
  • Trail
  • Trail

Click here to display photos of the trail.
Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail
Trail

Footbridge


Footbridge
One across Styx Branch.

Trail


Trail
Trail


The trail followed the creeks closely, that in certain places, it’s just a few steps to reach the water, with more autumn colors around.

  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
    Alum Cave Creek
  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
  • Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
  • Alum Cave Creek
  • Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch
  • Styx Branch

Click here to display photos of the creeks.
Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek

Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek

Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek

Alum Cave Creek


Alum Cave Creek

Styx Branch


Styx Branch

Styx Branch


Styx Branch

Styx Branch


Styx Branch

Styx Branch


Styx Branch

Styx Branch


Styx Branch

Styx Branch


Styx Branch


About 2km from the trailhead, one would reach Arch Rock. It’s like a tunnel where the trail passed through, an interesting rock formation.

  • Arch Rock
    Arch Rock
  • Arch Rock
    Arch Rock
  • Arch Rock
    Arch Rock
  • Arch Rock
  • Arch Rock
  • Arch Rock

Click here to display photos of the arch rock.
Arch Rock


Arch Rock

Arch Rock


Arch Rock

Arch Rock


Arch Rock


Not long after leaving Arch Rock, the trail departed from Styx Branch and continued uphill.

  • Styx Branch
    Styx Branch
    Taken on a foot bridge. The trail departed from the creek from here on.
  • Dried Creek Dried Creek
    Dried Creek
  • Dried Creek
    Dried Creek
  • Dried Creek
    Dried Creek
  • Styx Branch
  • Dried Creek
  • Dried Creek
  • Dried Creek

Click here to display photos of the creeks.
Styx Branch


Styx Branch
Taken on a foot bridge. The trail departed from the creek from here on.

Dried Creek

 Dried Creek
Dried Creek

Dried Creek


Dried Creek

Dried Creek


Dried Creek


And there were more foliage colors. The colors weren’t as extensive as earlier, but probably due to the higher elevations, some of the leaves were turning red, adding to the variety of the palette.

  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Foliage Colors
    Foliage Colors
  • Foliage Colors
    Foliage Colors
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Foliage Colors
  • Foliage Colors
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail

Click here to display photos of the trail.
Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Foliage Colors


Foliage Colors

Foliage Colors


Foliage Colors

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail


About 3km from the trailhead, the trail reached its first overlook, with views of surrounding mountains. Many opted to take rests at the boulders nearby. In my opinion, the colors of foliage were most stunning between this overlook and Alum Cave, at 3.5km.

  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountains
  • Mountains
  • Mountains
  • Mountains

Click here to display photos from the first overlook.
Mountains


Mountains

Mountains


Mountains

Mountains


Mountains

Mountains


Mountains


Finally, at 11:30am, I reached Alum Cave, which, despite its name, was an alcove created by some overhanging cliffs. The angle of the rocky bluff made for some exciting sights, however, the trail underneath it was dusty and on a significant incline. Most hikers on the trail made Alum Cave their destination.

  • Alum Cave
    Alum Cave
  • Entrance to Alum Cave
    Entrance to Alum Cave
  • Cliff of Alum Cave
    Cliff of Alum Cave
  • Cliff of Alum Cave
    Cliff of Alum Cave
  • View from Alum Cave
    View from Alum Cave
  • View from Alum Cave
    View from Alum Cave
  • Alum Cave
    Alum Cave
  • Alum Cave
  • Entrance to Alum Cave
  • Cliff of Alum Cave
  • Cliff of Alum Cave
  • View from Alum Cave
  • View from Alum Cave
  • Alum Cave

Click here to display photos from Alum Cave.
Alum Cave


Alum Cave

Entrance to Alum Cave


Entrance to Alum Cave

Cliff of Alum Cave


Cliff of Alum Cave

Cliff of Alum Cave


Cliff of Alum Cave

View from Alum Cave


View from Alum Cave

View from Alum Cave


View from Alum Cave

Alum Cave


Alum Cave


After some photos and rests at Alum Cave, I continued the hike just before noon. The trail was noticably quieter beyond Alum Cave.

  • Trail
    Trail
    Along certain sections of the trail cables were installed as handrails. In my opinion they were totally redundant when the trail was dry (it may be a different story in icy winters).
  • Trail
    Trail
    Along certain sections of the trail cables were installed as handrails. In my opinion they were totally redundant when the trail was dry (it may be a different story in icy winters).
  • Cliffs
    Cliffs
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trees
    Trees
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Cliffs
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trees
  • Trail

Click here to display photos of the trail.
Trail


Trail
Trail

Along certain sections of the trail cables were installed as handrails. In my opinion they were totally redundant when the trail was dry (it may be a different story in icy winters).

Cliffs


Cliffs

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trees


Trees

Trail


Trail


Along the way there were a few overlooks, none as exciting as the first one though.

  • Mount LeConte
    Mount LeConte
    The cliffs of “Cliff Top” clearly visible in the left.
  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountains
    Mountains
    Called “West Point” on maps.
  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountains
    Mountains
    To the east, I don’t know their names.
  • Mount LeConte
  • Mountains
  • Mountains
  • Mountains
  • Mountains

Click here to display photos of the mountains.
Mount LeConte


Mount LeConte
The cliffs of “Cliff Top” clearly visible in the left.

Mountains


Mountains

Mountains


Mountains
Called “West Point” on maps.

Mountains


Mountains

Mountains


Mountains
To the east, I don’t know their names.


Towards the top, coniferous forest started to dominate the landscape from the foliage colors earlier. They lined the trail in an almost ceremonial manner, as if to welcome me to the top.

  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
    Some steep ascent before the cliff top.
  • Trail
    Trail
    Some steep ascent before the cliff top.
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail

Click here to display photos of the trail.
Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail
Some steep ascent before the cliff top.

Trail


Trail
Some steep ascent before the cliff top.


At the trail junction of LeConte Lodge, I turned right and headed for “Cliff Top” first, which was a great overlook with views mostly to the south and west.

  • Mountains to the West
    Mountains to the West
  • Mountains to the West
    Mountains to the West
  • Mountains to the Southwest
    Mountains to the Southwest
  • Chimney Tops
    Chimney Tops
  • Mountains to the West
    Mountains to the West
    “West Point” on maps.
  • Distant Clingmans Dome
    Distant Clingmans Dome
  • Mountains to the West
    Mountains to the West
  • Mountain Villas near Gatlinburg
    Mountain Villas near Gatlinburg
  • Mountains to the West
  • Mountains to the West
  • Mountains to the Southwest
  • Chimney Tops
  • Mountains to the West
  • Distant Clingmans Dome
  • Mountains to the West
  • Mountain Villas near Gatlinburg

Click here to display photos from Cliff Top.
Mountains to the West


Mountains to the West

Mountains to the West


Mountains to the West

Mountains to the Southwest


Mountains to the Southwest

Chimney Tops


Chimney Tops

Mountains to the West


Mountains to the West
“West Point” on maps.

Distant Clingmans Dome


Distant Clingmans Dome

Mountains to the West


Mountains to the West

Mountain Villas near Gatlinburg


Mountain Villas near Gatlinburg


In line with the name of “smoky” mountains, the mountains to the south against the sun, like Clingmans Dome, appeared hazy even though they weren’t that far away.

View from Cliff Top


View from Cliff Top

I stayed for about half an hour at Cliff Top, before continuing onto Myrtle Point. There was a trail leading east from Cliff Top, bypassing LeConte Lodge, whose entrance was a bit hard to find at first.

  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail

Click here to display photos of the trail.
Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail


Along the way to Myrtle Point, there was a clearing along the trail, offering views to the east, as a preview of Myrtle Point.

  • Mountains to the East
    Mountains to the East
  • Mountains to the East
    Mountains to the East
  • Mountains to the West
    Mountains to the West
    Mount Kephart and the Jumpoff, where I was the previous day.
  • Myrtle Point
    Myrtle Point
  • Distant Newfound Gap
    Distant Newfound Gap
  • Mountains to the East
  • Mountains to the East
  • Mountains to the West
  • Myrtle Point
  • Distant Newfound Gap

Click here to display photos of the slideshow
Mountains to the East


Mountains to the East

Mountains to the East


Mountains to the East

Mountains to the West


Mountains to the West
Mount Kephart and the Jumpoff, where I was the previous day.

Myrtle Point


Myrtle Point

Distant Newfound Gap


Distant Newfound Gap


Summit of Mount LeConte


Summit of Mount LeConte

I passed this unremarkable summit on way to Myrtle Point. It’s hidden among dense forests without any views.

Finally, I reached Myrtle Point at 2:15pm. It’s another overlook, just like the previous “Cliff Top”, but this time facing east. Just that the views were as hazy.

  • Mountains to the South
    Mountains to the South
  • Distant Mountains to the South
    Distant Mountains to the South
    A tiny corner of the parking lot at Newfound Gap popped into the view.
  • Mountains to the South
    Mountains to the South
    The trail to Mount LeConte passed through the valley in the foreground.
  • Mountains to the Southeast
    Mountains to the Southeast
    Anakeesta Knob. The ridge of Appalachian Trail in the background.
  • Mountains to the West
    Mountains to the West
    Mount Kephart and the Jumpoff, where I was the previous day.
  • Town of Pigeon Forge
    Town of Pigeon Forge
  • Mount LeConte from Myrtle Point
    Mount LeConte from Myrtle Point
  • Mountains to the South
  • Distant Mountains to the South
  • Mountains to the South
  • Mountains to the Southeast
  • Mountains to the West
  • Town of Pigeon Forge
  • Mount LeConte from Myrtle Point

Click here to display photos from Myrtle Point.
Mountains to the South


Mountains to the South


Distant Mountains to the South
A tiny corner of the parking lot at Newfound Gap popped into the view.

Mountains to the South


Mountains to the South
The trail to Mount LeConte passed through the valley in the foreground.

Mountains to the Southeast


Mountains to the Southeast
Anakeesta Knob. The ridge of Appalachian Trail in the background.

Mountains to the West


Mountains to the West
Mount Kephart and the Jumpoff, where I was the previous day.

Town of Pigeon Forge


Town of Pigeon Forge

Mount LeConte from Myrtle Point


Mount LeConte from Myrtle Point


But along the trail to Myrtle Point, there were a few clearings, offering views to the north, where the mountains showed up with their clearest details in the sun. I bet some of the mountains were also visible from Charlies Bunion, where I was the previous day. The variety of colors spanning the spectrum from red to green was a welcomed departure from the hazy views earlier today.

  • Mountains to the North
    Mountains to the North
  • Mountain
    Mountain
  • Mountains to the North
    Mountains to the North
  • Mountains to the North
    Mountains to the North
  • Mountains to the North
  • Mountain
  • Mountains to the North
  • Mountains to the North

Click here to display photos from Myrtle Point.
Mountains to the North


Mountains to the North

Mountain


Mountain

Mountains to the North


Mountains to the North

Mountains to the North


Mountains to the North


I stayed at Myrtle Point till almost 3pm before heading back. Along the way, I checked out LeConte Lodge.
Built in 1926 and located close to the summit of Mount LeConte, it boasted as the highest guest lodge in the eastern United States. The lodge featured many individual cabins for visitors to experience the mountains in a stylish way. With its limited capacity, the lodge was highly sought-after with a lottery system for reservations.

For a lodge with only trail access, I was very surprised that it featured a proper dining hall with food services, unfortunately only available to overnight guests. So after a quick visit to the not-so-exciting gift shop, I continued downhill.

  • LeConte Lodge
    LeConte Lodge
  • LeConte Lodge
    LeConte Lodge
  • Lodge Office
    Lodge Office
    This building also served as a gift shop.
  • LeConte Lodge
    LeConte Lodge
  • Mount LeConte Shelter
    Mount LeConte Shelter
    Some distance away from Mount LeConte Lodge, providing space for sleepbag campers.
  • LeConte Lodge
  • LeConte Lodge
  • Lodge Office
  • LeConte Lodge
  • Mount LeConte Shelter

Click here to display photos of the slideshow
LeConte Lodge


LeConte Lodge

LeConte Lodge


LeConte Lodge

Lodge Office


Lodge Office
This building also served as a gift shop.

LeConte Lodge


LeConte Lodge

Mount LeConte Shelter


Mount LeConte Shelter
Some distance away from Mount LeConte Lodge, providing space for sleepbag campers.


And here was some more foliage along the trail.

  • Trail
    Trail
  • Tree
    Tree
    I didn’t see its roots?
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
    Trail
  • Trail
  • Tree
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail
  • Trail

Click here to display photos of the trail.
Trail


Trail

Tree


Tree
I didn’t see its roots?

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail

Trail


Trail


It’s a bit unfortunate that I slipped and injured my toenail along the way. Otherwise, things went smoothly and I was back at the parking lot at 5:40pm.

With enough daylight left, I made a few additional stops on my way back to the hotel. The first was at “Chimney Tops Overlook”, with views of some outstanding rocky spires. The trail leading to “Chimney Top” was a popular one in the park, but unfortunately for safety concerns, following a wildfire in 2016, the final section of the trail was closed to the public. Since the exciting part was off limits, it wasn’t on my list this time.

  • Chimney Tops
    Chimney Tops
  • Chimney Tops and Surrounding Mountains
    Chimney Tops and Surrounding Mountains
  • Park Road
    Park Road
  • Chimney Tops
  • Chimney Tops and Surrounding Mountains
  • Park Road

Click here to display photos of the Chimney Top.
Chimney Tops


Chimney Tops

Chimney Tops and Surrounding Mountains


Chimney Tops and Surrounding Mountains

Park Road


Park Road


Next I stopped at Campbell Overlook, offering a different angle to view Mount LeConte which I summitted earlier.

  • Mountains
    Mountains
  • Mountain to the East
    Mountain to the East
    The western ridge of Mount LeConte
  • Bull Head Mountain
    Bull Head Mountain
  • Park Road
    Park Road
  • Park Road
    Park Road
  • Mountains
  • Mountain to the East
  • Bull Head Mountain
  • Park Road
  • Park Road

Click here to display photos from Campbell Overlook.
Mountains


Mountains

Mountain to the East


Mountain to the East
The western ridge of Mount LeConte

Bull Head Mountain


Bull Head Mountain

Park Road


Park Road

Park Road


Park Road


And finally, Gatlinburg Overlook, with views of this gateway town on the foot of the smoky mountains.

  • Gatlinburg and Mount LeConte
    Gatlinburg and Mount LeConte
  • Mount LeConte
    Mount LeConte
  • Gatlinburg
    Gatlinburg
  • Sugarland Mountain
    Sugarland Mountain
  • Gatlinburg and Mount LeConte
  • Mount LeConte
  • Gatlinburg
  • Sugarland Mountain

Click here to display photos from Gatlinburg Overlook.
Gatlinburg and Mount LeConte


Gatlinburg and Mount LeConte

Mount LeConte


Mount LeConte

Gatlinburg


Gatlinburg

Sugarland Mountain


Sugarland Mountain


END

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 October 2022 Foliage, Mount LeConte of Great Smoky Mountain National Park by Huang's Site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *