Grotto Falls — Attraction in Gatlinburg

It’s a much longer hike uphill than you’d expect. My group took an hour to hike up and we’re all young and pretty fit (we weren’t rushing though). The waterfall was completely worth it. We made our own path up on the right side of it and climbed to the top of it. It was pretty dangerous to do, so if you do decide to climb up make sure your with others. It’s easy to get up but coming down is really scary. It rained just before we came so all the rocks were wet. I couldn’t get my footing anywhere and needed help from others to safely slide down a huge rock that was taller than I am. The way down was difficult but we had been hiking and super active earlier in the day. It’s easier to run down than walk, and running down is easier than the hike up.

I completely forgot to mention.

BEWARE OF BEARS

The trip I mentioned above was the second day we went. The first time was the day before. We made it a couple hundred feet into the trail when we seen a bear. It was a decent ways into the woods so we thought it’d be okay. We just stood and waited for a minute. BUT THEN IT GOT ON THE TRAIL!! It followed us all the way back down the trail. We seen a family at the entrance who had finished a few minutes prior. We told them what happened and all the sudden the bear turned the corner and was in our view. An older man told us to stand together in a big group and let it pass us. We did and thank god for his advice. We now know what to do when we come across a bear.

Make yourself known (like saying “hey bear”)

DO NOT turn your back to it

DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT- makes them interested

If your in a group stand together and make yourselves big. Let it pass. Do not mess or aggravate it.

Anyways- don’t let this deter you. It was an amazing experience and an awesome story to tell. It’s...

Let’s start with the drive to the falls…terrifying, if you are afraid to drive on the side of a mountain with no guard rails! Exciting, if you like to see a bear cub walk out right in front of you and walk down the side of your car. Gorgeous, if you stop to take in all the views on the way.

Once you arrive at the parking lot to the falls, you will soon realize that there is limited parking and you will find yourself driving down the mountain that you will have to walk up to get to the hike. If a someone could move some of the boulders out of the way to offer more parking that would be great! There are restrooms in the parking lot so take time to empty your bladder so you have less weight to hike up that mountain.

The hike is uphill. Take it easy and enjoy the views on the hike, the falls aren’t going anywhere. By the time you get to the falls, you may have already had your breath taken away so we will just agree they are gorgeous. You can climb in them, behind them and over them. Soak up the views and refreshing water. The walk back is so much easier!

Now for the drive down…YOU MUST STOP ALONG THE WAY!! The views on the way down are breath taking and there are several places you can get out to get in the water. We spent more time enjoying the scenery on the way down than we did at the falls. Don’t pass it up! When you see some falls covered in moss in your left and there is a creek on your right…check them both out. There is a little path down to the creek.

Have a great time and please don’t...

We visited in early November 2024 on a Tuesday afternoon. We were lucky we found a parking spot as it was a one-way road and we were not sure what we would've done otherwise. The road is narrow and very hilly but nicely paved. At the main parking there was a bathroom. I can't remember if it was a pit toilet or a porta-potty.

I would suggest maybe coming earlier in the morning if you're sure this is a trail you want to hit. We did Cades Cove scenic loop in the morning as it's more popular and decided to do this after lunch.

It was a pretty good hike. Trail was well maintained. There are a number of points of interest along the way so a pleasant hike overall. There are some portions that have great views.

The falls itself was nice nothing super spectacular but probably the largest one we saw during our visit to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. There were a fair number of people but we didn't have to wait long to get our pictures and there are a number of good angles of the falls if you don't mind being right under the falls. There are a number of boulders that would be good for taking a rest and eating a snack.

Also be aware that the location of the falls means you don't get any cool sunlight in the afternoon in Nov. It's kind of tucked away. Wondering if coming in the morning there would be more light to make it look more majestic. Not sure but might be worth research and hiking back again on...