Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN: Alum Cave Bluff Trail

If you'll travel back to the summer with me, I have one last post to share about our Tennessee trip. Eric and I went on one more (longer) hike together before we left.

We had some really pretty weather. We took this photo from one of the pull off areas on the side of the road.

Before starting our hike, we had a picnic lunch on a rock in the middle of this little river. It was perfect :)

We took the Alum Cave Bluffs Trail. My aunt and uncle have actually hiked up to Mt LeConte (from a different starting point) and slept at the top, but to get all the way up there is quite the trek (it gets really steep) and there's only one lodging cabin that sells out very quickly. So we had no intentions of continuing up on the mountain, but you could if you planned far in advance.

The hike to the cave bluffs was filled with streams and greenery.

Arch Rock is the first landmark on the way up. It really is just a rock that is shaped like an arch.

The main draw is the stairs inside are really steep and cool-looking.

Once you get high enough, the views become some picturesque shots of the Great Smokies.

We saw a couple of peregrine falcons on the hike! If you look closely, you can see the two moving black dots. I also took video so we could hear them shrieking.

Here we are at the cave bluffs. It was kind of disappointing (we expected to be able to see more, or something) but still cool. The slope is steep (for me) but worth the hike up there.

From the cave bluffs you can continue hiking up to the summit...or go back down, like we did :)

I have had really good experiences hiking in the Smokies and encourage you to get out into nature anytime you can! We are headed back down to Pigeon Forge for Christmas, and I can't wait to see what this area looks like in winter!