Nestled In Great Smoky Mountains National Park Is An Underrated Waterfall Hike For Lovely And Peaceful Scenery

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most conveniently placed natural areas in the country, with several cities and towns within a short drive from its entrances. According to the National Park Service (NPS), over 11.5 million people visited the park in 2025, which is unsurprising to anyone who's visited its most popular sites, like Cades Cove or Kuwohi. However, for those familiar with the terrain, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also home to many underrated gems, almost entirely isolated from the crowds. One of those underrated, crowd-free hikes is the Spruce Flats Falls Hike in Tremont, Tennessee, around 40 miles from Knoxville.

Unlike more popular Smoky Mountain waterfall hikes like Laurel Falls or Grotto Falls, Spruce Flats Falls sees much smaller crowds. The reason for that is simple — it isn't an official National Park trail, and is thus unmarked on maps and has little signage, so most people don't even know it exists. However, regular visitors have mapped out the trail, and it's slowly gaining popularity for its stunning scenery and serene, hidden waterfall.

Hikers can expect to hop, skip, and jump over strewn rocks and roots on parts of the trail, but most of it is fairly well-defined for an unofficial trail. Throughout the hike, you can see distant mountains punching into the sky, tree-covered valleys sloping down below, and creeks merrily bubbling away nearby. At the end of the hike, you'll see a hidden rocky nook with a 30-foot, 4-tiered waterfall that empties into a fairly wide pool below. The entire trail is around 1.7 miles out-and-back, with an elevation gain of around 429 feet, making it a moderate hike according to Alltrails. The trailhead is at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute in Tremont (GSMIT).

To get to Tremont, you'll need to drive down from Knoxville, known for its bustling downtown, or the thriving Smoky Mountains gateway of Gatlinburg. From the GSMIT parking lot, walk up the gravel road to the Lumber Ridge Trailhead, which also serves as the trailhead for Spruce Flats Falls. Soon after, you'll come to a fork in the path at the Buckeye Trail Junction — go right here to get on the Buckeye Trail. This is also the point at which the trail becomes more difficult to traverse, as you climb up roughly hewn rock-and-mud paths. You'll continue uphill for around 0.2 miles before reaching another junction. Turn left here and continue climbing uphill. You'll know you're on the right path if you see a cistern immediately after turning left.

This section is where you'll get some of the most breathtaking views of distant mountain peaks. Bote Mountain and Thunderhead Mountain will be visible in the distance as you wind your way along the mud path. At around the half-mile mark, the path begins descending to the waterfall, and this is also where it can get slippery as the rocks and sticks make it hard to find a grip.

You'll hear the waterfall before you see it. Set in a secluded nook, the waterfall cascades down into a pool below, which eventually empties out into the Little River. Unlike the more touristy hiking trails in America's most visited National Park, the sound of rushing water and birdsong takes center stage here — no chattering crowds to contend with. With hardly anyone around, you can admire the waterfall's beauty and quiet surroundings for as long as you like before heading back.