Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Alum Cave Bluffs
A Smokies classic to a colossal rock amphitheater and natural arches.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Length
- 4.5 mi
- Elevation Gain
- 1,500 ft
- Duration
- 3–4
- Best Season
- Mar–Nov
- Permit
- Not required
- Dogs
- Not allowed
- Features
- Rock arches, Semicircular bluff
About the trail
Alum Cave Bluffs is a half-mile-wide semicircular amphitheater carved into Mount Le Conte, and the trail to it packs a lot into four miles. You pass Arch Rock and Ironsides — natural sandstone arches you can walk through — before the trail switchbacks up to the bluffs. The huge alcove was once mined for alum and still drips with mineral-stained water.
Trailhead map & directions
Trailhead: 35.6453, -83.4715Get directions →
Turn-by-turn route
- Park at the Alum Cave trailhead on US-441, seven miles from Gatlinburg.
- Climb the Alum Cave Trail, passing Arch Rock at 0.8 miles.
- Continue through the narrow rock corridor and up the open ledges.
- Reach the bluffs at 2.25 miles; the overlooks sit just above.
- Return the same way. Total: 4.5 miles.
Parking
Alum Cave lot on US-441 — tiny and chronically full. Arrive before 8 a.m. or take the GSMNP shuttle from Gatlinburg.
Tips from the trail
- Dogs are not allowed on this trail in the national park.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer — start early.
- The open ledges are unsafe in rain or lightning.
- Bring more water than the distance suggests; there is none on trail.