Great Smoky Mountains National Park · North Carolina, Tennessee

Chasteen Creek Trail

4.1 mi of trail, end to end · Hike to Chasteen Creek Cascade: 3.6 mi round trip in the Service's write-up · about 2,400 ft of climbing · 2,373 ft–4,829 ft · native surface · trail class Developed

WaterfallsBackcountry camps

3,363 ft 4,829 ft · 1.8 mi high 4,829 ft

Along the way #48 Upper Chasteen #50 Lower Chasteen Creek Chasteen Creek Cascade

Hike to Chasteen Creek Cascade 3.6 mi round trip · the Park Service's write-up

no dogs · entrance fee applies

A cascading waterfall surrounded by greenery and rocks. A hiker icon in the corner.
Hike 3.6 miles (5.8 km) roundtrip from the Bradley Fork Trailhead in Smokemont Campground. Photo: Bob Carr Photo

Overview

Hike 3.6 miles (5.8 km) roundtrip through hardwood forest in Great Smoky Mountains National Park following the path of the Bradley Fork of the Oconaluftee River to a peaceful cascade that slides 15 feet (4.6 m) down smoothly worn standstone.

This section of the Bradley Fork Trail is a popular wooded adventure for hikers and horse-riders who are departing from the Smokemont Campground area. Wooded views are interspersed with open areas and thin forests of flowering dogwood, yellow birch, sycamore, and tuliptree.

Length

3.6 miles (5.8 km) roundtrip

Parking & Trailhead

The Bradley Fork Trailhead is on the far north end of Smokemont Campground Road. Don't forget your parking tag .

Nearest Restroom

Smokemont Campground (available year-round)

Alternate Hikes

Smokemont Loop Trail: 6.1 miles (9.8 km) roundtrip

Towstring Trail: 4 miles (6.4 km) roundtrip

Newton Bald Trail: 9.4 miles (15.1 km) roundtrip

Pets The Gatlinburg Trail and Oconaluftee River Trail are the only two park trails where pets are permitted. Pets are also allowed in picnic areas, in campgrounds, and on roads.

Accessibility Trail has occasional obstacles of roots and rocks.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 244 trails in Great Smoky Mountains National ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.