블런트 카운티 최고의 워킹 & 하이킹 경로

Tucker Springs is a small spring by a large rock wall just off of the Maryville Greenbelt, a popular multi-use path. This is a nice place to pause on your ride, and it's easy to find because there is a historical marker sign.

Because the trailhead is so accessible to Cades Cove Loop it is very crowded on weekends. Not uncommon to see folks on the trail in thong sandals, no water, fast food bags (one of the most littered trails). It is a fun trail run with a rewarding cool swim below the falls on a weekday in Summer.

Mollies Ridge Shelter is an Appalachian Trail shelter on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. The shelter is a little less primitive than other back country shelters; there is a solar-powered phone charging station as well as showers. The TVA has kept this shelter in such good condition that it is known as the Fontana Hilton.

Indian Flats Falls is a group of four cascading falls. Nearly the entire Middle Prong Trail follows creeks and streams so many people turn around before even getting to the falls. This is one of the most secluded waterfalls in the Tremont area of the park.

Thunderhead Mountain is a 5,527-foot peak in Smoky Mountain National Park. There is about a mile of trail offering great viewpoints to the west of Thunderhead, but the mountain's actual summit is mostly blocked by brush and trees. Rocky Top, about half a mile west of Thunderhead on the Appalachian Trail, offers much more expansive views. The section of Appalachian Trail to the east of Thunderhead is an awesome, challenging section of trail. It traverses rooty, rocky, and overgrown portions of ridgeline on its way to Derrick Knob Shelter.

This bald spot on the ridge leading to Rocky Top and Thunderhead Mountain has an awesome overlook towards Fontana Dam and the southern part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There is also a lot of mountain laurel and Catawba rhododendron out in the spring and summer months.

Rocky Top is a popular summit on this long ridge between Derrick Knob Shelter and Spence Field Shelter on the Appalachian Trail. This summit sits at 5,440 feet and is technically a subpeak of Thunderhead Mountain (just a little further east along the trail). Many say that this overlook provides the best views from this area of the park.

Reservations have to be made to stay at the shelter, as it is a very popular backpacking spot and a usual stop for AT thru-hikers. The shelter and field don't offer expansive views and are more so just peaceful forest areas on the ridge. The peaks to the east located on the Appalachian Trail offer the best lookouts.