Laurel Falls

The day after we hiked up the Meigs trail to Meigs Creek Cascade we took another waterfall hike to Laurel Falls.

Laurel Branch and the 80-foot high Laurel Falls are named for mountain laurel, an evergreen shrub which blooms along the trail and near the falls in May. The waterfall consists of an upper and a lower section, divided by a walkway which crosses the stream at the base of the upper falls. Laurel Falls is one of the most popular destinations in the park and parking at the trailhead is limited. The area is especially busy on weekends year-round and on weekdays during summer.
--from Great Smoky Mountains NP website

Just like with Meigs Creek Cascade we picked this trail because it was uphill and not too long--we didn't want to push our luck with the kids.

I picked up one of the trail guides as we started up the path since it promised to explain more about the route as we hiked.  We joked that we were safe from bears since our youngest loved to periodically squeal and we called him our bear alarm.

Many of the bushes along the trail are mountain laurel.  "Blooming in the early summer, it turns large patches of woods and hillsides to pink or white....  A stand of [laurel or rhododendron] is called a 'laurel hell,' because that's what it is if you are trying to get through it."
--from trail brochure

The trail is actually paved, but does slope uphill quite a bit at the start.

I spotted some more amazing mushrooms very similar to some of the fungi that I'd photographed the day before.

The path twists and turns around stones and trees.

This view of roots, rocks, and plants all jumbled together was fascinating to see.

We walked past a small rivulet of water.

More fungi were spotted running along a log.

As we got higher up the nature of the soil changed into more of a sandy texture.

I also spotted some beautiful flowers.

And there were even more fungi.

This bench was popular with the kids as a resting spot.

A glimpse through the trees led to a beautiful view.

I'm always interested to see what kids will find fascinating, like this leaf.

I find the labels on this trail counter amusing--some people must have thought it was a camera and might have blocked or damaged it.

These reddish leaves made for a beautiful dash of color.

A few paces on was another gorgeous view across the hills.

We spotted some yellow flowers beside the trail.

Then there were some white ones.

It is crazy how often people have to be told to stay away from drop-offs.

By this point we were almost to the falls and could hear the sound of the water falling.

Laurel Branch tumbles down from Cove Mountain and eventually becomes part of Little River.  It is representative of the hundreds of miles of Smokies streams, whose purity is unexcelled by streams anywhere else in the United States.  Their beauty appears in many forms, slow trickles and gurgling branches to torrents and cascades.  The abundance of surface water comes from the heavy annual rainfall of about 55 inches per year.  The rocks near the falls are covered with wet, slick algae, and safe footing is impossible to find.
--from trail brochure

The paved trail transitioned into a bridge.

Then it connected to the stone right below the falls.

Water came up to right next to the bridge.

We enjoyed resting before the falls for a while.

And of course I had to take a long exposure photo.

There is another waterfall directly past the path as the water continues on down the hill.

I don't do many selfies, but I'll occasionally ask my wife to take my picture somwhere.

There were more flowers surrounding the falls.

At last we headed back down.

It was over a mile back to our car, but it was consistently downhill.

To view some more photos from our hike check out this album.

~Matt