Little Greenbrier Trail

Hike #53 : October 25, 2015

12.9 miles

4.3 new miles
646.6 total overall miles

423.4 total miles of 800.8


The Little Greenbrier Trail is located just inside the park boundary off Wear Cove Gap Road.

View from the Little Greenbrier Trail

When the leaves are at their peak, it can be nearly impossible to avoid the masses crowding into the park for a looksee. After looking over my map and considering the possibility of wet weather, I opted for the Little Greenbrier Trail. If the weather turns bad, it's a short 8.6 miles out and back. If not, a detour to the Walker Sisters cabin would be a nice add-on.

An early start gets me to the trailhead before anyone else. In fact, I only saw one other person all day on the trail. Exactly what I was looking for! Things start off gentle enough, just a slight incline as the trail makes it's way through the amazing canopy of colors.

Little Greenbrier Trail

Continuing on, there are many side trails. The first of which I noticed was about a half mile in. It was just a short walk to what looked like an obvious old roadbed. There's a slight view through the trees down into the valley but it is mostly blocked by trees. I had to fight the urge to follow that old roadbed... hiking with Mike Maples has ruined me! Lol! The next several side trails are much the same until around a mile and a half in. This particular side trail opens up into a fantastic view of Wears Valley down below.

Looking down on Wears Valley

Since the Little Greenbrier Trail edges along the park boundary, I'm unsure if the overlook deck and benches off this little side trail are in the park or just the land owner's own handiwork but it's a very nice and tranquil spot. There's a manway trail that seems to continue on down the mountain, assumably all the way down to the valley but I don't know and I wasn't about to find out today.

Returning to the trail, the walk is more or less slightly downhill and rolling with much to see. The fall colors and distant glances of the surrounding mountains paired with the quiet solitude is nothing short of heavenly.

Views from the trail...

At 1.9 miles, the trail junctions with the Little Brier Gap Trail. A right turn onto Little Brier leads down about half a mile where a trail sign points the way to the Walker Sisters cabin. Continuing on would lead to the Little Greenbrier School and cemetery and eventually all the way to Metcalf Bottoms. I absolutely love the Walker sister's place. It's a beautiful place that's well worth the side trip.

The Walker Sisters Place

I also wandered around in the woods around the cabin and found an old homesite that possibly belonged to a brother of the Walker sisters. Being off trail felt good but I'm no Master Jedi, so I found my way back to the cabin before I could get myself lost and back up to Little Brier Gap. It's uphill all the way back to the junction with Little Greenbrier Trail where I make a right turn and continued on to the original destination.

From here the next 2.4 miles is a solid uphill climb. Much more so than I was expecting but I chugged right along still taking in the views.

Lots of colors!

When I finally reached the junction with the Laurel Falls Trail I had turned a 4.3 mile walk into a 6.8 mile hike. Lol!

Typical...

The trip back was fortunately almost all downhill. Whew! Its funny how sometimes a trail can look quite different just coming from the other direction. Beautiful trail and much quicker going down.

A final look from the Little Greenbrier Trail

I started the day looking for some me time and got tons more than I bargained for. I loved this hike and this trail. Definitely one worth doing again and again. These mountains never cease to amaze me!



TRAIL REVIEW

Little Greenbrier Trail - 4.3 miles (one way)

Wanna hike the 900 without getting lost? Start by checking out the book Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.

Hiking Trails of the Smokies or "The Little Brown Book" from the GSMA

Hiking Trails of The Great Smoky Mountains by Ken Wise

There is loads of information in the pages of GoSmokies.com.