AT A GLANCE
A popular lower-elevation trek through the woods to a 90′ cascade.
| Distance | 4.2 mi |
|---|---|
| Route | In-and-back from Cosby Campground |
| Difficulty & overview |
Easy-Medium: rocky but wide, maintained trail with steady elevation gain for the first 2 miles in; a difficult tenth of a mile to and from the cascade. |
| Elevation range (approx) |
2,175′ (at trailhead) – 2,800′ (shortly before you descend to the cascade) |
| Features | 90′ Hen Wallow Falls cascade |
| Perils | Crowds |
| Find the trailhead | Cosby Campground entrance. Pull into the picnic area (shortly before you reach the campground). Park as soon as you can and walk back across the main entry road and down the hill slightly to the trailhead, marked by a sign. |
This is an easy enough in-and-back to a lovely 90′ cascade from the Cosby Campground park entrance.
If Cosby is the “quiet side” of the park, this part of the Gabes Mountain Trail is the busiest portion of that, probably because it’s one of the easiest trails out of the Cosby Campground. Most trails from this entrance are a lot steeper.
Don’t expect much wildlife because of all the other hikers. The upside, besides a beautiful cascade, is that trail traffic means no stinging nettle in summer and that, despite its rocks and roots, this trail is worn enough to be easy on the feet.
For more information, HikingintheSmokies.com has an informative post about Hen Wallow Falls.
Details:
Start off on a wide, well-tended trail up a gentle hill. Enjoy a creek beside the trail for a short while. At 1/2 mile, stay right at an intersection with a spur trail (it heads into the campground if you’re interested in lengthening the loop some and seeing the campground on the way back).
Dip down across a footbridge and then continue uphill. Eventually, another gentle downhill will bring you through what looks like a hemlock graveyard of downed trees. You’ll encounter mud in this area even on the driest day, but it’s not severe and only lasts for about 20′.
Pick your way across a “footbridge” made of a few logs (a good footbridge evidently washed out here in spring 2016: it was there for our early spring hike but not during a hike in July).
Continue up through the rhododendron and hang a left at the next trail intersection, which points you toward “Henwallow Falls” [sic] in another 1.2 miles.
Notice a large log across an old trail behind the sign: A log or other natural barrier is a message to hikers that says, “Don’t go this way.”
At 2 miles, veer right at the sign for Henwallow Falls and descend steeply about a tenth of a mile to the falls (this steep tenth of a mile earns this hike the “Easy-Medium” rating instead of just “Easy”).
At the cascade, you’ll find plenty of great places to sit and soak in the scenery, but be careful amongst the rocks, as rocks in water are often slick. Check out the gigantic quartz rocks and cave past the falls as well.
Return the same way you came: up steeply for 1/10 mile and then back down for 2 more miles.
Blue Ridge Dayhiking 