ramsey cascades

This is the most beautiful trail I have done in the Smoky Mountain Park to date.DIRECTIONS TO TRAIL HEADTo get to the trail head from Pigeon Forge heading towards Gatlinburg take a left at light #3 in Gatlinburg then veer left onto HWY 321 go approx. 6 miles until you come upon Greenbrier Rd. take a right onto Greenbrier Rd. go approx. 3 miles take a left onto Greenbrier Cv. Rd. go approx. 1.7 miles to the trailhead. THE TRAILThe trail is a 4 mile strenuous hike one way 8 mile total it is the hardest I Have done but also the most rewarding the trail starts off an it not to steep for the first 3/4 mile or so and it follows the Middle prong Creek you see the Creek most of the hike after the first 3/4 mile it gets a little steeper then you come to a log bridge that goes over the Middle Prong Creek it is a narrow tree bridge with a handrail approx. 20 foot above the stream not for the weak at heart, I would say this bride is approx. half way on the trail after the bridge about 50 yards you com to the Old Growth Forrest which is enchanting after another mile or so you come to another wooden bridge this one is not as high as the first and is a little wider, at this point you are 600 yards or so from Ramsey Cascades Falls after hiking another say 300 yards the trail gets steeper and rockier the last 300 yards are tough climbing. then you reach the cascade which is over 100 feet in height and very beautiful.TIPSWear good Hiking Shoes, take plenty of water or a camelback and some snacks you are going to need them. This hike took us 3 hour up and 2 hours down we are in our 50's but in pretty good shape we cycle run and hike.

The scenery and the waterfall were awesome. I want to make sure you are prepared. This is a very tough hike. Uphill practically the whole way, like you are climbing stairs. Rocks and roots are abundant making the trek more difficult. It was even more difficult coming down because of ice and mud and the risk of slipping. Word of advice be on your way up by noon or don't go. It took me 6 hours and I struggled to get out before dark

This is one waterfall that doesn't disappoint. It looks exactly like the pictures. I've hiked almost every waterfall trail in the Smokies and this is by far the hardest I've hiked. It is a 8 mile round trip hike, starts off fairly easy and gets very difficult at the end. It is beautiful, and we saw a mom and 3 cubs on the way. If you gonna hike this one, please wear boots and take plenty of water!!!

At the age of sixty-nine and made the climb! At the start I had no idea how difficult it would be. Next time I will wear hiking shoes, not walking shoes. I have never experience anything like this. We carried water, but no food nor flashlight... was a mistake. Met many people; one couple gave us the best ham sandwiches we ever ate... lol.. would have paid big time for it. A man showed us a picture of a Black Bear on the trail and I was concerned about getting out by dark. Took us nine hours but loved every step of it.

This was my very first hiking experience and turned out to be really awesome! Ramsay Cascades trail round trip was approximately 8 miles but appeared even longer. This trail has all the flavors; log bridges, rock climbing, water streams and steep paths. Though this trail is very exhausting but the waterfalls at the end of trail is worth this much pain. Very refreshing and one can easily forget all of the tiredness after reaching at waterfalls. It took us around 2.5 hours while going up and we came back in 1.5 hrs. Carry water bottles plus energy bars and avoid carrying bulky backpacks. Overall wonderful experience!

I have made the hike to Ramsey twice before and each time it has looked different. This time after some serious rain it was amazing. A thundering wall of water. We had to wade through the small falls just before the Cascade for the first time. Ankle deep but easily ffordable. The roar of the falls as well as the river that we followed in and out reflected the power of mother nature. Inspite of the rain it was the best visit yet.

We hiked to the waterfall in 2 hours and back down in 1 1/2 hours. We hiked it at a fair pace, with all in our group having hiked quite a bit before. The falls are lovely; the top was quite busy on the side of the water that the trail ends on.Definitely recommended! It's got a lot of roots and rocks to navigate but that makes it all the more fun, in my opinion.

Our trip time to the falls and back totaled about 6 hours. Took us 3 1/2 going up and 2/1/2 going down. Do not let the first mile fool you! It is much easier than the rest of the trail. My boyfriend and I did this together, and neither one of us are very fit (in fact he is very overweight and he still managed to do the whole trip), so we took a good amount of water breaks along the way. We each brought 2 water bottles, which ran out around the time when we had a mile to go. Make sure you bring at LEAST 3 bottles each as well as ample snacks and maybe lunch, because it will be an all day trip! I would recommend beginning the trail between 8 and 9 so you can get to the falls around lunch time and have something to eat. The falls are beautiful and very cool and refreshing, so if you are on the fence about doing the trail I would at least try it! Many photo ops and cute critters along the way.

This trail is rated as moderately strenuous......we have hiked many of the area trails and this is a difficult trail in my estimation. We did the trip in about 5 hours including about a half hour at the falls. I was glad I had my walking stick with me as it helped me with balance on the rocks when we got close to the falls. This trail is very hard on the knees as it is very steep coming down with a lot of large rocks to navigate. Wear good hiking boots and good socks and bring plenty of water and snacks. We have done Rainbow Falls several times and in comparison, this trail is much more difficult but the falls and the trail are both beautiful and worth it if you are up to the challenge. I wouldn't recommend it for small children as the rock steps are very high and the trail gets very steep.

My sister and I set off on this journey to hike to the waterfall. It is 4 miles up and 4 miles back down...total of 8 miles. I was huffing and puffing straight away. I think some of it had to do with the altitude difference. We are from Texas and have no high mountains. There is a trail the whole way up so you will not get lost. It is a rock path the first 1-1/2 up and then it turns into a dirt path and you are weaving in and out of trees, up rocks and over tree roots. Be careful and don't stump your toe and fall. During this you will see many small waterfalls, huge trees (I believe this is the last of the older forests in that area), and big rocks. You are in the trees the entire time. There are two bridges made of logs that you must cross the river on. These only have a handle rail on one side so it's kind of spooky but very fun and exciting. Do NOT forget to bring water and snacks. We brought two bottles of water each and that wasn't enough. It took us 3 hours to get to the falls. We were about to give up and some people coming down said we didn't have far to go so we kept on and made it. The falls are beautiful and the water is ice cold! Going down is tough on the knees so if you have knee issues please remember to wear a brace. It took us 2 hours to get down. This is so worth the hike and you can mark that one off of your bucket list!

We were 7 of us with 3 couples in late 20s. All of us never hiked before. I read the reviews but not disclosed to my other friends except my wife. I knew it's gonna be tough as we all r new to trailing n hiking. Yes, we all were exhausted before reaching the end of it but believe me after seeing the waterfall our energy was back within seconds. It was that beautiful.Must do if u have close to 5 hours. This trail has everything you will expect n u gonna be like yes we did one awesome trail.All of us loved it even though we were tired like heck and had sore legs.Just experience it to believe it.

Most trail maps and brochures I have seen rate this as a "Moderate" to "Moderately difficult" hike. Personally I would say this definitely is a "Strenuous" hike. I have done it over a dozen times and it is just as hard every time. one time I could barely walk afterwards (knees) but we had done LeConte via the Boulevard the previous day and Chimney Tops the day before that so that probably had a little something to do with it. Take lots of water, and trail snacks. And if you use them Hiking poles are a big help on this one. Oh and watch out for the "Mad" Chipmunks and Ground Squirrels at the Cascades, they like to steal food!

All I can say is "we did it"! We are not a very athletic or physically fit family (well some of us LOL), but we conquered this hiking trail. Being from out of state and all of our walking is mainly flat grounds, this trail was strenuous. It starts off more flat but then increasingly gets more narrow roads, climbing up hill, and becomes more treacherous. Beware that there are two bridges you have to cross. When I say bridges, I mean basically a 5-6 inch wide log over a river with only one side of a railing to it. We did not expect that! I see why people use hiking sticks for this trail too. You will constantly be dodging roots in the ground, trying to find spots on small boulders and rocks to get your footing, etc. We did not stop but only to take quick water breaks/rest and it took us apx. 6 hours round trip. That was only spending about 10 minutes at the waterfall which really was the prettiest waterfall we've seen at the Smoky Mountains. Be sure to bring plenty of water! We took 5 bottles and ran out the day we went. I'm still sore typing this review 2 days later after the trip. HAHA The trail is not mapped out very well either. With help from other people in the area, we found out how to get to the trail and once you are on the trail there is only 1 sign that says 2.5 miles left to the falls. There are no other signs along the way. Please note that this is more than 8 miles too. It's more like 10 miles round trip. Another hiker had a GPS device and confirmed it was definitely more than 4 miles going up. Of course it's always easier going down for most but it's still dangerous because the trail is slippery in areas, has narrow stone stairs, roots in the ground, etc. We did not see any bear and maybe it was good because there is nowhere to run. LOL Not many people out on the trails either to be very careful.

This hike starts out as a moderate hike but about half way there the difficulty increases and by the top it is very strenuous but I loved it and would do it again. The path is fairly easy to follow until you get to the upper part then you will think to yourself " am I going the right way? " but keep going and you will make it to the falls. I am 50 and not in very good shape but I made it and I felt great afterwards. The walk down is so much easier you'll feel like you are flying down the trail. Totally worth doing but be prepared with water and snacks and good shoes.

Soooo pretty! Hiked the Ramsey Cascade trial (8 miles round trip). Saw a deer, bear, salamander & butterflies. And it's free! Sure beats all the expensive tourist traps in town!! Caution though the Ramsey trail is rough! My husband & I are both athletic but not avid hikers & we had a rough time on the hike up & our bodies paid the price for a couple days after. Take your time, take breaks & pack water & a snack. We started the hike around 1:30 in the afternoon, took us just under 2 hours each way & we spent about a half hour at the cascade. The mosquitos were starting to come out on the hike back. The trail is mostly shaded which was great & when you get to the top the temp drops & is so refreshing. The hike is beautiful.