I hiked a few trails this week but this report is from Round Top Trail. The Roundtop Trail starts off Wear Gap Road about a tenth of a mile from the park boundary. The trail is around 7.5 miles long and deadends at the Townsend Wye (Little River). There is no bridge across Little River there. There is a section of the trail about four miles in where the footing is extremely challenging and steep for about 50 feet.

There were eight blowdowns on the trail with a couple challenging to go over or under.

I saw a bear beside Wear Gap Road near Roundtop trailhead. He/she ran up & over hill.

Here are a few of the wildflower beauties I saw on this hike.

  • Blackberry – Some – Not at full bloom yet – mostly first mile of the trail.
  • Bowman’s Root – Few – Not at full bloom yet – first quarter of mile up trail.
  • Common Blue Violet – (1) – At full bloom.
  • Common Cinquefoil – Some – Mostly at peak bloom but blooms are not open unless the sun is out.
  • Crested Dwarf Iris – Very few – Well past their peak – all on the first 10th of a mile up the trail.
  • False Solomon’s Seal – Few – Approaching peak bloom.
  • Fire Pink – (6) – At peak bloom – about 2/10 of mile up trail on the right (behind stump).
  • Flame Azalea – Some – Most at peak bloom – Scattered along the first 2 miles of the trail. Most colorful.
  • Four Leaf Milkweed – Some – Close to peak bloom about 1-1/2 miles up trail.
  • Galax – Many – A few are just starting to bloom.
  • Hawkweed – Many – About half at full bloom – rest past peak bloom – mostly half mile on the trail.
  • Large Bluet – Many – Just starting to bloom – mostly first 1-1/2 mile up trail. Note: Not positive about ID.
  • Maple Leaf Viburnum – Few – Mostly just starting to bloom about 7/10 of a mile up the trail.
  • Meadow Parsnip – Few – At peak bloom – first 2/10 of a mile up the trail.
  • Mountain Laurel – Many ++ – Many at peak bloom. The best display of the Mountain Laurel starts about 1.25 miles up the trail. It is breathtakingly beautiful – well worth the effort.
  • Partridge Berry – (1)
  • Rue Anemone – Few – At or past peak bloom.
  • Star Grass – Many + – At peak bloom – stand out in bright sun – most blooms first mile up trail.
  • Vasey Trillium – (4) – At peak bloom – such large blooms – approx. 1-1/2 mile up trail on right.
  • Wild Geranium – Many – Past peak – many still have great colorful blooms.
  • Wild Oats – Few – Past peak bloom – first 1/10 of mile on trail.
  • Yellow Trillium – (1) – Past peak bloom.

Tom Harrington is a regular hiker who reports on wildflowers in the Smokies.