Some hikes are about reaching the destination. Others give you plenty to see along the way. My recent hike on the Abrams Falls Trail in Cades Cove offered both.

The trail begins off Cades Cove Loop Road, about five miles from the start of the loop. From there, it is 2.5 miles to Abrams Falls, making the round trip about 5 miles. I would consider this a moderately difficult hike, especially during the hot temperatures we have been experiencing. Carrying plenty of water and food is important on this one.

Of course, I am always watching the sides of the trail to see what is blooming. This hike provided a good variety, with some flowers at peak and others signaling the gradual change in the season.

Wildflower finds included:

  • Cardinal flower — few, at peak bloom
  • Coreopsis — some, mostly at peak bloom
  • Daisy fleabane — few, at or just beyond peak
  • False foxglove — many, with some blooming and many buds
  • Flowering spurge — many, mostly at peak
  • Goldenrod — some, with various species appearing past peak
  • Great lobelia — few, just beginning to bloom
  • Heal-all — few, past peak
  • Joe-Pye weed — some, at peak
  • Red clover — few, past peak
  • Southern harebell — many, at or just beyond peak
  • Star grass — one
  • Tick trefoil — few, past peak
  • Virgin’s bower — some, almost at peak about one-tenth of a mile beyond the falls
  • White-top asters — few, past peak

I also spotted two wildflowers I have tentatively identified as hairy milk pea and smooth creeping bush clover.

Virgin’s bower was a particularly good find. So far, Abrams Falls Trail is the only trail where I have located it in bloom.

At the end of the trail, Abrams Falls provides the payoff. As inviting as the water may look on a hot day, the park does not recommend swimming at the falls because drownings have occurred there.

Between the falls, the variety of wildflowers and a good walk through the Smokies, Abrams Falls Trail continues to be a hike worth taking — just bring plenty of water and take time to look along the way.

Tom Harrington is a regular hiker who reports on his hikes and mountain stories from the Smokies.

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