Fall may be arriving slowly in the Great Smoky Mountains, but Rabbit Creek Trail is offering hikers a mix of late-season wildflowers and the first hints of changing leaves.

The Rabbit Creek Trail begins at the Abrams Creek trailhead just before the Abrams Creek ranger station. The trail stretches 7.8 miles and ends at the same location where the Abrams Falls Trail begins in Cades Cove. The Abrams Creek entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located off Happy Valley Road.

This is a difficult trail for most hikers, and there is an important consideration almost immediately: About two-tenths of a mile from the trailhead, hikers must wade across Abrams Creek. After heavy rainfall, attempting the crossing can be dangerous.

Wildflowers seen along the trail

The fall wildflowers provided plenty to see:

  • Blue asters — Many; mostly at peak bloom
  • Erect goldenrod — A few; other varieties of goldenrod were also present
  • Great lobelia — Some; mostly at peak bloom
  • Pilewort — Some
  • White top asters — Some; mostly at peak bloom
  • White turtleheads — A few; past peak bloom near the trailhead
  • Yellow asters — Many

One particularly interesting sight was the white turtlehead. Some of the plants were about 5 feet tall, considerably taller than any I have previously seen.

I identify many asters primarily by color, and there is a good reason for that. Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers notes that even botanists can have difficulty positively identifying many of the more than 20 aster species found in the park. So, for my trail reports, I generally identify asters by their color.

Fall color beginning

In the higher elevations along Rabbit Creek Trail, some red maple, sourwood and sugar maple foliage has begun changing. The colors, however, appeared somewhat drab, possibly because of the recent hot and dry weather.

Even before the Smokies reach their full fall display, Rabbit Creek Trail offers its own seasonal transition — summer wildflowers hanging on, asters and goldenrod providing fall color and the first changing leaves appearing overhead.

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

Enjoyed this article? Explore more Hiking with Harrington by Tom Harrington.

Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our free newsletter to receive every new article in one convenient email.