Cove Mountain Fire Tower Day Hike - Smoky Mountain Hiking
Length: 8.0 miles roundtrip
Difficulty: Medium to Strenuous
Highlights: Laurel Falls and the Air Quality Monitoring Station
Caution: Slick rocks occur around Laurel Falls
Note: Best hiked early in the day or off-season to avoid crowds
Hike to Cove Mountain Fire Tower
The quickest route
to the Cove Mountain fire tower is to begin on the Laurel Falls
Trail. The Laurel Falls trailhead is located in Fighting Creek
Gap, between the Sugarlands Visitor Center and Elkmont Campground
on Little River Road. A painted pedestrian crosswalk traverses
the road at this location, making it easier to spot the parking
area.
In order to get the best parking space and have
the most solitude, arrive at the trailhead very early in the morning.
The Laurel Falls Trail is perhaps the most heavily used trail in
the park. While Im still doing some research, I believe the
name Fighting Creek Gap might have been coined after someone saw
two cars battle for a parking space on a summer afternoon.
The Laurel Falls Trail begins as an easy climb
on a paved trail. Pavement is necessary to prevent erosion from
the heavy amount of foot traffic the trail receives. Youll
soon see why this is such a popular route for day hikers. At just
over one and a quarter miles, youll see Laurel Falls, a beautiful
seventy-five foot waterfall. Cross the footbridge over the clear,
cool mountain pool and continue up the trail. Youll leave
the pavement, as well as most of the hikers, behind you at the
falls.
The trail becomes a bit steeper as you move through
a variety of virgin timber. Youll pass a junction with the
Little Greenbrier Trail at about three miles. Continue on the Laurel
Falls Trail. Within a mile, you will join with the Cove Mountain
Trail. Take a left and youll soon encounter a grassy clearing
and the Cove Mountain fire tower.
Unlike the other three fire towers in the park,
the Cove Mountain fire tower doesnt afford much of a view.
The third tier of the tower has been transformed into an air quality
monitoring station, part of a joint venture between the National
Park Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Unfortunately, ground-level ozone is contributing
to unhealthy air and decreased visibility in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park and the surrounding area. By monitoring the amount
of ground-level ozone present in the air, park officials can better
inform the parks employees and visitors, especially those
individuals who are run an increased risk of suffering the effects
of ground-level ozone. Children and asthmatics are the first to
feel the effects of such pollution, though healthy adults may experience
a fifteen to twenty percent reduction in lung function from exposure
to low levels of ozone over several hours. Ground-level ozone takes
a toll on the environment as well, interfering with the health
of plants and wildlife.
After exploring the area, return to your car
via the same route.
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Other Park Hikes
Abrams Falls Trail
Alum Cave Bluff Trail
The Boogerman Trail Loop
Ramsay Cascades Trail
Rainbow Falls Trail
Hike to Shuckstack Tower
Chimney Tops
Old Settlers Trail
Hike to LeConte Lodge
Day Hike to Mt. Cammerer Firetower
Cove Mountain Fire Tower Day Hike
Fern Branch Falls Dayhike
Mt. Sterling Fire Tower
Big Creek Trail