Smoky Mountain Driving Tour:   Little River Road

Distance: 18 miles one way

Litte River Road was built on an old railroad roadbed used by the timber Industry.   Little River Road connects Sugarlands Valley with Townsend and Cades Cove. This 18 mile trip tends to meander and take up to 1 hour 30 minutes to drive.

Along the way, 3.7 miles from Sugarlands is the trailhead for Laurel Falls. The Laurel Falls Trail is one of the most popular hikes in the park.

At mile 10, you'll see the Metcalf Bottoms Pincic Area. It'a wonderful day use area -- but keep your camera handy, bear sightings are very common here.

At the picnic area, you can take a short path to the Little Greenbrier School. It's a charming 19th century schoolhouse. In fact, you can see the original furniture, desks, benches and blackboard.

Back on Little River Road, a half - mile or so you'll come to The Sinks. It's a nasty stretch of white water that once swallowed an entire derailed logging train, no kidding.

Further on our driving tour you see The Townsend Y. It's where the West Prong meets the Little River and Highway 73 veers off towards Townsend.

Needless to say, The Townsend Y is a very popular swimming hole.

Continuing on, the road now becomes Laurel Creek Road. About a half - mile further you can turn left on Tremont Road, an uncrowded 3.2 mile route into a very secnic area.

This area of the park was once home to one of the largest and last logging camps in the Smokies. For more info you can pick up The Tremont Logging History Auto Tour Brochure at any of our visitor centers.

Of course, The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is worth a stop. The Tremont Institude is a research facility with a visitor center and an interesting bookstore.

If you'd like to stretch your legs, we recommend two trails -- The West Prong Trail and The Middle Prong Trail. Both are pleasant river walks with several beautiful cascades.

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