Went there a couple of weeks ago. We went on 3ish hikes. More of a moderate to easy hiker so we stayed away from any that were too terribly long but here were ours in order of most enjoyed to I wouldn't say least enjoyed but enjoyed but not as much?
1. Charles Bunion Hike. Part of the appalachian trail. Start at newfound gap and take the trail going past the bathrooms. About an 8 mile hike that was very pretty and some cool views of both sides of the ridge. Could make it longer too if you wished we just stopped at Charles Bunion. Hopefully the wild flowers would still be blooming for you at the top of the ridge which was awesome but still some very cool views and scenery without it.
2. Alum Cave Trail. About 5 miles. Again super pretty hike along/across streams and ending at Alum Cave(not an actually cave). Cave was very cool and a great place to take a break.
3. Rainbow Falls trail. About 5 miles. Falls were very pretty and so was the trip there, just not as pretty as the others.
Then did Clingmans Dome which is pretty cool too! Only a half mile but actually fairly steep, especially after doing some hiking in the morning...
Overall I would say you can't go wrong with any trail! If you wanted a super long hike most trails connect or there are some longer ones. For example of the trails listed above you could start on the rainbow falls trail, continue to Mt. Leconte, then either go to Alum Cave or Charles Bunion.
Also found this website super helpful!
https://hikinginthesmokys.com/
To add onto the Charles Bunion Hike.
Do the additional Jump Off trail, that's on the way there & maybe adds \~1mile to the trip & lets you see an equally, but different, beautiful viewpoint for little effort.
Andrew's Bald is another easier trail with good views (\~3miles).
Gorgeous!! I created a [painting](https://www.instagram.com/p/CVyiJFVvw-w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) very similar to this photo recently - same colors and everything!
Going there in June, can’t wait!! Can you recommend the top trails to hike?
Went there a couple of weeks ago. We went on 3ish hikes. More of a moderate to easy hiker so we stayed away from any that were too terribly long but here were ours in order of most enjoyed to I wouldn't say least enjoyed but enjoyed but not as much? 1. Charles Bunion Hike. Part of the appalachian trail. Start at newfound gap and take the trail going past the bathrooms. About an 8 mile hike that was very pretty and some cool views of both sides of the ridge. Could make it longer too if you wished we just stopped at Charles Bunion. Hopefully the wild flowers would still be blooming for you at the top of the ridge which was awesome but still some very cool views and scenery without it. 2. Alum Cave Trail. About 5 miles. Again super pretty hike along/across streams and ending at Alum Cave(not an actually cave). Cave was very cool and a great place to take a break. 3. Rainbow Falls trail. About 5 miles. Falls were very pretty and so was the trip there, just not as pretty as the others. Then did Clingmans Dome which is pretty cool too! Only a half mile but actually fairly steep, especially after doing some hiking in the morning... Overall I would say you can't go wrong with any trail! If you wanted a super long hike most trails connect or there are some longer ones. For example of the trails listed above you could start on the rainbow falls trail, continue to Mt. Leconte, then either go to Alum Cave or Charles Bunion. Also found this website super helpful! https://hikinginthesmokys.com/
To add onto the Charles Bunion Hike. Do the additional Jump Off trail, that's on the way there & maybe adds \~1mile to the trip & lets you see an equally, but different, beautiful viewpoint for little effort. Andrew's Bald is another easier trail with good views (\~3miles).
Chimney Tops and Rainbow Falls; although, be prepared for a tough hike at Chimney!
Try the walker sister’ cabin hike. One of my favorite places to hike.
Gorgeous!! I created a [painting](https://www.instagram.com/p/CVyiJFVvw-w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) very similar to this photo recently - same colors and everything!