Roundtop Trail - Trail Synopsis

Trail Synopsis

The Roundtop Trail begins just inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's Wears Cove entrance, on the right (west) side of Lyon Springs Road (Lyon Springs Road is accessible via U.S. Route 321 in Wears Valley and via Little River Road at Metcalf Bottoms). The trail immediately rises out of Wear Cove Gap and gradually ascends to the crest of Roundtop. The northern side of the first leg of the trail is private property, although most of it is still heavily forested. A house is visible atop a knob near the trailhead, and a rental lodge sits right on the trail approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) beyond the trailhead. The aesthetic disturbance from the privately owned side of the trail is minimal, however, and consists mainly of surveyor ribbons and the occasional sign.

Just past the rental lodge, the trail begins to wind around the summit of Roundtop. The trail doesn't traverse the summit, however, and never eclipses 3,000 feet (910 m). Beyond the main summit, the trail passes along the south slope of the mountain's sub-peak, known as Little Roundtop. The Blount County, Sevier County, and National Park boundaries all join atop Little Roundtop. Just beyond the Big Creek headwaters, the trail declines sharply at a steep switchback as it descends to the lower, western half of the mountain.

Beyond Little Roundtop, the trail follows the crest of the ridge as it drops below 2,000 feet (610 m). This leg of the trail overlooks the southeastern extremes of Tuckaleechee Cove, and the sound of church bells from nearby Townsend are not uncommon on weekends. As the trail swings around the headwaters of Meadow Branch, it parallels the upper ridgeline of the Little River Gorge. Little River's rushing waters and winds sweeping up the narrow hollows typically create an unbroken roar emanating from the valley below. The trail follows the gorge's ridgeline for nearly a mile before being forced inward by a high knob on the mountain's western flank. The trail briefly crosses to the northern slope of the mountain, above a quiet hollow, before rounding the knob and beginning its descent to the Little River Valley.

The Roundtop Trail's descent is relatively sharp, but short. This leg of the trail is characterized by sandstone outcroppings, some of which form natural dry rock shelters. The Townsend Y and Little River Road can be discerned from the trail less than one-half mile from its terminus. The trail's terminus isn't marked, and splinters into several short paths, all leading the river's edge. The river is most easily forded immediately downstream or immediately uptream from the Y.