The National Park Service will begin a major rehabilitation on Laurel Falls Trail, one of the most popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail will close for 18 months ...

Park officials announced on Tuesday that crews will “begin a major rehabilitation” on Laurel Falls Trail, which will close for 18 months starting Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. Crews are slated to make ...

The Laurel Falls trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on Saturday, May 23, 2020. The park reopened all trails over Memorial Day Weekend as part of its Phase 2 reopening plan, but of the ...

The 1.3-mile Laurel Falls Trail, which sees as many as 375,000 visitors annually, was hit in multiple spots, photos shows. “On July 24, 2023, U.S. Park Rangers investigated a vandalism report ...

Laurel Falls is one of the most popular trails in the park. The path has an upper and a lower section, divided by a walkway at the base of the upper falls (which measure 80 feet in height).

Laurel Falls Trail attracts as many as 375,000 hikers annually, so many that the trail is crumbling under foot as endless lines of hikers shuffle toward an 80-foot waterfall at the 1.3-mile mark.

If you’re planning a hike around New Year’s Day in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of its most popular trails will be closing during the first week of January for improvements and ...