Traverse A Tennessee Trail In The Smokies That Hides The Lost Ruins Of Abandoned Structures

The allure of abandoned places is a strong pull that I have a hard time resisting. There is something poetically beautiful about long-forgotten places that nature is retaking. There are abandoned structures in the Smokies on the Cucumber Gap and Little River Trail that house some rather intriguing set pieces. If you are like me, then these echoes of the past beckon you to take a closer look.

The trailhead is found at the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains. I have been to this location many times and am always fascinated by the abandoned cabins in the area.

The Elkmont ghost town is a terrific adventure and simple enough to take, but if you want to go another step further, you will want to take the Cucumber Gap and Little River Trail. Head into the woods and you will start with a familiar and peaceful experience in the Smokies. If you are familiar with hiking in the park, the first part of the trek will feel very familiar to the Gatlinburg Trail. With a slight uphill grade, the path follows the Little River as it gurgles, babbles, and smoothly flows around boulders. You will be able to witness small waterfalls as you traverse the trail also.

Further in is where things start to get interesting...

By now the park has undergone some extensive repairs and restorations on the luxury cabins in the ghost town of Elkmont. It is a pretty simple level road leading from one cabin to the next, but there are more and untouched structures in the woods.

There are stone bridges, pillars, and long-forgotten remnants of the past hidden throughout the hike.

These are the extended structures of what was once a thriving vacation resort in the Smokies for rich Knoxville residents. Certain cabins were designated "redeemable" -- but you won’t find those on this trail.

Instead what you will find are old foundations that still have the staircases, lone walls, and towering fireplaces just left in the woods slowly deteriorating back into the earth. You can explore plenty of these structures and you never know what you might find.

The structures were left as they once were so hikers have found some interesting artifacts of a long-forgotten era.

This is not your typical hike in the Great Smoky Mountains, but a place of abandoned beauty, history, and beguiling intrigue.

The best way to experience these abandoned structures in the Smokies is to get the AllTrails app on your phone and download the Cucumber Gap and Little River Trail map before you hike. This is one of those hidden gems in the park that you don’t want to miss. While everyone is busy hiking to Clingman’s Dome and Alum Cave head out on a journey through the past on this enticing trail next time you visit the Smokies.