With Stream Crossings and Footbridges, The Little-Known Boogerman Trail In North Carolina Is Unexpectedly Magical
Spend any time hiking in the Tar Heel State and you’re sure to fall in love with our wild side. With trails that wind through mountains and valleys and past raging rivers or along the beautiful coast, there is a wide array of wonderlands to explore. Check out this little-known trail near Maggie Valley where you’ll cross scores of magical streams and footbridges in North Carolina.
With a total elevation change of more than 1,100 feet and a total distance of 7.3 miles, the Boogerman Trail near Maggie Valley is anything but easy.
Located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Boogerman Trail winds through some beautiful terrain crossing several streams — and even crossing several of them many times.
It's a great signature of the National Park Service to make hiking trails in this park as enchanting as possible so the water crossings on this hike are simply spellbinding. Each and every one is different and creates incredible opportunities for stopping to "smell the roses" along the path.
From the Palmer Fork stream to the Sag Branch stream, then up to the top of Snake Ridge and then back down to cross the Snake Branch stream, you can attempt to count the number of water crossings on this hike. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 crossings.
But Boogerman also has other sights to enjoy. In particular, there are a number of enormous trees on this trail through the Great Smoky Mountains. And the canopy in the warm seasons is unusually green.
Make no mistake when you embark upon Boogerman Trail, though. All Trails ranks this hike as "hard," and rightfully so. Be sure you're experienced enough to take this one.
Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
