Local Hikes: Southeast

Climb to two killer views, see the South's best flowers, and hike to secluded falls. (Click linked trips for GPS waypoints, photos, and more.)

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.


localhikes_SE_445.jpg

(Map by Andrew Matranga.)

/localhikes_SE_445.jpg

(Map by Andrew Matranga.)

1. Favorite multiday: Tricorner Loop

This 31-mile Smokies trek is an instant classic. It rises from dense, colorful undergrowth—ferns, trilliums, and rhododendrons—through Christmas-scented firs to the tops of 5,000-foot ridges. Hone your map skills: You’ll bushwhack to eight peaks taller than 6,000 feet. Tip: Thru-hikers crowd trails in April.

2. Classic day: Mt. LeConte

Climb 13 miles up and over this 6,593-foot summit on the Appalachian, Boulevard, and Alum Cave Trails.

3. Best wildflowers: Art Loeb Trail

Take a long weekend in mid-May to backpack this rolling 30.1-mile point-to-point through freshly blooming dogwood, magnolia, azalea, and trillium. Camp on grassy Black Balsam Knob. No fastpacking allowed.

4. Premier falls hike: Raven Cliff Falls

Hike 2.5 miles and see four thundering falls. Raven drops 60 feet through a granite slot.

5. Killer view: Blood Mountain

Peer into the most mountainous parts of three states from the summit.

6. Best foliage: Signal Mountain

Take the Cumberland Trail to an upper-deck view of blazing Tennessee River Gorge hardwoods.

Quick City Escapes

Amazon’s best-selling guidebook authors choose killer dayhikes near…

Atlanta from Marcus Woolf

Afoot & Afield Atlanta: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide, Afoot and Afield, $19

> West Lake and East Lake Trails, Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve

> Park Loop, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield

> Ocmulgee River Trail, Oconee NF

Charlotte from Jennifer Davis

Best Easy Day Hikes Charlotte, Falcon, $10

> Rocktop Trail, Crowders Mountain SP

> Lakeshore Loop, Lake Norman SP

> Fall Mountain Loop, Morrow Mountain SP

Nashville from Johnny Molloy

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Nashville, Menasha Ridge Press, $18

> Meriwether Lewis Loop, Meriwether Lewis National Monument

> Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens Hike Trail, Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens State Natural Area

> Narrows of Harpeth Trail, Harpeth River SP