Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Albright Grove Loop
This 7-mile loop is a trailside study of the past: old cabins, ancient forests, and the legacy of a pioneering conservationist.
Trail Facts
- Distance: 6.3
Waypoints
MAL001
Location: 35.7693786621094, -83.2666931152344
Gradually ascend on Maddron Bald Trail (gravel road) through hemlocks and rhododendrons; Buckeye Creek rushes on L
MAL002
Location: 35.7626991271973, -83.2708969116211
Cabin of farmer Willis Baxter (c.1889); park historians believe this small home was built from a single American Chestnut tree. (A blight has wiped out these massive giants)
MAL003
Location: 35.7554702758789, -83.2716979980469
Straight @ 4-way
MAL004
Location: 35.7470703125, -83.2785110473633
On R, large piles of rocks act as old fence lines; chickweed and showy orchid flourish in open stands of poplar, maple
MAL005
Location: 35.7437782287598, -83.2791366577148
Stand of large hemlock with blue cohosh, trout lilies, hepatica, and trillium carpeting forest floor below
MAL006
Location: 35.7378692626953, -83.2780838012695
Cross Indian Camp Creek on log footbridge; climb steep (maybe wet) trail
MAL007
Location: 35.7373390197754, -83.2797164916992
L @ Y, starting Albright Grove Loop Trail (named after 2nd NPS director Horace Albright, an early advocate for this and other national parks E of the Mississippi)
MAL008
Location: 35.7352600097656, -83.2755126953125
R @ T
MAL009
Location: 35.7351989746094, -83.2767791748047
After short climb, check out two large silverbell trees on R whose flaking bark shines blue
MAL010
Location: 35.7350311279297, -83.2796936035156
Path drops 200 ft. on return back to WPT 7; backtrack to trailhead