From the drive to the trailhead to the hike, the Middle Prong Trail had us hooked the whole time. It is not often that you are able to go on a hike that keeps you entertained through the whole hike and even the drive.
We were coming from the Knoxville area so our drive took us through Maryville and through Townsend before turning towards Cades Cove. For us the drive was amazing we always love to drive through downtown Maryville. Once we made it through that we continued on East Lamar Alexander Parkway. The parkway is a great drive because of the unique stores on both sides. The one that stands out is Destiny Used Cars. It is a car lot that seems to specialize in uniques classic cars. When I say unique I mean unique these are not cars you normally expect to see at a car lot it is definitely worth checking out as you drive by, it is located right across the street from Little River Trading Company.
The best part about driving through Townsend is you never know what you are going to see. Once weekend you may see classic cars and the next weekend it may seem like dune buggies have taken over the town. Plus you can almost always stop along the river and see people wading through and fly fishing. As you cotinine up through towards the Y-split you will see multiple pullouts for river access. There is one pull out that offers port-a-potties and this will be your last chance to use the restroom before you are stuck with only woods as an option.
After turning towards Cades Cove at the Y you will turn off towards the left and follow that road the rest of the way up to the parking lot at the trailhead. When you pass the Tremont Center the road turns to a gravel road for about 3 miles. It does have a few spots that get pretty bumpy, but it is not to bad. We were lucky and had a few turkeys pop out on the roads far ahead of us so we had time to stop and watch them for a minute before continuing on our way.
The parking lot is absolutely amazing in this area. It has a good amount of room for people to park. We could hear the river roaring from the second we opened the doors to the truck. The parking lot is so expansive that it seems like you could spend a few hours just exploring and hanging out by the river.
We were on the trailhead by 7:30 am which is something that we had never done before, but we loved it. There was only one other car in the parking lot and it was probably an hour before we saw another person. The trail starts off by crossing over a bridge that was originally built for the railroad. The whole trail at one point was a railroad that serviced the lumber industry before the park was formed. After crossing the bridge you will come to a Y you will want to stay to the left. The trail slowly starts to climb right after the start and seems to stay that way for most of the trail. Even though the trail is mostly uphill it is still pretty easy, especially on the return trip.
The first waterfall is located just 4/10 of a mile into the trail. It is named Lower Lynn Camp Falls. On the day we went to this 35-foot waterfall was absolutely amazing. We had recently had a good rainfall and the river was flowing strong. Someone has added a bench in a good viewing area of the falls. Sadly due to our recent rain, the bench was a little too wet to sit on, but I have to imagine that it is a great place to sit and take in the beauty of the waterfall.
Shortly after passing Lower Lynn Camp Falls there is a small side trail off to the left that will take you to a spectacular but small cataract (a waterfall that occurs when a large amount of fast-moving water falls over a cliff). The small trail opens up to a nice little cove. Due to being so close to the river and the surrounding woods being so dense, it does stay very humid on the small side trails like this one, but it is definitely worth feeling a little humidity to sneak a peek at this cool feature.
As you continue up the trail be sure to check out the rock bluff on the left side of the road. If you are lucky and hike this trail after a heavy rain you should see water running down the bluffs taking the appearance of small waterfalls. There are even a few small streams that run down the right side of the trail. These due become a small problem after heavy rain because they easily flood and run on to the trail.
Once you head up the trail just a little further you will arrive at Lynn Camp Falls. This waterfall is ⅔ of a mile from the trailhead. Lynn Camp is another beautiful multi-tiered waterfall. It is not as large as Lower Lynn camp but it is still worth taking in. For this reason, they have a bench built, that offers a great view.
Now at this point, you could turn around and have had a great little hike that is under a mile. However, by doing this you would be missing out on the opportunity some other great trail features. For instance, at about 1.9 miles there is a side trail on the right that leads to the body of an old Cadillac that was abounded on the trail a very long time ago.
It can be a little hard to find the side trail because it is not marked in any way. After leaving Lynn Camp Falls you will walk for a while before crossing a small bridge that leads over a stream. After going over that bridge you will see a trail on the right that leads off into the woods. You will want to pass that side trail and continue on until you come to another side trail. You will know you are on the right trail very quickly because the Cadillac comes into view right as you come over the small berm.
It was after finding the Cadillac we decided to head back towards the trailhead. If you are feeling like going further up the trail there is still more to see. As you continue up you can see more remnants of the old railroad, the chimney from an old homesite, and at 4 miles from the trailhead Indian Flats Falls. I can not really speak to much to this since we didn’t go up to those, but we plan to take another trip to the Middle Prong Trail to see these features.
As I mentioned earlier we were on the trail at 7:30 am. When we began to descend down the trail the birds began to start singing. Rays of light started breaking through the heavy tree cover. As LaBre said it went from being dark and mysterious to a magical fairy wonderland. We also started smelling the sweet smell of the surrounding flora as we got closer to the trailhead.
This was a great trail and I believe that anyone could easily complete this hike. It does seem to be mostly uphill, but if you take it slow it should be no problem. At the start of the trail, it says the trail is for everyone. It also says it is fine to hike in your tennis shoes. I would recommend that you wear proper footwear while hiking this trail. The trail is mostly gravel that transitions to more broken rock as you continue up the trail. You could hike this trail in tennis shoes, LaBre actually did. But we both concluded that hiking shoes or boots would be the better options. If you are looking for a fairly easy trail with the option to see some great waterfalls. This is the trail for you.
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I would like to thank my beautiful wife for the amazing pictures! Be sure to let her know how much you enjoyed them in the comments. We also made a quick video to showcase some of the other pictures not already shown above. We hope you enjoy it!
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