A short, very manicured, level trail. Due to limited rainfall recently the falls did not have much water. Nice to see the kids. The adjoining nature trail was of moderate difficulty. One can do both or do them separately.
A short, very manicured, level trail. Due to limited rainfall recently the falls did not have much water. Nice to see the kids. The adjoining nature trail was of moderate difficulty. One can do both or do them separately.
This is a very small waterfall that is relativey easy to access and to get pictures with small kids. Not far from the access road.
My wife had visited the Smoky Mountains National Park -- including the Cataract Falls -- in September 2016 for our anniversary.
After making our way to the Sugerlands Visitors Center, we began walking down the trails, where river tributaries, old bridges, and rocky pathways surround you. After walking down the Nature path for about twenty minutes, we reached Cataract Falls -- do not expect Niagara-sized falls here (the path ends to a small pond/lake in front, with a large rocky cliff-face before you, and water mildly fast pouring down the rocks into the pond/lake). Similar to the smaller falls you will see at Starved Rock (in Illinois), and I bet the Cataract flows more after the rain. It is very easy to get to from the Visitors Center -- hour round-trip on foot -- and very few people were there when we visited. Quiet, peaceful and worth every minute.
We read in the Smokies Guide we got at the visitors center that it is an easy, 0.7 mile round trip walk from the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Nope, not even close. I measured it with the Map My Walk app (which uses GPS) and the whole thing came out to about 2.0 miles.
It is a nice walk and our 2 1/2 year old grandson did it with us, so it is doable for kids. But it is not handicap accessible because there is a steep staircase well before you reach the falls.
The falls themselves are, well, a disappointment. We were there in August and the water flow was kind of low, but even if we were there at a high flow time, I couldn't get excited about them. They aren't particularly high or especially beautiful. I've seen "falls" bigger than this without any names just driving down the road where I live. We don't even consider them falls and they aren't on maps, and nobody goes out of their way to see them. So if you are a big waterfalls fan, expect to be underwhelmed.
Easy walk through the forest. Crowded with tourists, but worth the stop. Behind sugar lands visitors center.
Nice walk, very easy located behind the visitors center.
Easy pace, not strenuous at all.
When we were there it wasn't much of a water event.