We visited with my husband, 4 year old, mom and dad in September. My dad has knee problems and stairs are especially difficult for him. He walked the trail to the falls, but we noticed on the way back that he could skip the stairs and wait for us to walk back, get the car and come pick him up. I wish we had realized before he made the first trip because we could have dropped him and my mom off there to begin with and he could have avoided the stairs all together. I don't think there is any near by public parking, but i didn't look for that.
The beginning of the trail is to the left of the sugarlands welcome center. If you want to drop someone off at the top of the stairs on the trail, turn left out of the sugarlands parking lot on to Fighting Creek Gap Rd. Go to the stop sign and turn left on to 441. Take the first left on to Park Headquarters Rd. Then, take the first left again onto sugarlands residents rd. You will see park head quarters and some picnic tables on the left and a small bridge just ahead that crosses over a creek and the trail that connects the sugarlands welcome center to cataract falls. The falls are very close to that bridge. You will see the trail to the right just after the bridge. From that point, there are no stairs, just a little incline, and a super short walk to the falls.
We had a great time on the full trail. The trail mostly follows the creek. There are several small bridges, an underpass and a flight of uneven wooden/dirt/rock steps. The path was very well maintained and the bridges were super nice. It is a VERY easy hike for those without mobility issues. It's very doable for someone out of shape or over weight as it is pretty level and bout that long. I've read that it os .8 miles round trip, but that can't be accurate. It feels much further than that. There are a couple of logs and large boulders to sit on along the path, but no benches until you get to the falls. There is one bench for 2-3 people right at the falls. The ground is uneven and has a few roots to step over or around.
We spent 90 minutes here, but we stopped along the way to look at rocks etc.
We really enjoyed it and would certainly do it again!