GATLINBURG, Tenn.—Beginning May 4, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will close Bullhead Trail from Monday through Thursday each week, excluding federal holidays, through November 19. During this time, the park will continue the rehabilitation of the Bullhead Trail in partnership with Friends of the Smokies.
Hikers are welcome to hike Bullhead Trail Friday through Sunday and on federal holidays. The park plans to reopen the trail fully in November.
The Bullhead Trail is one of several routes that lead to Mount LeConte, offering a challenging 13.6-mile roundtrip hike to the summit. Through this rehabilitation, the park will enhance overall trail safety by:
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Repairing tread surfaces
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Improving drainage
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Constructing trail structures such as staircases, turnpikes and retaining walls
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Removing tripping hazards like exposed rocks and roots
Specific improvements to the Bullhead Trail include:
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Regrading 3 miles of trail surface for improved safety and better trail drainage
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Repairing existing drystone retaining walls, adding new stone steps and building turnpikes and erosion control structures
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Removing tripping hazards, including roots and rocks
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Widening sections of trail that are eroding and sloughing off of the hill side
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Pruning overgrown vegetation in the trail corridor to improve views and the hiker experience
The park is also improving the top sections of several trails around the top of Mount LeConte to address erosion and rehabilitate parts of those trails. These efforts will also help protect the park’s natural resources.
Following the completion of the Ramsey Cascades Trail rehabilitation in 2024, the park and Friends of the Smokies began the rehabilitation of Bullhead Trail as the next project in the Trails Forever program. This program funds a permanent, highly skilled trail crew dedicated to the rehabilitation of high-use trails throughout the park.
The program also funds youth trail crews from the American Conservation Experience and Southeast Conservation Corps who assist with the rehabilitation each year. There will also be volunteer opportunities to assist the crew each Wednesday on Bullhead Trail starting May 20.
To date, Friends of the Smokies has contributed more than $4 million to rehabilitation projects, including those on Abrams Falls, Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Chimney Tops, Forney Ridge and Ramsey Cascades trails.
