September is our favorite month to send guests out to the waterfalls. The summer crowds have thinned, the creeks are still running strong from late-summer storms, and the mornings finally have that first hint of cool air that makes climbing a ridge feel good instead of miserable. If you’re staying with us this month, this is the stretch of the season to lace up your boots and go find some moving water.
We’re based on the Cosby side of the park, the quiet entrance most visitors driving in from Pigeon Forge never bother to find, and it happens to sit at the trailhead for one of the best waterfall hikes in the entire Smokies. Below are our four go-to picks, from the one in our own backyard to the one you should only attempt if you’re already in decent hiking shape.
Hen Wallow Falls: The One Right Down the Road
If you’re staying in one of our cabins near Cosby, this is the hike we point people to first. Gabes Mountain Trail starts near the Cosby Picnic Area and Cosby Campground, about a 4.3-mile round trip that the National Park Service rates as moderate, running through a shaded hardwood forest thick with hemlock and rhododendron.
The payoff is a 90-foot waterfall that starts as a narrow, two-foot-wide creek at the top and fans out to about 30 feet wide by the time it reaches the base. That makes Hen Wallow one of the tallest falls in the park, second only to Ramsey Cascades and Mingo Falls. There are a few steep, root-crossed stretches near the bottom, so real hiking shoes matter more here than they do on some of the more manicured trails elsewhere in the park.
Stay close: Cozy Creek Cabin
A short drive from the Cosby entrance, this is the cabin we usually suggest for guests making Hen Wallow Falls their first hike of the trip — you can hear the water before you even leave the porch.
See Cozy Creek Cabin →
Grotto Falls: The Waterfall You Walk Behind
If you’ve got kids, older parents, or just want a shorter outing, Grotto Falls on Trillium Gap Trail is the one to pick. It’s a 2.6-mile round trip through old-growth forest, crossing a handful of small streams before arriving at a 25-foot cascade you can actually walk behind — the Park Service notes it’s one of the few falls in the Smokies you can get behind without technical climbing. It’s genuinely one of the more memorable short hikes in the region for that reason alone.
A fun bit of local trivia worth knowing before you go: this same trail is used periodically by llama pack trains resupplying the historic LeConte Lodge higher up the mountain. If you time it right and hear bells, step aside and let them pass — they have the right of way, and it’s a pretty good story to bring home.
Laurel Falls: Popular for a Reason, Plan Around It
Laurel Falls is the most visited waterfall trail in the park, and it earns that reputation. The 2.6-mile round trip follows a paved path to an 80-foot cascading falls, which makes it accessible to more people than almost anywhere else in the Smokies — strollers included, though the pavement is uneven in places and not truly wheelchair-friendly.
The tradeoff for that accessibility is crowds. The parking lot off Little River Road fills early, often by mid-morning on weekends, so this is the one hike on our list where we tell guests to go at first light or hold off until later afternoon.
Stay close: Mountain Rest
Closer to the Gatlinburg side of the park, Mountain Rest puts you within easy striking distance of Little River Road for an early start on Laurel Falls before the lot fills up.
See Mountain Rest →
Ramsey Cascades: For Guests Who Want to Earn It
For the more ambitious hikers in the group, Ramsey Cascades is the tallest waterfall in the park — an 8-mile round trip with more than 2,100 feet of elevation gain that ends at a 100-foot drop framed by genuinely old-growth forest, some of the largest trees left in the eastern United States. It’s a full day, not a stroll, and the trail gets rockier and rougher the closer you get to the falls. We only send guests here if they’ve told us they hike regularly at home. If that’s you, it’s worth the effort.
A Few Practical Notes Before You Go
Trail-day checklist
- Bring a parking tag. Since 2023, the park has required a paid parking tag displayed on any vehicle parked longer than 15 minutes anywhere inside the boundary, trailheads included. The National Park Service sells daily, weekly, and annual tags online and at visitor centers, and rangers do check. Grab one before you head out rather than dealing with it at the trailhead.
- Wear real shoes. Smoky Mountain trails look tame in photos and are rockier and rootier in person than they appear. Trail runners or hiking shoes with actual tread will save you a fall on the descents near most of these waterfalls, where the rock stays damp even in dry weather.
- Water levels shift fast. These falls are fed by rain, and the Smokies can get a downpour with almost no warning in September. A trickle in the morning can be a real creek by afternoon. Check the forecast before you go and turn around if a crossing looks higher than it did on the way in.
- Start early. September days are shortening, and it gets dark under tree cover well before official sunset. Aim to be off the trail with an hour of daylight to spare, especially on the longer hikes like Ramsey Cascades.
Making It Part of Your Stay
All four of these hikes are close enough to make for a half-day outing without eating up your whole visit, which is part of why we like sending guests to them. Come back, rinse off the trail dust, and let the creek outside do the rest of the work relaxing you.
Stay close: Trailhead Venues
True to its name, this property is built with hikers in mind — a solid home base whether you’re doing one waterfall a day or stacking two.
See Trailhead Venues →
Whichever waterfall you choose, September is about as good as this park gets — cooler air, running water, and a lot fewer people between you and the falls. Take a look at our full lineup of cabins and pick the one that puts you closest to the trailhead you want.
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