Clingman's Dome Overnight Loop

This loop starts at the highest trailhead in the park, taking the Appalachian Trail past myriad views of the park and beyond. It then drops into Tennessee, where you leave the high country spruce-fir forest for a streamside campsite in rich woodland that has every-where-you-look beauty. Remain in the valley of the Little River for a lovely watershed walk, to spend your second night beneath Clingmans Dome at Three Forks. Get a good night’s sleep here, as your final day makes a long and strenuous climb back to the high country via the Sugarland Mountain Trail, with more good views along the way. Finally, intersect the Appalachian Trail to undulate over Mount Collins and Clingmans Dome. Make a final stop at the observation tower atop the dome before completing your loop.