Ride Your Horse Or Hike The Great Smokey Mountains: Trails, Cabins And Stables

Living a 2-hour drive from the SMOKEY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK has given us the opportunity to heavily explore trails in the Great Smokey Mountains.  We have discovered that whether your ride or hike the Smokies, you are guaranteed to see amazing beauty in scenic overlooks, gentle streams and enveloping forest.

We have always hiked the Smokies but, when we bought horses, we were excited to try our favorite trails and new ones from horseback. We found a bunch of trails we liked (and some not so much) as well as vacation boarding facilities that house both you and your horses. 

BEST HORSE (AND HIKING) TRAILS:

BEST EVER HORSE TRAIL – Hands down, our favorite horse trail would have to be Middle Prong Trail. Absolutely gorgeous with scenic waterfalls, a lazy river and beautiful (but not dangerous as the trail is wide) drop-offs.

Located on Tremont Road, you will drive a long gravel, but pretty, road to the trailhead. Once there, there is no designated horse trailer parking so just pick a place along the side of the road and tack up.

The trail will begin after you cross a short bridge. This is a well-kept trail open only to hikers and horses. There are many great racking areas plus, if you go back far enough, there are areas for primitive camping.

Middle Prong is breathtakingly scenic with gorgeous water views and lookout points along the way.  It is also one of my most favorite trails to hike and, other than a bit of a hill to go up, it is great for most people in your group.

 

SECOND BEST HORSE TRAIL: Cades Cove Horse Trail is located at roughly the half-way point of the loop which allows you to also enjoy the stunning scenery of Cades Cove along the way. We love this trail as it is wide, mostly dirt allowing for racking and some low cantering and completely easy with the only somewhat difficult area being a shallow stream crossing close to the trail head.

This trail is all wooded riding with easy grades. We always make sure we ride this trail when we visit with our horses.

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LOVIN MY MUCK BOOTS!

THIRD BEST HORSE TRAIL: Schoolhouse Gap Trail is actually a tie with Cades Cove Trail in that it is a super scenic trail with part of it paralleling a tiny creek and the other part opening up to tremendous mountain views. It is a wide trail with fairly smooth dirt enabling us to enjoy low canters and racking.

I could actually do this trail over and over for it is really lovely and open only to horses and hikers. Parking is weird though as you will need to nudge into a paved but sometimes tight area.  Believe me, it will be worth the parking dilemma. Best thing, get there early for parking purposes because you will not want to miss out on this trail.

Schoolhouse Gap

FOURTH BEST HORSE TRAIL: Located at the entrance of Cades Cove Park, Rich Mountain Loop Trail will be across the street on your right from the parking lot. This is another stunningly beautiful trail encompassing around 8 miles of fields, high mountain top drop-offs on both sides offering breathtaking views of the Cades Cove and Townsend valleys below and tons of wildlife sightings.

The terrain varies from wide dirt paths for racking to very rocky and slow going. We did the entire loop and it does take a good part of the day to complete so plan ahead with food, be weather aware and an early-ish start is highly recommended. 

Rich Mountain Trail

FIFTH HORSE TRAIL: Gregory Bald Trail was not my most favorite trail, but I am offering it as a choice because I know some people use it. This trail does have beautiful trees (some of the largest trees I have seen in the southeastern U.S.) and a breathtaking view from the top.

I found this to be a difficult trail to maneuver with horses, or even on foot, with narrow areas of trail paralleling very steep drop-offs, (our hearts were in our throats on some of the narrower areas where it was impossible to turn around without going over the edge) downed trees blocking the path and nasty steep climbs.

Having said this, people do attempt this trail because of the beauty however, not me. Once was enough to try to ride this one. 

BEST PLACES TO STAY THE NIGHT FOR HUMANS AND HORSES

 

After long and tiring, but fun, trail rides we are ready to either stall and/or pasture the horses to allow them to enjoy a well-deserved rest and pampering as well as kick-back ourselves. The overnight human/horse stays we discovered are located in the quiet hills of Townsend, Tennessee which is located conveniently close to the entrance of the park.

There are many options to rent a home or cabin for your vacation getaway. This is a popular form of accommodation in the Smokey Mountains and one we as a family typically enjoy. 

Agoda may have additional options for staying in the Smokies.  Plus, for extra choices VRBO (VACATION RENTALS BY OWNER) has some great options you can browse.

You might also consider a campground for your RV.  Beautiful campsites can be found around The Great Smokey National Park. There is a huge selection of RV rentals to choose from.

Gilbertson’s Lazy Horse Retreat is a lovely place. Nestled on a sideroad in Townsend, this establishment hosts 4 cabin rentals (cabins are small but cozy and comfortable), pastures, stable, and a barn next to a camping area.

We stayed at the Hideout Cabin which was super cute and enjoyed relaxing on the front porch looking out over the pastures and mountain. The people here are very nice and the prices are budget friendly.

Mountain Shade Horse Retreat is another really nice horse/human stay in Townsend. The cabins are a decent size with pet friendly options and a barn for your horses. They are also fairly budget friendly.  

Twin Valley Bed & Breakfast Horse Ranch offers gorgeous cabin rentals for humans and paddocks with shelter for your horses. These guys get great reviews from TripAdvisor and offer a lot of extras like special packages, cookouts, horse riding lessons, horseback weddings and occasional music.

This is a really fun and beautiful place that everyone is going to enjoy.

TRIPADVISOR TWIN VALLEY B&B HORSE RANCH

Black Bear Hollow Cabins is located in Townsend TN and offers gorgeous cabins with stable options nearby to house your family horses. These fully equipped cabins allow you to relax after a day on the trails. 

TRIPADVISOR BLACK BEAR HOLLOW CABINS

Please go and enjoy and love the offerings of the Great Smokey Mountains! Whether you bring horses or come to hike, these mountains and their wildlife are true blessings.

I am an affiliate for the listed agencies, and I may receive a commission with a booking through the available links at ABSOLUTELY NO EXTRA COST TO YOU.

If you are into having a wine of a time, check out my Ancient Rituals Surrounding The Enjoyment Of Wine In The Mountains of Tennessee article and see if you would like a visit to our family vineyard/winery with Chuck and Alice.

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