Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Big Fork Ridge Trail & McKee Branch Trail via Cataloochee Divide Trail
11.6 mi · ▲ 3,425 ft · 5 hr 35 min
Big Fork Ridge Trail & McKee Branch Trail via Cataloochee Divide Trail is an 11.6-mile out-and-back in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Suttontown, NC. It climbs 3,425 ft, with sections as steep as 21% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 92/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Big Fork Ridge Trail & McKee Branch Trail via Cataloochee Divide Trail
11.6 mi · ▲ 3,425 ft · 5 hr 35 min
Elevation 2,816–4,991 ft
Out & Back · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Trailhead: Science Center Trail · 35.58633, -83.07354
Weather Sep 4: Fog, high 78°F / low 62° · precip 13% · wind 2 mph · sunrise 7:08 AM · sunset 7:57 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Science Center Trail, heading NW.
- 0.2 miTurn left onto Cataloochee Divide Trail, heading S.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto McKee Branch Trail, heading W.
- 2.2 miTurn right onto Caldwell Fork Trail, heading N.
- 150 ftBear left onto Big Fork Ridge Trail, heading NW.
- 3.1 miReach McKee Branch Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 3.1 miBear right onto Caldwell Fork Trail, heading S.
- 150 ftTurn left onto McKee Branch Trail, heading SE.
- 2.2 miTurn left onto Cataloochee Divide Trail, heading N.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto Science Center Trail, heading N.
- 0.2 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
Weather
Good to know
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Science Center Trail Trailhead
- Double Gap–Cataloochee Divide Trail Loop, 3 sights 9.2 mi · ▲ 2,399 ft
- Caldwell Fork Trail–Cataloochee Horse Trail, 3 sights 14.7 mi · ▲ 2,497 ft
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Hikes near Suttontown, North Carolina