Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Upper Sassafras Gap & Deep Creek Horse Trail via Noland Divide Trail
16 mi · ▲ 3,696 ft · 7 hr 11 min
Upper Sassafras Gap & Deep Creek Horse Trail via Noland Divide Trail is a 16-mile out-and-back in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Jenkins Place, NC. The route reaches Upper Sassafras Gap at the turnaround, 8 miles in. It climbs 3,696 ft, with sections as steep as 19% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 87/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Upper Sassafras Gap & Deep Creek Horse Trail via Noland Divide Trail
16 mi · ▲ 3,696 ft · 7 hr 11 min
Elevation 1,815–4,595 ft
Out & Back · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Trailhead: Tom Branch Road · 35.46394, -83.43406
Weather Sep 4: Fog, high 93°F / low 69° · precip 11% · wind 4 mph · sunrise 7:09 AM · sunset 7:58 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Tom Branch Road, heading NW.
- 150 ftContinue straight onto Juney Whank Falls Trail, heading NW.
- 300 ftContinue straight onto Deep Creek Horse Trail, heading SW.
- 0.4 miTurn right onto Noland Divide Trail, heading NW.
- 7.5 miReach Upper Sassafras Gap, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 7.5 miTurn left onto Deep Creek Horse Trail, heading SE.
- 0.4 miContinue straight onto Juney Whank Falls Trail, heading NE.
- 300 ftContinue straight onto Tom Branch Road, heading NE.
- 50 ftArrive 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 Tom Branch Road Trailhead
- Indian Creek Trail 2.2 mi · ▲ 159 ft
- Deep Creek Horse Trail & Deep Creek Trail 2.5 mi · ▲ 645 ft
- Deep Creek Trail & Stone Pile Gap Trail via Thomas Divide Trail 4 mi · ▲ 635 ft
- Lonesome Pine Overlook & Deep Creek Horse Trail via Noland Divide Trail 7.5 mi · ▲ 2,319 ft
- Indian Creek Trail & Stone Pile Gap Trail 8.3 mi · ▲ 780 ft
- Deep Creek Trail–Indian Creek Trail, 3 sights 8.5 mi · ▲ 776 ft
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