About LeConte Lodge
There is exactly one place to sleep indoors inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and you have to walk to it. LeConte Lodge occupies a high shoulder of Mount LeConte, at roughly 6,400 feet, and it has been taking overnight guests since the mid-1920s.
What it is
A cluster of rustic cabins and a main lodge with a dining room, set in spruce-fir forest. There is no road, no electricity from the grid and no running water in the cabins. Guests carry in what they need or have it brought by llama pack train, and the llamas are a regular sight on the Trillium Gap Trail. Meals are served in the dining hall, and the lodge is the starting point for sunrise and sunset walks to the summit overlooks.
Getting there
There are five trails, all steep, all long. From the shortest to the longest, the options run from about 5.5 to 8 miles one way:
- Alum Cave Trail is the shortest and the most popular.
- Rainbow Falls Trail and Trillium Gap Trail are the other common routes.
- Boulevard Trail from Newfound Gap is the longest and the most scenic.
Check the park's conditions page for current trail status before you go.
Reservations
The lodge books far ahead and runs on a reservation system; see lecontelodge.com for the current rates, calendar and how to apply. A day hiker can also visit, and the lodge sells some items to hikers.
Planning
- Time: a full day each way for most hikers; start early.
- Weather: the summit is often 20 degrees colder than Gatlinburg and can be icy in late fall.
- Preparation: carry water, food, layers and a headlamp. Cell service is poor.
- Parking: the Alum Cave trailhead lot fills by 8 a.m. on fall weekends. A parking tag is required.
If you aren't up for the hike, the Mount LeConte views from Newfound Gap Road at the Chimney Tops pull-off and Morton Overlook give you a sense of the summit from below.
Good to know
- Do I need a parking tag?
- A Park It Forward parking tag ($5 a day, $15 a week or $40 a year) is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Entry is free, and federal passes such as America the Beautiful do not replace the tag.
