About Laurel Falls Trailhead Pullout (Trail Closed)
Laurel Falls Trail is closed. The National Park Service closed it on January 6, 2025 to redesign the lower viewing platform, and its closures page, updated October 15, 2026, says it expects to reopen sometime in 2027. The parking area on Little River Road is not a place to leave a car for other hikes, and the trail is off limits to hikers.
What this place was
The trailhead sits about 3.5 miles up Little River Road from Sugarlands Visitor Center. For years the lot here filled by 8 a.m., and the 2.6-mile round trip on a paved path to a 80-foot waterfall was one of the most popular short hikes in the park.
Where to go instead
If you came for a short hike near Gatlinburg, these are open as of the latest NPS notices:
- Grotto Falls on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, 2.6 miles round trip, a gentle climb to a fall you can walk behind. The loop road is open mid-April to November 29.
- Gatlinburg Trail, an easy, mostly flat walk of about 2 miles each way between Sugarlands Visitor Center and the Gatlinburg entrance.
- Rainbow Falls, a 5.4-mile round trip and more strenuous, from the Rainbow Falls trailhead off Cherokee Orchard Road.
- Abrams Falls in Cades Cove, a longer walk to a broad pool.
Always check the park conditions page before heading out, since trail and road conditions change.
Little River Road
The road itself is open year-round, weather permitting, and the Little River runs close to the pavement for most of its 18 miles to Townsend. Informal pull-offs along it give you river views. If you stop, a parking tag is required for stays over 15 minutes: $5 a day, $15 a week, $40 a year, and federal passes are not accepted.
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.