Best Kid-Approved Hike In The Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the perfect destination for our family vacation. It's the most visited national park in the United States and for good reason! Staying in Pigeon Forge, escaping to the mountains was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of the busy, tourist-filled city. The mist atop the mountain's peaks added the serene elements you'd find in a rainforest. We quickly learned how The Smokies got their name! There's plenty of trails to choose from at all skill levels so we were able to find plenty of options for our family of 5, well, 6 if you include our red-headed step-child (just kidding, Dawson is our son Jared's best friend). Sure, there were several hikes we missed out on due to heavy mileage, crazy terrain and big elevation changes that our littles would have had a hard time on but this kid-approved hike still went above and beyond our expectations!

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Laurel Falls Trail

We fell in love with the rainforest vibes on this hike and the day's rainy weather added even more to it's dreamy scenery. Thankfully, we had all the gear we needed to stay dry on our 2.6 mile roundtrip hike. The trail leading to the 80-foot high waterfall was paved over 314 feet of elevation. While parts of the trail seemed more steep than others, we were definitely aware that we traveled uphill the entire way to our destination. To our surprise the littles did great with the incline with plenty of off-trail adventures to keep them motivated.

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The trail is fairly narrow and with Laurel Falls being a popular destination, proper trail etiquette is an absolute must! The steep drop off on the edge had most visitors seeking refuge in the middle of the trail. I ended up walking in the mud next to the pavement majority of the hike. Though the trail was paved, it was a about 4 inches thicker then the dirt it laid on. This, along with plenty of broken areas made it hard to keep sturdy footing. A twisted ankle on the wrong side could prove to be extremely dangerous.

Boulders that lined the path lent themselves to perfect sized rock climbing for the girls, while rock-covered walls offered the big kids their independence. Vines and foliage that followed us the length of the trail had a few clearings for amazing photo opportunities! The greenery against the white mist made for a few of our favorite family photo shots!

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The sound of rushing water increased as we neared the falls as the drop offs became even more steep. The top falls were crowded with people but we still managed to climb them. Jared and Dawson even made it all the way to the top! The lower falls seemed to be the less less popular of the two so we made our way down to find an area to eat our lunch and take in all the good views. We were able to cross the river, hopping across the rocks to stay dry. We found a large boulder to refuel before we rock-hopped our way down the water. We couldn't resist a tree that had fallen across the river teasing us as it hovered above the waters.

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We would have stayed on the trail all day if time allowed! Laurel Falls definitely earned it's place as one of our favorite hikes in GSMNP!