I enjoyed a beautiful hike from the Wear Gap Road parking lot to the Metcalf Bottoms Trail, to the Walker Sisters Cabin and Greenbrier Trail.

If you begin your hike from the small parking area located on Wear Gap Road near the junction with Little Greenbrier Road it will add about ½ mile to the hike and a climb of 110 feet to reach the trailhead.

The wildflowers at Wear Gap Road were especially beautiful, mainly the Black-Eyed Susan which were at their peak.

  • Black Eyed Susan: many + – At peak bloom (very beautiful)
  • Heal All: some – At peak bloom
  • Mountain Mint: many – At or just beyond peak bloom
  • Phlox: some – At peak bloom (Note: not sure which of the phlox it is)
  • Poison Hemlock: some – At peak bloom
  • Red Clover: few – Past peak bloom
  • Saint John’s Wort: few – At peak bloom. (very small blooms)
  • Spotted Jewelweed: few – Past peak bloom (about gone)
  • Thimbleweed: few – Past peak bloom
  • Tick Trefoil: few – At peak bloom
  • White Clover: few – Well past peak bloom
  • White Top Aster: few – Past peak bloom (about gone)
  • Wild Potato Vine: few – Mostly at peak bloom (so beautiful)

The Metcalf Bottoms Trail is a great walk — only around 3.8 miles round trip and easy terrain, making it great for a short-day hike. Metcalf Bottoms Trail begins at a 1,700-foot elevation and only gains 100 feet from start to finish. However, it is important to note that the trail is not a gradual ascent, but rather a combination of an ascent and descent.

At Metcalf Bottoms, I saw a beautiful variety of wildflowers:

  • Black Eyed Susan: (1) – At peak bloom (near beginning of the trail)
  • Flowering Spurge: few – Well past peak bloom (about gone)
  • Heal All: some – Approaching peak bloom
  • Saint John’s Wort: few – At peak bloom (very small but colorful)
  • Tick Trefoil: some – At peak bloom or just beyond

The Walker Sisters Cabin trail is an easy-to-hike to historic site inside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The Walker family moved onto the homestead around 1870. The family had 13 members, including seven daughters and four sons.

On the Walker Sisters Cabin trail, I saw these wildflowers in bloom:

  • Coreopsis: (1) – At peak bloom
  • Flowering Spurge: few – Well past peak bloom
  • Heal All: some – Approaching peak bloom
  • Phlox: few – Closed to peak bloom (note: not sure which one of the phloxes it is)
  • Red Clover: few – Past peak bloom
  • Saint John’s Wort: few – Appear to be at peak bloom
  • Thimbleweed: few –Past peak bloom (about gone)
  • Tick Trefoil: many – At peak bloom or just beyond
  • Wood Nettle: few – Well past peak bloom (about gone)

On this beautiful fall day for our walk, we started from the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and continued to the Little Greenbrier Trail which brought some more wildflower sightings.

  • Coreopsis: few – At peak bloom
  • Heal All: some – At or approaching peak bloom
  • Tick Trefoil: many – At peak bloom or just beyond peak bloom

From Little Greenbrier Trail to Little Brier Gap Trail, I found these wildflowers holding on:

  • Coreopsis: some – At peak bloom
  • Poison Hemlock: few – At peak bloom
  • Reclining Saint Andrew’s Cross: few – At or just beyond peak bloom
  • Tick Trefoil: few – At or just beyond peak bloom
  • White Top Aster: some – Beyond peak bloom (about gone)

Photos came from my files. (not made today).

Tom Harrington is a regular hiker who reports on wildflowers in the Smokies.