51 Clingmans Dome

Hiking to the top of the highest mountain in the park (6,643 feet) and the third highest in the East (Mount Mitchell is first at 6,684 feet, Mount Craig is second at 6,647 feet) is bittersweet. On one hand, there can be great distant views and you get to experience the extremes of life at this elevation—wind, rain, snow, fog, cold. It’s not uncommon to leave Gatlinburg in sunshine and 55-degree temperatures and find it snowing on Clingmans Dome. On the other hand, you experience the extremes of humankind’s negative influence on the environment—smog, introduced pests, crowds, and bulldozed mountainsides. Clingmans Dome is an outdoor classroom and everyone should study here at least once.

Start: Forney Ridge Parking Area for Clingmans Dome

Distance: 1.5-mile loop

Hiking time: About 2 hours—day hike

Difficulty: Strenuous, due to steep path

Trail surface: Paved path and rocky trail

Other trail users: Hikers only

Maps: Clingmans Dome and Silers Bald USGS quads; Trails Illustrated #229 Great Smoky Mountains; Trails Illustrated #317 Clingmans Dome Cataloochee; Trails Illustrated #316 Cades Cove Elkmont

Special considerations: You have to make this hike early in the morning to avoid the crowds. Clingmans Dome Road is closed Dec 1–Mar 31.

Other: The parking lot is huge, but it’s often not big enough to accommodate weekend traffic. Pit toilets are located at the parking area. A new visitor center is located near the start of the hike.

Finding the trailhead: At Newfound Gap turn west onto Clingmans Dome Road and drive 7.0 miles to the Forney Ridge Parking Area at the end. The paved trail begins on the far western end of the parking area. GPS: N35 33.409' / W83 29.772'

The Hike

Begin the hike on the paved path at the western end of the parking area. After you pass the visitor center, the grade becomes very steep, with numerous benches providing rest stops. The distant views are good, but the forest all around you is very depressing from the death of the Fraser firs (See the sidebar for Hike 49). Just before the path levels off, a short connector to the Appalachian Trail (AT) turns off to the left. Continue on the paved path a short distance to the tower. A long circular ramp leads to an observation deck, some 50 feet above the ground.

Not too many years ago, the view from the deck was limited, with Fraser firs blocking much of the panorama. But today, with the trees dead and fallen, the view is open all around. Today, air pollution limits the views. The winter months provide the clearest views, but since Clingmans Dome Road is closed from December to March, November is the best month. When the view up here is good, it’s really good.

As you head back down, turn right onto the connector path you passed on the way up and follow it a few yards to the AT. Turn left (west) and find yourself alone. Few persons leave the paved path, so you might have the rest of the hike to yourself. Follow the AT for 0.3 mile to the junction with Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail. There are views along the way, but you already had the best possible views back up on the tower.

Turn left (southeast) on Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail. On a clear day you can see the Forney Ridge Parking Area up ahead. The 0.5-mile moderate descent from here to the junction with Forney Ridge Trail is very rocky and passes through a skeleton Fraser fir forest. A positive aspect is that a large number of small trees have grown back beside the trail, so parts of this section aren’t as depressing as what you experienced on the paved path.

The junction with Forney Ridge Trail is a fork. The right fork leads down and eventually to Andrews Bald. You want to go left and make the 0.2-mile climb back to the parking area.

Miles and Directions

0.0Start from the far western end ofthe parking area on the paved path.

0.5Arrive at Clingmans Dome Observation Tower and the junction with the AT. Climb the tower and then hike west on the AT.

0.8Turn left (southeast) onto Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail.

1.3Bear left onto Forney Ridge Trail.

1.5Arrive back at Forney Ridge Parking Area.

Soaring Concrete

First-time visitors to Clingmans Dome are often startled after hiking to the summit and seeing the observation tower. A circular 375-foot-long concrete ramp leads to an observation deck around 50 feet high. The juxtaposition of the concrete structure with Clingmans Dome summit is not unlike that of Gatlinburg with the park boundary. Completed in 1959, the tower replaced an earlier structure built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. That tower, made of wood, soon deteriorated. When the plans for the new tower were released, opinions were strong on both sides. Some thought the new structure was perfectly suited for the mountain, while others thought a concrete tower had no place there. The two sides are still arguing.

A backpacker pauses along the ramp to Clingmans Dome Tower.