NPS photo
Hiking the Kephart Prong Trail
Fall Color on Kephart Prong Trail.
Horace Kephart is a name that has been intertwined with the Great Smoky Mountains for more than a century, primarily because of his book Our Southern Highlanders. Revered by some, reviled by others, the book drew from a three-year period in which Kephart lived in a remote, abandoned cabin in the Smokies and then for many more years in the Bryson City area. Critics notwithstanding, it endures today as an influential work on life in the Southern Appalachians in the early 20th century.
Kephart also became a Smokies placename even before the writer’s death in an automobile accident in April 1931. Early that year, a 6,217-foot-high peak along the Smokies crest was designated as Mount Kephart. Later, just south of the peak, Kephart Prong, Kephart Prong Trail and Kephart Shelter became part of Smokies nomenclature. The trail follows the prong to the shelter on a course of slightly more than two miles, one way. Though perhaps especially so during the spring wildflower season, the path provides a most pleasant and accessible walk across the seasons.
Despite its relatively short length, the trail also offers a rich human history. Near the trailhead, not far from where Kephart Prong joins forces with Beech Flats Prong to form the Oconaluftee River, is the site of an old Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. To the right of the trail are boxwoods and the remnants of a stone structure marking the camp, as well as chimney ruins and an old water fountain. During World War II, after the CCC departed, the camp housed conscientious objectors.
A bit farther upstream are the remains of a fish hatchery that was operated by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. And at trail’s end, where the Kephart backcountry trail shelter now stands in a beautiful hardwood cove, Champion Fibre Co. once operated a logging camp. You can still see evidence of the narrow-gauge logging railroad that ran along the prong to the head of the cove. And perhaps, if you listen closely enough, hear voices, too.
But aside from the trail shelter, Kephart Prong’s attractions today are mostly natural. Although a relatively short distance from busy Newfound Gap Road, the stream corridor seems far removed from the clamor of contemporary life. The trail gains more than 800 feet elevation in following the stream, but the route is well graded with no extremely steep sections.
You reach the first of four stream crossings just above the old CCC camp, on a sturdy foot bridge several feet above the prong unless the water levels are unusually high. Foot logs provide the way forward at the other crossings.
Past the first bridge, the trail follows a broken macadam surface for a while. Farther up, unless the weather has been unusually dry, you’ll see tributaries of Kephart Prong spilling off the ridge. The trail then briefly becomes a jumble of rocks just before the fourth crossing of the prong.
Kephart Shelter, the trail’s destination at an altitude of roughly 3,600 feet, is one of only two shelters in the park situated below 4,000 feet elevation. It’s also one of just three not located along the Appalachian Trail. With its inviting setting yet proximity to busy Newfound Gap Road, the shelter is often full of backpackers especially on weekends. It’s also the jumping-off point for longer trips heading toward the AT via either of two strenuous trails: Sweat Heifer or Grassy Branch.
Even if the shelter is your turnaround point, the short outing of about four miles round trip along Kephart Prong offers interesting history as well as lovely stream environs. It’s a hike to consider during any season.
About the author: Ben Anderson is author of Smokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (blairpub.com).
Go for a hike
- Trailhead: Kephart Prong Trail, 7 miles north of Oconaluftee Visitor Center on Newfound Gap Road
- Length: 4.2 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Note: Many parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed following Hurricane Helene. Visit nps.gov/gsmnp for updated on closures.