Josh Shapiro, Trails Forever supervisor, cuts the ribbon for Ramsey Cascades Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Monday, Nov. 18. (National Park Service photo)
GATLINBURG, Tenn. – In collaboration with Friends of the Smokies, the National Park Service (NPS) has a completed a three-year restoration of the Ramsey Cascades Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located in the Greenbrier area, this popular trail ascends through beautiful hardwood forests to the 105-foot Ramsey Cascades, the tallest waterfall in the park. The trail is now open seven days a week following an extensive reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The NPS and Friends of the Smokies celebrated the milestone on Monday, Nov. 18 at the Ramsey Cascades Trailhead. Following remarks and a ribbon-cutting, several participants hiked the newly restored trail together.
Improvements to the Ramsey Cascades Trail include:
- Two new footlog bridges.
- New decking and handrails on a 20’ hiker bridge.
- 151 trail drains.
- More than 600 new steps for hiker safety and erosion control.
- Regrading of 2.5 miles of trail surface for improved safety and better trail drainage.
- Removal of tripping hazards, including roots and rocks.
- Pruning of overgrown vegetation in the trail corridor to improve the hiking experience and allow the trail to better dry.
Through this rehabilitation, the NPS restored Ramsey Cascades with the original trail design in mind and in a way that blends in with the natural landscape. Trail crew members used natural materials and hand tools and transported most tools and equipment by hand or pack mule. A helicopter delivered several loads to five drop sites that the mule team could not access. The trail crew used 1,200 black locust logs and 760,000 pounds of rock crush for fill for this rehabilitation.
“Trails Forever is an excellent example of the collaborative partnership between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Friends of the Smokies,” said Boone Vandzura, Acting Deputy Superintendent. “Together we’ve preserved and rehabilitated trails that enhance the recreational experience of millions of visitors.”
The restoration of Ramsey Cascades Trail was completed with significant support from the Friends of the Smokies Trails Forever Endowment. This endowment funds permanent, highly skilled trail crew members to rehabilitate some of the park’s most iconic trails. To date, the Friends have contributed nearly $4 million through the program, resulting in the full rehabilitation of Abrams Falls, Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Chimney Tops and Forney Ridge trails.
“We are honored to invest in this legacy work that is about so much more than creating a sustainable trail. This work results in a lasting invitation for generations to come to experience the wonders of these woods along the Ramsey Prong just as we can today,” said Friends of the Smokies President and Chief Executive Officer Dana Soehn.”
Begun in Spring 2022, the rehabilitation project was hampered by a flood event that summer, which washed out a portion of the Ramsey Cascades Trail and a section of Greenbrier Road, which limited access and delayed work on the trail. The trail crew resumed work in 2023. In addition to the planned trail rehabilitation work, the crew constructed a new 900+ foot section of trail to bypass the washed-out section.
The Trails Forever Crew was joined by youth crews from the American Conservation Experience and Southeast Conservation Corps, both funded through Friends of the Smokies. Friends of the Smokies also funded a trails volunteer supervisor for this rehabilitation. Volunteers were essential to completion of this project—110 volunteers contributed more than 1800 hours of work.
With support from Friends of the Smokies, the National Park Service will begin a two-year restoration of the Bull Head Trail to Mount Le Conte starting in 2025.
For more information about the Trails Forever program, please visit Trails Forever Program – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
- National Park Service release
