Rainbow Falls

While visiting the Smoky Mountains we set aside one day to go hiking.  There are so many trails to explore, but we settled on one of the recommended day hikes, a 5.6 mile round trip trail to Rainbow Falls.

The trail to the falls was a steady incline, gaining about 1,500 ft of elevation according to the description of the hike.  I personally love that sort of hiking.  Steve prefers a flat-ish trail, but took on this “labor of love” (his words!) for me.  What a sweetie!

We criss-crossed the stream multiple times as we hiked, and I liked hearing the bubbling water in the background along the way.

We passed several other couples/families hiking the opposite way and were told that there was a small black bear in a tree up ahead.  We walked around staring at the trees for about 10 minutes in hopes of spotting him.  No luck.  He was probably hiding up there laughing at us for looking so silly with our heads up in the air.

The waterfall was beautiful and simple.  An 80 foot cascade splashing onto one large flat rock.

Piles of rocks at the bottom created many tiny falls all around the base.

Moss and brush spotted the boulders and trees clinging to the rocks created a canopy above our heads.

On sunny days, according to the guide online, you can see a rainbow in the spray of the falls.  The sun was out, but wasn’t hitting the water at the right angle, so there was no rainbow for us.  That would have been nice of course, but it was still pretty without it.

We scrambled up the rocks to take a seat nearer the falls while we ate some snacks, including a crazy mutant bear Steve found in his bag of Toy Story gummies.

Guess we did see a bear after all, haha!

I really enjoyed the hike to Rainbow Falls.  It was refreshing to be out in the woods… to sit by the falls and soak in the beauty.  If you get a chance to visit the Smokies, I highly recommend taking the time to go on a hike of some sort.  It’s the best way to truly explore and experience the park.