Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / North Carolina / Great Smoky Mountains (NC)

Deep Creek, Pole Road Creek, and Noland Divide Loop

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Deep Creek, near Bryson City)

Deep Creek, on the North Carolina side of the Smokies near Bryson City, has waterfalls and creek tubing near its trailhead, according to Hiking Project. The trails that start there also climb deep into the park, and one loop links the long Noland Divide ridge with Pole Road Creek and the campsites strung along Deep Creek.

Nancy East of Hope and Feather Travels, who hiked it as a long day in February 2020, put the loop at about 18.4 miles and wrote that it “would make a nice overnight hike with stays in any of the campsites along the Deep Creek Trail.”

The hike

East started up the Noland Divide Trail from Deep Creek, saving the creek walk for the return. Smokies Adventure lists the trail at 11.5 miles from Deep Creek Campground to Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) Road, with the first 7.8 miles climbing to the junction at Upper Sassafras Gap. Hiking Project says it has “the greatest net gain in elevation of any trail in the Smokies.”

Hiking Project describes the climb in stages: an easy start, then almost two miles of steeper, dry ridge to a tributary of Juney Whank Branch, a shaded hollow, and the rocky spine of Beauregard Ridge. A sharp switchback leads onto a narrow ridge with forest openings, and Lonesome Pine Overlook sits at its upper end, with a view toward Bryson City. East calls the overlook one of the most unique spots in the Smokies and says most of the climbing is over after it.

Above the overlook, the trail circles below Coburn Knob, drops into Lower Sassafras Gap, and reaches Upper Sassafras Gap, where the Noland Creek Trail goes west and the Pole Road Creek Trail goes east. Pole Road Creek is a Benton MacKaye Trail section that descends about 3.3 miles to Deep Creek. Hiking Project describes second-growth forest, small cascades, and a large stand of tulip trees near the two-mile mark, and counts many rock-hop crossings of the creek and its feeders, with a foot-log over Deep Creek near the end. East describes several unbridged crossings that could be dangerous in high water.

The last leg follows the Deep Creek Trail downstream. Smokies Adventure places campsites #56 through #60 along this stretch, with #57 at the Martins Gap Trail junction. In a 2019 post, East noted that Deep Creek “comes right up to the trail, even in low water,” and that the trail could be underwater when the creek runs high. Near the trailhead, Hiking Project mentions Juney Whank Falls, Tom Branch Falls, and Indian Creek Falls.

For a longer trip, Hiking Project’s 36.8-mile loop continues up Noland Divide to Kuwohi, follows the Appalachian Trail to Fork Ridge, and returns down Deep Creek. Our Newfound Gap to Kuwohi page covers that part of the AT.

Tips

Camping

The National Park Service requires a permit and advance reservation for all backcountry camping in the Smokies, and since April 30, 2026, permits are issued through Recreation.gov. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s North Carolina page adds that backpackers must stay at designated sites. Wildland Trekking notes that bear-proof cables are provided at every backcountry campsite for hanging food and all scented items. On this loop, Smokies Adventure places campsites #53 through #60 along Deep Creek Trail, with #56 just above the Pole Road Creek junction and #57 at Martins Gap.

Inside Intel: Nancy East writes, “I’ve stayed at 57 and it’s spacious and quiet.” On another trip, she stopped for lunch at campsite #54, higher up Deep Creek.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

When Deep Creek floods the trail:

Nancy East found the Deep Creek Trail can be underwater when the creek runs high, and Pole Road Creek has unbridged crossings. Testers and owners weighed in on three rain shells.

See what testers found →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.