Trails / North Carolina / Great Smoky Mountains (NC)

Noland Creek to Mill Creek Campsite

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Lakeview Drive, the 'Road to Nowhere,' near Bryson City)

Noland Creek drains the south side of the Smokies into Fontana Lake, and its trail starts beside Lakeview Drive, the road outside Bryson City known as the Road to Nowhere. The lower trail follows an old road with bridges through former farm country, and campsites are spaced up the creek for an easy first backpacking night or a longer push toward Noland Divide.

Atlas Obscura says the government promised displaced residents a north-shore road after Fontana Lake flooded the valleys, and only seven miles were ever built.

The hike

Hiking Project’s Noland Creek Trail North page starts at the parking area, passing under the viaduct and crossing Noland Creek on a wooden bridge. In the other direction, the 0.9-mile southern section of the trail heads downstream toward Fontana Lake and Lower Noland campsite #66, where Hiking Project says tent space is limited to a few spots in weedy grass. Friends of the Smokies reported in July 2024 that high lake water covered the trail before their group reached #66.

Upstream, the trail passes the Bearpen Branch campsite (#65), then crosses into old farm fields where Hiking Project notes farmstead remnants and access to the Lower Noland-Monteith Cemetery. Friends of the Smokies’ 2024 recap describes a homesite marked by boxwoods, the base of a former power plant’s waterwheel, the Mill Creek school, and Branton Cemetery, with 29 graves. Its writers say the road was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is kept in good shape so families can reach the cemeteries for Decoration Day.

The trail continues through Solola Valley, a former community, to the Springhouse Branch Trail junction and Mill Creek campsite #64. Friends of the Smokies’ 2021 hike put #64 “a bit over four miles” from the start, and some hikers went another half mile to the former Phillip Rust property and a cemetery. Rust, a businessman who married into the du Pont family, bought more than 4,300 acres in the watershed in the early 1930s, according to the 2024 recap.

Above Mill Creek, Hiking Project’s BMT page lists Jerry Flats (#63) at about mile 5.6 and Upper Ripshin (#62) at about 6.9, with a “somewhat difficult” crossing nearby and back-to-back wet crossings beyond. Bald Creek campsite (#61) is about 1.5 miles higher, and the trail ends at the Noland Divide Trail after 9.4 miles. One Hiking Project user described a knee-deep first ford and kept water shoes on for the next mile.

Springhouse Branch leads east from #64 to Forney Creek, the route of our Forney Ridge and Forney Creek Loop. Noland Divide is the long climb on our Deep Creek loop.

Tips

Reserve your site on Recreation.gov; every backcountry night needs a permit.
Turn around at #64 for an easy trip. The bridged lower trail is the gentle part.
Bring water shoes if you plan to go above Jerry Flats.
Don’t count on #66 when the lake is high. Its access trail can be underwater.
Leave the dog home. Pets aren’t allowed in the park’s backcountry.

Camping

The National Park Service requires a permit and advance reservation for all backcountry camping in the Smokies, issued through Recreation.gov since April 30, 2026. Recreation.gov’s rules allow no more than 3 consecutive nights at most campsites, require hanging all food, trash, and scented items on the cable system, and allow fires only in established rings. A parking tag is required at trailheads. Hiking Project’s BMT page says water is available from Noland Creek at all the campsites; treat it.

Inside Intel: A Hiking Project user notes that Mill Creek campsite #64 is poor for hammocks but fine for tents. Hiking Project’s Benton MacKaye Trail page suggests camping at Upper Ripshin (#62) because fords lie both above and below it.

Trail facts

Distance: About 8.2 miles round trip to campsite #64; 9.4 miles one way to Noland Divide
Route type: Out and back
Difficulty: Easy to moderate (to #64); harder above
Campsites: #66 (lake), #65 Bearpen Branch, #64 Mill Creek (about 4.1 miles), #63 Jerry Flats, #62 Upper Ripshin, #61 Bald Creek
Water: Noland Creek at every campsite; treat all water
Permits: Required; reserve on Recreation.gov
Food storage: Bear cables at campsites
Dogs: Not allowed
Trailhead: Noland Creek parking on Lakeview Drive, near Bryson City
Last verified: October 11, 2026

The Lowdown

An easy night in Solola Valley:

Mill Creek campsite sits beside Noland Creek where the Springhouse Branch Trail comes in, a gentle walk up a bridged old road. See which sleeping bags testers rate.

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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.