Top 9 Easy Hikes for Families with Young Kids

This half-mile loop next to the Sugarlands Visitor Center is fully paved and flat, so strollers, wheelchairs and wobbly toddlers all do fine. It follows the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River past rock walls and old stone chimneys in a cove hardwood forest. The visitor center has restrooms, a short park film and exhibits, which makes it an easy first stop.

From behind the Sugarlands Visitor Center, a 0.7-mile round trip follows Fighting Creek upstream to Cataract Falls, a narrow 40-foot waterfall that is most dramatic after a heavy rain. It is about as short as a waterfall walk gets, and the visitor center next door has accessible restrooms and parking for a quick stop before or after.

A 1.2-mile round trip from the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area crosses three split-log footbridges to Little Greenbrier School, a one-room log schoolhouse built in 1881 that also served as the community church. Kids can step inside and explore the old cemetery next door. The dirt trail has roots and a small hill, so bring a carrier instead of a stroller.

Follow an old logging railroad bed along the Middle Prong of Little River to Lynn Camp Prong Cascades, a 1.4-mile round trip on a trail that is mostly wide and flat with a gentle climb. The rushing water stays close the whole way, which keeps small hikers moving. A bench near the cascade makes a good snack stop.

On the North Carolina side, this 1.6-mile round trip follows Deep Creek on a wide gravel path to two waterfalls: Tom Branch Falls, where five benches face the water, and Indian Creek Falls, a 25-foot cascade into a large pool. The trail flattens out after the first third of a mile. It pairs well with a day trip to Cherokee.

This 0.75-mile loop at the Chimneys Picnic Area starts with two sets of steps, about 40 in all, then eases into a gentle circuit through a forest of giant trees. Cove hardwood forests are among the most biodiverse on the planet, and spring wildflowers and fall color are the highlights. Pack lunch and make a slow morning of it.

Reached from traffic light 8 in downtown Gatlinburg by way of Cherokee Orchard Road, this loop of roughly 0.7 miles is a self-guided walk through a preserved mountain farmstead and the hardwood forest around it. It is short enough for preschoolers, and the old homesite gives kids something real to explore instead of just trees.

This flat, wide gravel trail runs about 1.5 miles each way from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center along the river to the edge of Cherokee, through elk habitat and low hardwood forest. It is one of only two park trails that allow leashed dogs and bikes, and the park rates it stroller and wheelchair friendly. The Mountain Farm Museum sits at the trailhead.

The park's other dog- and bike-friendly trail runs about 2 miles each way between the Sugarlands Visitor Center and River Road in Gatlinburg. It is wide and mostly flat along the river, with a couple of short steeper sections, and historic stone chimneys from old homesites stand along the way. Families can walk out as far as they like and turn back.