Alum Cave Trail

Alum Cave Trail
The trailhead of the Alum Cave Trail
Length	5.0 mi (8 km)
Location	Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, United States
Trailheads	Mount Le Conte, Tennessee (Trailhead near Walker Camp Prong off U.S. Highway 441) Terminus at junction with the Rainbow Falls Trail near the LeConte Lodge
Use	Hiking
Elevation
Elevation change	2,700 ft (820 m)
Highest point	Junction with the Rainbow Falls Trail
Lowest point	Trailhead at Walker Camp Prong
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Moderately strenuous
Season	Spring to Fall
Sights	Arch Rock, Alum Cave Bluff, Great Smoky Mountains
Hazards	Ice (in winter), loose rocks

The Alum Cave Trail (also referred to as Alum Cave Bluff Trail) is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail ascends Mount Le Conte, the sixth highest mountain east of the Mississippi River, and passes by many notable landmarks, such as Arch Rock, Inspiration Point, the Duckhawk Peaks, and Cliff Top, before merging with Rainbow Falls Trail near the summit.

The first recorded account of Alum Cave goes back to 1837 when three farmers (Ephraim Mingus, Robert Collins, and George W. Hayes) from Oconaluftee, North Carolina applied at the Sevier County (Tennessee) Land Office for a grant of a 50-acre (200,000 m²) tract of land that would include Alum Cave and its salt deposits. Tennessee sold the tract of land to the three men on December 6, 1838. The Epsom Salts Manufacturing Company was formed to mine the deposit. The materials mined were alum, magnesium sulfate, saltpeter, magnesia, and copperas. The easily accessible salts were depleted by the mid-1840s, but mining resumed during the Civil War. There is no report on any mining after the Civil War.

The Alum Cave Trail is the shortest and steepest of the five trails leading to the Le Conte massif, which contains four separate peaks in all, the highest of which has an elevation of 6,593 feet (2,010 m). Due to its short length and beautiful scenery (it is often considered Le Conte's most scenic route) it is the most common footpath for hikers seeking to reach the summit of Le Conte.

The entire trail is within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trailhead is about 10 miles (16 km) from the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, off Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Highway 441)