A Hidden Tunnel in the Smokies
Saturday brought a partial day for roaming due to baseball commitments but we still managed to enjoy some time exploring in the Smokies. Our main goal was to locate a hidden tunnel at Clingmans Dome we had been hearing stories about. We ended up exploring an old mill and seeing roaming elk as well!!! Learn about the Elk on the park’s site.
Hidden Tunnel Under Clingmans Dome Road
The observation tower at Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains and is accessed by Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap (U.S. 441) at the Tennessee / North Carolina state line. Like many, we have traveled the road numerous times for hikes and photo opportunities but never knew there was a hidden tunnel right below us!
Not far off Newfound Gap Road, hidden beneath the busy Clingmans Dome Road, lies the Thomas Divide Tunnel. The tunnel is also less often referred to at the “Thomas Ridge Tunnel”, the “Old Hiker’s Tunnel”, “The Ole Mule Tunnel” or just “The Hidden Tunnel.” There are many varying stories about this tunnel and why it was built but the one constant is that it is an amazing piece of history.
In the mid 1930s Clingmans Dome Road was opened and a group called the Citizen’s Conservation Corps (CCC) built the tunnel for the Thomas Divide Trail to pass under the roadway. Stories hold that the Thomas Divide Trail once linked the Appalachian Trail to the far end of Clingmans Dome and the tunnel made it safer for the hikers to pass the new roadway. Many say the tunnel was mainly designed to minimize collisions between cars and horses while others say the tunnel negated the need for switchbacks on the trail due to elevation crossing the new roadway.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the tunnel construction it served hikers and equine until the 1960s when the trail was cut off due to the Mission 66 project which rerouted Newfound Gap Road and saw the construction of the observation tower at Clingmans Dome. Today the ornate stone tunnel sits abandoned and unused. However, with minimal effort, visitors can traverse the tunnel and be treated with amazing views of the park from the cliff end.
Take a moment to subscribe to our YouTube channel and like the video! Also don’t miss the amazing hike to Andrews Bald from Clingmans Dome. Until next time…….