Waterfalls and the Rusting Cadillac
The old saying regarding trash becoming treasure rings true inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are many things we value today that decades before were considered garbage and one of our finds today fits that bill!
A few miles from from River Road in the park lies the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and the parking areas for several trails. Our adventure took us down the Middle Prong Trail to the intersection with the Greenbrier Ridge Trail.
The first stop along the trail at approximately the 0.7 mile point is Lynn Camp Falls on the left of the trail. Continuing on the trail you can find a rusting old Cadillac left by members of the Little River Logging Company. The car is believed to date to the late 1920s – early 1930s and is not visible from the main trail.
As we continued on from the rusting car we found many smaller falls and cascades along with ruins from past structures and even a rail left from the original railroad!!
Just beyond the final bridge on the trail we found an unmarked trail leading to the right. This trail led us to an opening where we found ourselves in the middle of the three-tiered Indian Flats Falls! This particular waterfall drops some 60 feet over three sections and has simply amazing views in all directions. We chose to have lunch here and enjoy the peacefulness of nature before returning to the trail head. This time we took sandwiches instead of the On the Run lunches but we still packed away our survival blanket to lay out.
Overall the Middle Prong Trail covers 4.1 miles each way from Tremont to the Greenbrier Ridge Trail. The hike is moderate and regardless of what you read is NOT appropriate for sandals, tennis shoes, etc… Take your time and enjoy the area!