Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Tremont

There were a few places in the park that were closed while we were there. The Roaring Fork road and Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) were still closed for the season. Some places were closed due to damage from the hurricane last year, or for renovation (like Mingus Mill or the trail to Abrams Falls). But on our last day in the park, we were able to visit an absolutely beautiful area - Tremont.

The road to Tremont follows the Middle Prong of the Little River, which is filled with all sorts of little cascades and waterfalls. It was really scenic, but it was a bright and sunny day so I didn't bother to stop and take pictures. We finally arrived at Tremont, got our National Parks passport stamped at the Visitor Center, and then drove further down the road to do a hike on the Middle Prong trail with the kids.

The trail starts out by crossing a bridge over the Lynn Camp Prong, which provides a great view of the creek on one side of the bridge and a really great view of a waterfall on the other side. The only problem, of course, was that it was still bright and sunny (the worst conditions for doing any sort of waterfall photography). But there were a few skinny white clouds drifting across the sky. So I ran and grabbed the camera and tripod, thinking there might be a slim chance that a cloud might pass in front of the sun long enough to get at least one picture. I stood there for awhile, staring at the slow-moving clouds as they meandered across the sky. Of course, none of them bothered to go by the sun.

I admitted defeat, but was luckily able to return to Tremont later that day when the light would be more favorable for photography. It was late in the afternoon, when the sun finally went below the mountains enough for the river and creeks to be cast in shadow.









I made a lot of stops along that road...



At one stop, golden sunlight percolated through the trees and was reflected in the water.







And then further down the road:







The first permanent settlers in this area arrived in 1860. But they would soon be replaced by logging companies, who began to buy up the lands in the Smoky Mountains in the early 1900s. The vast swaths of virgin timber here were logged in the 1920s, and a small town was established as the base of operations that was called Tremont. Soon the town would encompass a "post office, hotel, maintenance sheds, a general store, and a community center that served as a church, school, and movie theater." By the time the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established in the 1930s, much of the area had been deforested. Luckily the trees have regrown and it's hard to tell that there had been logging here.





The name "Tremont" is a combination of the words tree and mountain, which is really fitting when you drive past the rivers, creeks, trees and mountains here.







After making so many stops, it was starting to get dark when I arrived at the start of the Middle Prong trail again. I was now finally able to get a few pictures of the waterfall from the bridge, after having spent so much time waiting earlier that day.



And the view of the river from the other side of the bridge:



There wasn't much light left, but I hurried to get a few pictures of the Lynn Camp Prong Cascades:



And then I headed over to the Thunderhead Prong, and got a few pictures of this small waterfall.





I started to head back to our place in Gatlinburg, since it was nearly dark. But I made one last stop, and got a few pictures of this little waterfall along the road in the last bit of light.