Once you reach the top however, it will be more beautiful than you possibly could expect. When we saw our first glimpse of the falls in the distance, we noticed a photographer climbing up the side of the mountain. I asked him if he got any good shots. He said the view was great and told me how I could get down there, holding on to a thick tree root on the side. All four of us ended going down and we got to sit right in the lower part of the falls. It was our own private little place for about twenty minutes and it was absolutely beautiful.

We climbed back up onto the path and finished the hike to the top of the falls. Grotto Falls is the only waterfall in the park that you can actually walk behind. Be prepared that it will be crowded at the top and it may be hard to get an unobstructed picture of the falls. We were patient and happened to get there at a lull time and got some great shots.

While we were at the top we met a man who was able to show the kids how to look for salamanders. They were delighted and spent about 45 minutes catching at least 15 salamanders of 6 different types. We could not keep the salamanders so we put them in a jar, looked at them for a bit, and released them. The man had a book he purchased at a shop in the park describing all the different types of salamanders.

The water at the base of the falls was too cold for the kids to swim in, even though there were other kids in there splashing around for a bit. Since we were there for so long we were able to get a great place on the rocks to sit down and eat our lunch. By the time we were done the falls had become very crowded and we began our descent.

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a narrow, but paved, one way road. It twists and turns for a total of six miles where you will pass the beginning of several trail heads. One of the favorites is Grotto Falls, which is an easy 1.3 mile hike. This motor nature trail has some wonderful parking areas where you can capture an unparalleled view of the mountains.

We were content just driving through the Nature Trail with our windows down, not breaking the posted 10 mph speed limit. We enjoyed the cool, moist air and listening to the mountain streams, while gazing through a forest of giant hemlock trees. We also were looking for wildlife, but did not see any animals; not even a squirrel.

One of my favorite places was "The Place of a Thousand Drips". It is a place that has huge boulders covered with rich, dark green colored moss with dozens of tiny waterfalls carving a path down between the rocks. The air was cool and the scenery was brilliant! We stopped at several of the small pullouts and found some wonderful photo opportunities to capture the emerging spring season.

Roaring Fork is located just a few short minutes from the hustle and bustle of downtown Gatlinburg. Turn at Gatlinburg’s number 8 traffic light and follow Historic Nature Trail to the Cherokee Orchard entrance. Stop at the entrance and pick up an auto tour book for $.50 or a $1. This book corresponds to the numbered markers along the way. Buses, trailers and motor homes are not permitted.

This is another one of nature’s best. Take a couple of hours, enjoy the drive and engulf yourself in the cool, mountain air!