Gregory Cave (Cades Cove)


8/23/21

Having visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) a LOT throughout my lifetime, I have seen and visited many of the popular places. While enjoyable each visit, I have often found myself looking for extra or unpopular places to visit, the hidden gems if you will. Gregory Cave is one of those places that while I have known of its existence for many years, I have never tried to find. This trip, it was on the docket. I made sure I knew where it was as there was a bit of conflicting information online about its location. A friend of mine, Steps, was meeting me at Cades Cove for a camping/hiking trip and he had never actually visited Cades Cove or the GSMNP at all. We were camping at Cades Cove and once he arrived and we dropped a car off at our campsite, we drove through the cove stopping at all of the normal places, the homesites, the churches, the visitor's center area, etc. We even got caught in a bear jam in his first trip around and saw a total of 7 bears, 4 of which were very small cubs. This had already been a nice and fruitful day but after driving through most of the cove, I had him cut back across Sparks Lane to somewhat start the loop again. I had already driven the loop earlier that morning by myself ensuring that I knew the exact spot to park for this venture as it is unmarked and is not publicized. While at the visitor center, I even heard someone else ask one of the attendees at the store about Gregory Cave and its location and they were even hesitant to share. There are several 1-2 call pull offs at the unidentified trailhead, marked only by the metal gate that you walk around. For those seeking the exact location, this is past the John Oliver Cabin and in a more wooded area prior to the turn off for the Primitive Baptist Church. The trail itself is not long at all (0.2 miles) and even though it is not maintained, is very easy to follow. The trail leads right up to the cave entrance, which, at first glance looks like a just a small hole in the ground. We grabbed our headlamps and entered the cave though the small opening and the immediate temperature drop was very, very welcome as it was quite hot out. Once inside we were both able to stand upright and walk around a bit. There is a metal barricade inside the main room to prevent visitors from venturing deeper in an effort reduce white nose syndrome, a disease that affects hibernating bats (more info here). Of note, researchers did venture deeper into the cave earlier this year to check the bat inhabitants for the disease and those in this particular cave showed no signs thankfully. There are several rooms inside the cave and this was once designated as shelter to Cades Cove residents able to hold 1000 people if needed. We spent several minutes looking at all of the features of the cave (typical stalactites and stalagmites) and taking pictures before climbing back into the hot and humid outside and walking back down to the car. 

Overall this was a very easy walk and a nice venture to an interesting feature. Not something I would do each visit to Cades Cove but something a bit different and is worth visiting at least once. 
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Total Miles: 0.4, out & back, very easy

Features: Cave, Geological interests

Overall rating: 3/5

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