The Forney Ridge Trail is an American hiking trail, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...

 of Sevier County

Sevier County, Tennessee

Sevier County is a county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Its population was 71,170 at the 2000 United States Census. It is included in the Sevierville, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. The...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. The trail descends from just beneath the highest summit in the national park, Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. At an elevation of , it is the highest mountain in the Smokies, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail...

, along Forney Ridge and passes through Andrews Bald

Andrews Bald

Andrews Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of above sea level, making it the highest grassy bald in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The mountain is one of two grassy balds maintained in the range by the park...

 (elev. 5,860 ft) before terminating at a junction with the Springhouse Branch Trail.

Vital information

• Due to its location high in the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains, The Forney Ridge Trail is one of very few in the national park that actually descends from its trailhead.
• The trailhead is located just at the front end of the Clingmans Dome parking area, about 7 miles (11.3 km) from U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road).

Landmarks/overlooks

• Clingmans Dome (via half mile, paved trail near the trailhead)
• Forney Ridge
• Andrews Bald

Trailhead to Andrews Bald

The Forney Ridge Trail begins easily enough at the base of the paved trail to the Clingmans Dome observation tower. The first 0.1 mile (0.160934 km) of the trail consists of a series of leveled, rocky platforms, put together by the national park service apparently due to the previously hazardous, steep, rocky slope. At the end of these "stairs" the trail comes to a fork with a side trail that leads on to the Appalachian Trail about a half mile up (and not far past that to the observation tower at Clingmans Dome), and the Forney Ridge Trail continuing on to the left, down along the ridge for which it is named.

This early portion of the trail contains many loose rocks and can be slippery, especially in icy winters, and although the trail is relatively easy, it is advisable to use caution here in particular. In the 1920s the trees here were swept by a wildfire which has given the area an awkward mix of young shrubbery and woods, but this portion is rather short and within a mile the trail passes into the spruce-fir zone, which has also had problems more recently with air pollution

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....

 and the balsam wooly adelgid. At 1.1. mi the trail comes to a split with the Forney Creek Trail, which, to the right, leads down 11 miles (17.7 km) to Fontana Lake.

From here the trail actually rises up for about a quarter mile, the only such notable jaunt along its path, before leveling out and gently sloping back down to Andrews Bald at 1.8 miles (2.9 km). Andrews Bald is a grassy bald

Appalachian balds

In the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected....

, and, at 5800 feet (1,767.8 m), it is the highest bald in the national park. In mid-June, the bald provides a wonderful display of Catawba rhododendron and flame azalea, the best show for the least effort, although it can’t quite match that of the more isolated Gregory Bald

Gregory Bald

Gregory Bald is a mountain on the western fringe of the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination....

. Due to the natural encroachment of the forest onto the once grazed open balds in the park, Andrews Bald (along with the aforementioned Gregory Bald) has been designated as an experimental research zone, whereby the national park service will preserve the area as a grassy bald.

Andrews Bald to Springhouse Branch Trail

Down past Andrews Bald, the Forney Ridge Trail continues its descent down Forney Ridge, eventually coming down to Board Camp Gap and its junction with the Springhouse Branch Trail at 5.6 miles (9 km). This trail can be taken in conjunction with the Noland and then later Forney Creek Trails back up to the Forney Ridge Parking Area for a long 18 miles (29 km) backpacking loop, or, by turning left at the Forney Creek Trail, down to Fontana Lake in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

.