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 It
seemed like we were in a rainforest instead of hiking through Smoky Mountain
National Park on the way up to Grotto Falls. The path was shaded from
all the tall trees and we welcomed the coolness on such a hot day. The
leaves on the trees appeared rubbery and shined from the raindrops that
fell a few hours before. Guide books states that this is a moderate hike
up a gradual incline. We found the hike to be a bit challenging, and the
path got to be quite steep in parts. It is a dirt path, not paved, and
you will need to climb over tree roots, unstable rocks, and running streams
on several placed up the path. This is one of the most popular hikes in
all of Smoky Mountain National Park and the trail is crowded. I think
this reason is why you will not likely see too much wildlife.
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 the 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.
See the Slideshow!
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