Indian Creek Falls, located in the Deep Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a simple, but beautiful waterfall. The fall is about a 1 mile walk from the parking lot, and is easy to access.
Roundtrip Distance: 1.9 miles roundtrip
Difficulty: Easy – Strenuous
Handicap Accessible: No
Features: Waterfall, creekside hiking and access
Directions: From the intersection of highway 441 and 19 in Cherokee, take 19 south to Bryson City, NC. Turn left onto Everett Street, right onto Depot Street (at The Great Smoky Mountain Railway), and then left onto Deep Creek Rd. Follow the road right into the Park, an follow the signs to the trail. You’ll know you’re there when you see a loop and a parking lot on the left. Park in the parking lot, the trail starts at the paved loop/drop off point.
Recommended Gear: Good hiking boots or shoes, Daypack, Dayhiker First Aid Kit, Sunscreen, some snacks, water, [easyazon_link keywords=”Water shoes” locale=”US” tag=”blueridgemountainlife-20″]Water shoes[/easyazon_link] and a bathing suit if you think you might want to swim.
Map:
Indian Creek Falls
Indian Creek Falls is located just off Deep Creek Trail, in the Deep Creek Area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near Bryson City, NC. The easy 1 mile hike to the falls is a nice hike alongside Deep Creek, with many creek access points. From Tom Branch Falls, the hike does ascend a bit, but not too steep.
Indian Creek Falls is a 45-foot falls, that is simply gorgeous. Upon further inspection, you’ll note that it looks more like a water slide than a traditional falls. Standing right about where I took this photo, is a nice ledge to observe the falls and take photos. You can also walk down below the ledge along the water and take photos from there as well.
Unfortunately some trees feel, and the debris has piled up about 50 foot below the bottom of the falls, and really obscures the nice photo angle that was available from in the middle of the creek below the falls.
Deep Creek Trail and Indian Creek Trail where some of the very first trails constructed in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Tubing
During the summer, Deep Creek is a very popular location for tubing, and while visiting and viewing the falls, you’ll see lots of tubers floating by the waterfalls, with many slowing down the put their hands through the the crystal clear waters.
This area is of course a lot more active during the summer, and Deep Creek Trail is often full of tubers hiking back up the Deep Creek to tube yet again. Indian Creek Trail branches off at the upper most tubing access point. You short hike up to Indian Creek Falls will be far less congested.
Just below Indian Creek Falls, at the intersection for Deep Creek Trail and Indian Creek Trail is the current stopping point for tubers, and not tubing is allowed beyond this trail intersection. Years ago, the Park allowed tubing to go further up, and Indian Creek Falls was a popular falls to tube down. Yes, believe it, people took tubes down the waterfall!
You can learn more about tubing at Deep Creek using our full guide: Tubing in Deep Creek.
Other Waterfalls in the Area:
Deep Creek is home to three different waterfalls, that are easily accessed using the Deep Creek Loop Trail:
- Tom Branch Falls – The waterfall you are viewing now.
- Indian Creek Falls – A beautiful wide waterfall located on up Deep Creek Trail.
- Juneywank Falls – A slow falling waterfall, that features a nice observation deck, surrounded by woods.
Photo Gallery:
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