Chimney Tops

Chimney Tops effort & difficulty

GoatBeam summarizes Chimney Tops (Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tennessee) effort from verified route geometry and DEM elevation — planning context, not a fitness or safety rating.

Trip distance is about 3.0 mi with roughly +1440 ft of elevation gain on this out-and-back.

Difficulty from verified grades

Along-trail grade distribution (by distance): 35% moderate, 24% very steep, 24% gentle. Bands describe slope magnitude from the DEM profile, not trail difficulty labels from guidebooks.

Average climbing grade on ascent samples is about 13.0%.

The steepest rolling uphill grade in the verified profile reaches about 26.2%.

The steepest sustained climb spans about 0.6 mi near 0.7 mi into the trip (mean ~19.0%, peak ~26.2%).

Verified DEM grades show climbing concentrated earlier in the trip.

Elevation & elevation gain

Chimney Tops elevation gain is about +1440 ft on the published outing.

The verified elevation range runs from roughly 3573 ft to 4733 ft.

Elevation loss along the trip is about 1440 ft.

Elevation profile

The GoatBeam elevation profile charts distance against DEM elevation for Chimney Tops, so you can see where gain accumulates before you hike.

Use the profile together with the grade callouts above to locate the steepest verified section and where climbing concentrates.

3D map & trail map

GoatBeam’s interactive 3D map and trail map for Chimney Tops show the verified corridor on terrain — spin and beam tools help you read the landscape before you go.

Immersive Beam imagery is not yet available here; the 3D trail map, elevation profile, and effort tools still are.