Laurel Falls

Laurel Falls effort & difficulty

GoatBeam summarizes Laurel Falls (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 3.6 mi with roughly +1253 ft of elevation gain on this out-and-back.

Difficulty from verified grades

Along-trail grade distribution (by distance): 38% gentle, 31% moderate, 19% steep. Bands describe slope magnitude from the DEM profile, not trail difficulty labels from guidebooks.

Average climbing grade on ascent samples is about 8.6%.

The steepest rolling uphill grade in the verified profile reaches about 19.0%.

The steepest sustained climb spans about 0.3 mi near 0.3 mi into the trip (mean ~14.9%, peak ~19.0%).

Verified DEM grades show climbing concentrated earlier in the trip.

Elevation & elevation gain

Laurel Falls elevation gain is about +1253 ft on the published outing.

The verified elevation range runs from roughly 2684 ft to 3668 ft.

Elevation loss along the trip is about 1253 ft.

Elevation profile

The GoatBeam elevation profile charts distance against DEM elevation for Laurel Falls, 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 Laurel Falls 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.