Mount Cammerer Lookout Tower

Most visitors have a vision of how they'd like to see Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it typically involves climbing to the top of a mountain like 4,928-foot Mount Cammerer. This is a very strenuous hike involving a breathtaking amount of elevation gain along the rugged Low Gap and Appalachian trails.

Get an early start because this 15-mile round-trip hike takes approximately six to eight hours to complete. Plus, you'll want to have plenty of time to explore the historic fire tower located atop Mount Cammerer.

To get there, make your way through the Cosby Campground toward Cosby Creek and pick up the Low Gap Trail. Follow the well-defined path through the dense hardwood forest running parallel to the creek. The Low Gap Trail climbs up and out of the Cosby Creek Valley for the first three miles. Each step forward is also a step up over uneven tree roots and rocks. Around the three-mile mark, you'll come to a clearing in the woods and see a small wooden sign marking the Appalachian Trail. At this point, you will have already climbed more than 2,000 feet.

The hike gets easier once you’re on the A.T. The path begins to level off around mile four, and sporadic breaks in the foliage reveal incredible views of the Cosby and Toms Creek valleys below. Roughly five miles in, you will follow a short side trail to the summit of Mount Cammerer. The last half-mile forces you to scramble over large boulders and follow a series of disorientating switchbacks. But your efforts are rewarded the moment you set eyes on the wooden fire tower built high on a base of granite boulders.

Local laborers and the Civilian Conservation Corp built the fire tower in the 1930s. Each year between February 15th and May 15th, then again from October 15th through December 15th, the structure was manned by lookouts who lived on the premises for two weeks. This system was replaced in the 1960s by more modern fire detection methods.

Views from the wooden platform lining the perimeter of the tower are breathtaking. Before you is an endless expanse of undulating forest stretching to the horizon. Mountains rise gracefully from the forest floor. Clouds float swiftly below, momentarily obscuring the unparalleled beauty surrounding you. This is the view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park you came to see.