Three-year restoration of Ramsey Cascades Trail completed
Josh Shapiro, Trails Forever supervisor, cuts the ribbon for Ramsey Cascades Trail. NPS photo
In collaboration with Friends of the Smokies, the National Park Service (NPS) has a completed a three-year restoration of the Ramsey Cascades Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located in the Greenbrier area, this popular trail ascends through beautiful hardwood forests to the 105-foot Ramsey Cascades, the tallest waterfall in the park.
The trail is now open seven days a week following an extensive reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Improvements to the Ramsey Cascades Trail include:
• Two new footlog bridges.
• New decking and handrails on a 20-foot hiker bridge.
• 151 trail drains.
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• More than 600 new steps for hiker safety and erosion control.
• Regrading of 2.5 miles of trail surface for improved safety and better trail drainage.
• Removal of tripping hazards, including roots and rocks.
• Pruning of overgrown vegetation in the trail corridor to improve the hiking experience and allow the trail to better dry.
Through this rehabilitation, the NPS restored Ramsey Cascades with the original trail design in mind and in a way that blends in with the natural landscape. Trail crew members used natural materials and hand tools and transported most tools and equipment by hand or pack mule. A helicopter delivered several loads to five drop sites that the mule team could not access. The trail crew used 1,200 black locust logs and 760,000 pounds of rock crush for fill for this rehabilitation.
The restoration of Ramsey Cascades Trail was completed with significant support from the Friends of the Smokies Trails Forever Endowment. This endowment funds permanent, highly skilled trail crew members to rehabilitate some of the park’s most iconic trails. To date, the Friends have contributed nearly $4 million through the program, resulting in the full rehabilitation of Abrams Falls, Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Chimney Tops and Forney Ridge trails.
