Laurel Falls is a 45-foot waterfall on Laurel Fork in Carter County, Tennessee, where the creek pours through Laurel Fork Gorge in the Pond Mountain Wilderness of the Cherokee National Forest. The Appalachian Trail passes right beside it, making it a short hike from Dennis Cove or a longer walk up the gorge from Hampton. It is a different waterfall from the Laurel Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The falls
Laurel Falls is a steep cascade with a single drop of about 45 feet, a figure based on lidar data. The Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoe Club, which maintains this section of trail, describes it as a 50-foot cascade, and earlier surveys listed 55 feet. Above the main falls the creek tumbles over a series of smaller falls and cascades, none more than about 10 feet and none reachable from the trail.
Getting there
The Appalachian Trail runs the length of Laurel Fork Gorge and rarely strays far from the creek. The shortest approach is from the Dennis Cove trailhead on Forest Road 50 (Dennis Cove Road), 3.9 miles south of US 321; the hiking club puts the round trip at about 2.6 miles. From the Hampton trailhead on US 321 the hike is about 5.5 miles round trip. The club rates the gorge moderate and advises against leaving cars overnight at Hampton because of occasional vandalism. Group size is limited to 10 in the wilderness, and dogs must be leashed.
The club reported trail maintenance between Hampton and Dennis Cove in March 2026, including work on the high-water route and a step near the falls.
When to go
In spring, flooding can force hikers onto the upper high-water route. In winter the falls can ice up heavily; club volunteers found extensive ice there in January 2016.
On site
Swimming is not allowed at the falls. An underwater rock shelf creates an undertow that can trap swimmers beneath it, and people have drowned simply swimming near the falls. In July 2012 a father and his 15-year-old son died in the pool. Stay out of the water.
History and name
Rock steps on the trail near the falls were built in 1998 after flooding, and the Koonford Bridge in the gorge was replaced in 2014.
Nearby
Middle Laurel Falls is about 0.2 mile away, Coon Den Falls about 1.6 miles away, and Dennis Cove Falls about 2.6 miles away on Laurel Fork.
Distances are straight-line.