The easiest of the park’s nature trails make nice walks. The Spruce-Fir Self-Guiding Nature Trail is a half-mile wander through a mossy, high elevation Canadian Zone forest at the park’s highest elevations. It’s very level and easy, but you will need to stride along sections of single plank boardwalk that keep hikers above the damp soils found in these high-rainfall forests. You’ll see skeletal Red Spruce and Fraser Fir killed by acid rain and the Balsam Woolly Adelgid with younger trees growing up to take their place. There are benches along the way to take in the sights and sounds of the trail.
Directions: The trail is on Clingmans Dome Rd., 2.6 miles from the Newfound Gap Rd. turn-off.
