Overnight Backpacking in the Smokies

Overview

Leave the road far behind for stress free, guided backpacking in the Smoky Mountains.
New to Backpacking?
Avoid the growing pains of learning backpacking skills through the school of hard knocks. Our groups are small enough to allow us to get to know each other and to travel as a team while gaining confidence and trust in the process. Wilderness backpacking is the most rewarding way to experience a bit of real America. Because you do it on your own two feet, you’ll take home a dramatic sense of accomplishment that flows into your daily life.
Been backpacking for years?
Try traveling with your own naturalist, learning more about the forest you love. You’ll learn how to identify plants useful for food and medicine and what to do if lost in the woods. Additionally, learn how to avoid getting struck by lightening during a thunderstorm, how to cure headaches naturally and everything you need to make your trips through the wilderness safer and more enjoyable.

City: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Tue 24 Dec

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

Tue 24 Dec

Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

You will be provided with a dinner and a breakfast in the form of specialized, freeze dried backpacking meals. Lunches are snacks on the trail.

Bars, trail mix, fruit leather. Snacks vary. Please let us know if you have dietary restrictions.

Professional guide

All Fees and Taxes

All necessary gear included. This includes a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and backpack. Guides carry 1st aid kit, stove and filter for the group.

You will be provided with a dinner and a breakfast in the form of specialized, freeze dried backpacking meals. Lunches are snacks on the trail.

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have a high level of physical fitness
This trip requires a 2 person minimum to operate. If you are traveling solo, you may join into an existing tour or pay the 2 person rate.
You will be asked to sign a waiver.
Face masks required for travellers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Regular temperature checks for staff
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
COVID-19 vaccination required for guides
You will be required to bring a mask for the duration of the trip. You are only required to wear it during times social distancing cannot be maintained.

What To Expect

A Walk In The Woods

A Walk in the Woods Smoky Mountain guides have been helping guests make lasting memories on backpacking and camping trips, driving tours and guided hikes in the Smoky Mountains since 1998. Our local, naturalist guides are experts in all things Smokies! Once you book your trip, you will be sent paperwork that we need filled out by you and everyone in your party within 48 hours. We will need that paperwork filled out and returned as soon as possible. You will receive a conditioning guide, a packlist upon booking and meeting location and route information closer to the time of your trip.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Everything you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask! Turn that curiosity into knowledge with a one night guided backpacking trip in the Smoky Mountains. Learn everything about the exciting and challenging sport of backpacking while meeting other people. On this trip, you will learn all the steps needed to become a proficient backpacker. Find out what to pack, how to pack and how to wear your pack for the most comfort. Learn how to use the best gear and what to do in the event that things don’t go as planned. If the weather changes or your gear doesn’t work well, you’ll be prepared. Identifying wild plants, which ones are edible, how to cure headaches and getting relief from poison ivy are all things you will learn along the way. We’ll start with a brief class on backpacking and apply it in real life.

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (89)

Donna P

Jul 2017

We had a fabulous time on this hike. Our tour guide, Hailey, was an environmental science major and was extremely knowledgeable about the forrest. She gave a variety of interesting facts both about the history of the park, it's early settlers and their families and a ton of information about plant life, ecosystems and life cycles. It was a rainy day and Hailey was quick to offer safety information concerning lightening strikes and offer to let us reschedule if we chose. We chose to proceed in the rain and had a great time. The hike was not strenuous in the least due to frequent stops to talk about interesting history and plant facts. There is one narrow area in the trail that can be slippery and quite a fall if your footing is not secure. Hailey was great to insure we were all able to navigate it well and were comfortable with each aspect of the trail, stream bed crossing and were staying hydrated. Only downside of the day was towards the end of the trail, thunder rolled and we had to make the decision to turn around before seeing the final cascade. Again, Hailey was awesome about making the right call and keeping safety first. This was the best activity we did on our entire vacation. I would do it again in a heartbeat, only next time it will be a longer trek.

Colleen S

Jun 2017

Our guide, Haley, was fantastic. She was fun and extremely knowledgeable. The hike was just challenging enough to be an adventure but easy enough for young kids.. The history of this national park is unique and interesting of which Haley was well versed, and the beauty of it breathtaking. I highly recommend it!

Jaimee_J

May 2017

We booked this tour in advance and it was confirmed pretty quickly. When we showed up, Nokey, our tour guide, gave us the run-down of what to expect. We'd expected a group of 5-6, but it ended up being just my husband and I we thought this was awesome, because it was our 2nd anniversary and a private hike was the best way to kick it off.

We aren't hikers, and this unmarked trail was easy for us. We kept up with Nokey just fine and enjoyed the rock hops, crawling under trees, and using the walking sticks that he provided for us. He even brought snacks, in case we needed them! We saw a ton of waterfalls, and because it was the two of us we didn't need breaks, he took us to a couple sites that they sometimes don't get to on the booked hike. He offered to take photos of us in front of the falls, and let us spend as much time as we wanted or needed at each one. The Smokies are truly beautiful and this was the best way for us to experience them.

Nokey is incredibly well-versed in the nature-life and history in the Smokies. We ate edible Sauerwood leaves, smelled wild ginger root when he identified them, and savored the wintergreen oil in twigs from Black Birch trees. He showed us dozens of plants and fungi we would have never known to look for, and we really learned a lot throughout the entire 2.5 hour hike. It was a fantastic experience, and we're so lucky to have had Nokey guiding us along. We'll definitely be booking with A Walk in the Woods each trip we make to Gatlinburg!