Thursday:
3-4pm: Arrival 5pm: Opening circle and nature walk to springs 6:30pm: Dinner Friday & Saturday: 8am: Breakfast 9am: Yoga 10am: Self-guided Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains (bag lunch provided) 5pm: Workshop series: Cultivating Mindfulness in Nature 7pm: Dinner Evening Fire Sunday: 8am: Breakfast 9am: Yoga 11am: Check out |
photos source: https://smokymountainnationalpark.com/
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Hikes
Located less than 25 miles from Seven Springs is the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited National Park in the U.S.! On your way you will drive through Townsend with a wonderful Visitors Center and Heritage Center we recommend visiting. Cades Cove One of the most popular destinations, the cove a beautiful 11 mile loops to drive any day or bike on Wednesday and Saturday mornings when it is closed to cars. Bicycle rental is available in the Park. Abrams Falls is a nice 5 mile hike from Cades Cove. The turnoff for the trailhead is located past stop #10 on the Cades Cove Loop Road. The turnoff is signed. Laurel Falls is a trail ascends Cove Mountain, leading past Laurel Falls, one of the most popular waterfalls in the national park, en route to the summit of Cove Mountain and the Cove Mountain fire tower. From Sugarlands Visitor Center, turn toward Cades Cove on Little River Road and drive 3.5 miles to the trailhead where there are parking areas on both sides of the road. Tremont A nearby nature education center located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this area is fun to visit for information and connect to some good trailheads! Our favorite moderate waterfall hike, Spruce Flats Falls: You'll need to travel 2.2 miles back the Tremont road to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute and then park in the parking area in front of the visitor center. From there, walk up the paved road into the Tremont complex until the pavement ends at 0.2 miles. Continue into the woods and turn left uphill. At 0.1 mile the trail junctions with a path that goes straight, take a right to continue on the Falls trail. We also enjoy Middle Prong trail, with waterfalls and moderate difficulty. Head southwest from the Townsend Y junction of Little River Road and TN 73 towards Cades Cove. After a short drive (0.2 mile), turn left onto Tremont Road. After two miles, you’ll pass the Great Smokey Mountains Institute at Tremont on your left before the road changes to gravel. Continue three additional miles down the gravel road before reaching the road’s end. Park here for the trailhead. Mount Leconte If you’re looking for a more challenging and longer hike, we recommend this one. Plan for a full day and bring lots of water. There are a few trails to choose from and a Lodge at the top if you’d like to spend the night (reservations required). We like the Alum Cave Bluff trail; it is steeper, shorter and more difficult, but the Bluffs are a must see on your way up. To reach the trailhead from the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg, drive 8.7 miles south along Newfound Gap Road. The parking area will be on your left. Rainbow Falls trail is strenuous but worth it with panoramic views of the Smokies. Starting from Light 8 in Gatlinburg, turn onto Historic Nature Trail / Airport Road. After driving 0.7 miles veer right onto Cherokee Orchard Road, upon which you'll enter into Great Smoky Mountain National Park. After driving another 2.2 miles you'll enter the one-way Cherokee Orchard Loop Road. After driving roughly 0.6 miles on the loop, the Rainbow Falls Trailhead will be located on your right. Look Rock Fire Tower & Abrams Creek Campground Trails Located on the Foothills Parkway, Look Rock Fire Tower is a short and windy drive up the mountain from Seven Springs. This National park Service fire lookout is at the top of an easy half-mile hike up to a breathtaking 360 view of the surrounding mountains. You can see the Fire Tower from Seven Springs and even see Seven Springs from the Fire Tower! From the tower parking lot, you'll back track to meet up again with route 336 and turn left to continue driving away from Seven Springs. In a few miles, you'll see a road on your left with a sign for Abrams Creek Campground. You can park just across from the Forest Station to jump in the cool mountain river, or walk or drive to the end of the campground to walk the trail for easy hiking along streams and through Hemlock forests. |
Jessi Luna
Jessi teaches an accessible and holistic yoga practice to offer students at all levels of yoga the experience of yoga. She grew up in the Smoky Mountains and after living and traveling throughout the world, she is blessed to have landed back on the rich soils of East Tennessee. Jessi has been teaching yoga since 2008. She is a cofounder of Kula Collective along with 6 other friends, as well as Seven Springs along with her husband and parents. She and her family now spend half the year at Seven Springs and half in Guatemala, where they also have deep roots. |
Zachary Townesmith
Zach brings humility and humor to his facilitation and coaching. He inspires participation and thoughtful consensus in a wide array of groups. He is dedicated to developing intercultural relations and facilitating innovative solutions for regenerative well-being. His Cum Laude B.A. from Harvard College led him to explore issues of privilege and work for justice from his hometown of Philadelphia to the Guatemala City garbage dump. This work has taken him throughout the Americas engaging diverse stakeholders in strategic planning through the development of creative and critical thinking in fields such as education, public health, business, creative industries, and entrepreneurship. |
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