Mt Cammerer Lookout Hike, Smoky Mountains National Park

Thanksgiving week is a great time to sneak in a hike before the food coma sets in, and this year I pointed myself at Mt Cammerer - the old fire tower perched above Cosby Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some people call it Mt Cammerer watch tower, others call it a fire tower, but technically it's classified as a lookout. Whatever you call it, it's an 11 mile round trip with a payoff view that's hard to beat this time of year. Watch the video below, then read on for the details.

A Chilly Start from Cosby Campground

I started this one out of Cosby Campground on a properly cold Thanksgiving morning - probably around 35 degrees. There were some clouds hanging around, but they looked like high clouds, the kind that usually burn off, so I wasn't too worried. The route follows the Low Gap Trail, about 2.9 miles up to where it meets the Appalachian Trail, and then another two and a half miles or so along the AT to the tower itself.

A Steady Climb the Whole Way

This hike doesn't ease up. It's a very steady, constant climb - no flat sections to catch your breath on - and we were shedding layers within the first couple miles just from the effort of it. By the time we'd climbed for about two miles we were already gaining real elevation, working our way up toward 5,000 feet. It's the kind of grade that works your legs hard on the way up and leans on your knees just as much coming back down.

The Story Behind the Tower

Mt Cammerer is named for a park ranger and manager who was instrumental in securing Rockefeller funding to help buy up the land that would become Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The stone-and-wood lookout tower at the summit was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the 1930s, and it still has that classic CCC craftsmanship - hand-laid stonework framing the windows and a wraparound porch built for exactly the kind of view you climb 5.4 miles to see.

A 360 Degree Payoff

The timing on this hike was hard to beat. It was late enough in fall that a lot of the trees still held their reds, and from up top the mountainsides looked like they were on fire - a really striking, fiery red spreading across the ridgelines in every direction. Standing on that porch with a full 360 degree view of the Smokies made every bit of that steady climb worth it.

Know Before You Go

From Cosby Campground, plan on about 11 miles round trip - 2.9 miles up the Low Gap Trail to the Appalachian Trail, then roughly 2.5 more miles along the AT to the tower, and the same distance back down. I'd call this a strenuous hike, not because of any one tough section, but because the incline is so relentlessly steady the entire way - it never really lets up, in either direction. Trekking poles help a lot here, especially on the descent, and bring plenty of food and water since there's no resupply along the way. Late November brought cold mornings in the mid-30s, so dress in layers you can shed as you climb and warm up.