Tricorner Knob is a mountain in the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridg ...

, located in the southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 6,120 feet (1,865 m), with 160 feet (48 m) of clean prominence. The Appalachian and Balsam Mountain trails intersect near the mountain's summit, making Tricorner Knob the great crossroads of the eastern Smokies.

Description

Like much of the Smokies crest, Tricorner Knob is on the border between

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As its name implies, the mountain is at the point where the Balsam Mountains intersect the crest of the Great Smokies, creating a triangular-shaped ridge. Three counties intersect at the summit of Tricorner, with

Sevier County, Tennessee Sevier County ( ) is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,380. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville. Sevier County comprises the Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

, to the west,

Haywood County, North Carolina Haywood County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 62,089. The county seat and its largest community is Waynesville, North Carolina, Waynesville. Haywood ...

, to the northeast, and

Swain County, North Carolina Swain County is a County (United States), county located on the far western border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,117. Its county seat is Bryson City, North Carolina, ...

, to the southeast. The mountain rises approximately above its western base at the mouth of Buck Fork, along the Little Pigeon River. Tricorner is the ninth-highest mountain in Tennessee and the 27th-highest mountain in North Carolina.

History

Tricorner Knob's remote situation in the dense Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest of the eastern Smokies has left it largely untouched by human history. Arnold Guyot measured its elevation on his survey of the crest of the Smokies in 1859, placing Tricorner's elevation at . Other than surveyors and the occasional naturalist, the mountain was devoid of human visitors until a segment of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

was constructed across its western slope in 1935. An isolated spring on the mountain's southern slope was the key reason behind its selection for the back country campsite where the Tricorner Knob Shelter sits today. Laura Thornborough, a writer who visited the mountain in the late 1930s, called Tricorner Knob one of the last "true wilderness areas, where one can commune with nature and leave the cares of the world behind."

Access

Tricorner Knob can be accessed via a lengthy hike. From the Cosby Campground (specifically behind Campsite B51), the

Snake Den Ridge Trail The Snake Den Ridge Trail is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Cocke County, Tennessee. Winding its way up the backbone-like crest of Snake Den Ridge, the trail connects the Cosby Campground to the Appalach ...

winds up the ridge to its junction with the Appalachian Trail. From this junction, Tricorner is away, with the trail first crossing the slopes of Old Black and Mount Guyot. The Balsam Mountain Trail is a trail connecting the Appalachian Trail in the west with the Benton MacKaye Trail to the east. The latter can be accessed via a sharp bend in Straight Fork Road, a rugged gravel road rising out of Cherokee, North Carolina. From this bend, Tricorner Knob is just over away. A section of the Appalachian Trail connects Tricorner Knob with

Newfound Gap Newfound Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses ...

in the central Smokies. The Tricorner Knob Shelter can accommodate 12 people. Overnight campers are required to get a permit from the park service. The shelter is approximately halfway between the Peck's Corner Shelter to the west and the Cosby Knob Shelter to the northeast.

References

External links

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail Map
- Large file in .pdf format.
Tricorner Knob Shelter

- Details on climbing Tricorner Knob and other nearby mountains. Provided by the Carolina Hiking Club. {{Mountains of Tennessee Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Mountains on the Appalachian Trail Mountains of North Carolina Mountains of Tennessee Southern Sixers Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains Protected areas of Sevier County, Tennessee Protected areas of Haywood County, North Carolina Protected areas of Swain County, North Carolina Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee Mountains of Haywood County, North Carolina Mountains of Swain County, North Carolina