Lace up your boots and fill up your Nalgenes because the songbirds have already started their springtime serenade.
    
Winter hiking can be off-putting for some outdoor enthusiasts, but now is the time to truly go and find solitude.
    
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. In 2011, park visitation had above nine million visitors. This mild winter provides incentive to go enjoy the beauty of the Smokies, without the constant bear traffic jams and sweltering heat characteristic of the summer.
    
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers over 900 miles of trails within the park. A fantastic starter hike that will provide a great biological and historical look into the Smokies is the Little River Loop trail out of Elkmont.
    
This 5.5 mile round-trip hike is one of the few loop trails within the park. The trail uses Little River Trail, Cucumber Gap Trail and Jakes Creek Trail combined to make a pleasant stroll through the Smokies. This loop walks through historic Elkmont that defined the logging era of the Smokies.
    
Over 75 percent of trees were logged within what is now Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1800s and 1900s. Although you will not find large, old-growth trees on this hike, lots of other natural resources provide enjoyment. The Little River Trail is a gradual, gentle climb. The trail was originally an old gravel road that is now closed to cars. This pleasant stroll follows alongside the Little River filled with several smaller cascading waterfalls.
    
The start of the trail is filled with several old vacation cottages. During the early 1900s, wealthy residents of Knoxville would come to Elkmont for a quiet escape. Most of these cottages are being renovated. Please do not enter any for safety purposes.
    
After about 2.2 miles, you will see your first major cascade on the trail. Husky Branch Falls is a small — roughly 20 feet — cascading waterfall that flows into the Little River. Just a little further, you will come to the first trail connection. Cucumber Gap trail will veer to your right.
    
The trail connection is clearly marked.
    
Cucumber Gap is slightly more uphill than Little River. The trail climbs roughly 400 feet in one mile. Cucumber Gap Trail does not follow the Little River, so it provides a more serene walk in the woods. This part of the trail does have several protruding roots, so be sure to step carefully and wear shoes with ankle support.
    
After another 2.5 miles, you will come to the Jakes Creek Trail junction. Be sure to turn right and walk alongside the trail. Jakes Creek Trail is another gravel road much like the Little River Trail. This part of the hike is extremely downhill.
   
The visitor goes from being above 3,000 feet in elevation down to a little below 2,200 feet in less than a mile and a half. Jakes Creek will also show richer history embedded in the Smokies.
   
 Eventually, you will end in the parking lot by the Jakes Creek trailhead that is less than a tenth of a mile from the Little River trailhead parking lot.
   
 The Little River Loop Trail is great for all four seasons. The nice, easy slope provides a safe trail for winter hiking. This trail is also well known for its wildflowers. At the beginning of spring and even as early as March, several flowers will begin to bloom alongside this trail.
    
This trail is also well known for the indigenous synchronous fireflies that live in Little River Area during the first two weeks of June.
    
Regardless of when you go hiking, the Little River Loop Trail will provide a great escape from the metropolis of Knoxville. Please be sure to bring plenty of water, layers, snacks and a first-aid kit for any day hiking.
    
And lastly, take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.

— Emily DeLanzo is a junior in environmental studies. She can be reached at edelanzo@utk.edu.