great smoky mountains
NATIONAL PARK
The Park is located in NORTH CAROLINA.
The mountains are some of the oldest mountains in the world at 200-300 million years old.
The mountains are some of the oldest mountains in the world at 200-300 million years old.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in America—and for good reason. The beautiful—and very old—Appalachian, Blue Ridge, and Great Smoky Mountain ranges run their course through the park, and the 800-square-mile territory straddles the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. Take your pick of hiking through old-growth forest, alongside waterfalls, through Cades Cove (a valley of historic buildings), to temperate rainforest mountaintops.
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Enjoy 2,100 miles of flowing streams and rivers through cove hardwood, spruce-fir, northern hardwood, hemlock, and pine-and-oak forests that are home to over 1,500 types of flowering plants and over 4,000 non-flowering. Take a walk on the iconic Appalachian Trail that runs 70 miles through the park on its way from Maine to Georgia. The tallest mountains east of the Mississippi River are located in this self-proclaimed salamander capital of the world.
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The tallest mountains east of the Mississippi River are located in this self-proclaimed salamander capital of the world. Over 30 species of salamanders live here—24 of which are lungless. Entrance into the park is free. In addition to an exhaustive list of activities—horseback riding (rent a horse by the hour at one of four stables), camping, hiking, fishing, wildlife sightseeing, picnics, lectures, biking, hayrides, carriage and wagon rides, waterfall viewing, and workshops and classes—there are 384 miles of scenic roads to drive.
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plenty of magical miles to hike
Alum Cave Bluffs is pretty easy and a great length, at five miles round-trip, for the novice hiker. Blaze through old-growth forest to Arch Rock and through the narrow natural tunnel—arguably the highlight of the trail, although reaching the rocky outcrop of Inspiration Point promises quite the view as well. A few hundred feet more and you’ll see the namesake of the trailhead and onward yet another partial mile to summit Mount Le Conte for panoramic vistas.
CHIMNEY ROCK
Great way to view 75-miles of Great Smoky Mountain, located at Highway 64/74A
Chimney Rock, NC 28720
Chimney Rock, NC 28720
COST
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Admission is FREE! |
PETS
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Pets are allowed in parking lots, picnic areas, campgrounds and on two walking paths the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail only.
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OPEN
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The park is open all year. |
FOOD SERVICES
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There are three snack bar services throughout the park, five vending machines for beverages at each of the stables, and two campground stores that sell limited camp food.
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MORE FACILITIES
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There are ten developed campgrounds in the park with fire pits, picnic tables, flushable toilets and shower facilities. Backcountry camping is permitted. Seven group campgrounds and five horse campgrounds are also available. LeConte Lodge is the only non-camping accommodation available and it’s only accessible by foot as it sits on the third tallest peak in the park. (5-8 mile hike to reach it) Backcountry primitive shelters are available throughout the park.
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SCENIC ROAD
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There are 384 miles of road for visitors to auto tour in the park. Clingmans Dome, Blue Ridge Parkway and Foothills Drive offer the most spectacular views of the fall foliage from mid-October to mid-November.
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TOURS
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There are many tours available from guided horseback rides to guided hikes, night walks, family adventures, naturalist led workshops.
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FAMOUS TRAILS
Chimney Tops is not for the first time hiker - but it is the most popular trail in the park. The trail climbs 1,400 feet in elevation, crosses rushing streams, and leads hikers over rock scrambles to switchbacks and finally ends at a rocky pinnacle dubbed the first “chimney”. Look out at Mount Le Conte and the valley below. Four mile round trip.
Cades Cove is the most popular place to visit in the park. There is an 11 mile one way loop that circles this verdant valley once home to homesteaders and still home to a variety of wildlife. Here you can see the highest concentration of historic buildings in the park. Before the 1800’s Cades Cove belonged the the Cherokee Nation.
Rainbow Falls is another trailhead that will ultimately lead you to the summit of Mount Le Conte if you’re looking for a longer hike. Otherwise, to Rainbow Falls and back is five miles round trip to the 80 foot waterfall over log bridges and through rhododendron lined trails. The afternoon sun hits the mist from the waterfall causing the rainbow effect, giving these falls their name.
Laurel Falls is another equally sized waterfall on a well-beaten path, and Clingmans Dome climbs a short and pretty easy path up to a fifty foot observation deck where you can see the North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia mountains.
Cades Cove is the most popular place to visit in the park. There is an 11 mile one way loop that circles this verdant valley once home to homesteaders and still home to a variety of wildlife. Here you can see the highest concentration of historic buildings in the park. Before the 1800’s Cades Cove belonged the the Cherokee Nation.
Rainbow Falls is another trailhead that will ultimately lead you to the summit of Mount Le Conte if you’re looking for a longer hike. Otherwise, to Rainbow Falls and back is five miles round trip to the 80 foot waterfall over log bridges and through rhododendron lined trails. The afternoon sun hits the mist from the waterfall causing the rainbow effect, giving these falls their name.
Laurel Falls is another equally sized waterfall on a well-beaten path, and Clingmans Dome climbs a short and pretty easy path up to a fifty foot observation deck where you can see the North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia mountains.
when to go
For Gatlinburg, TN (low elevation)
71F - 88F
April - September Most Likely |
61F - 88F
March, July Most Likely |
61F - 79F
86F - 87F March - May June to August |
33F - 29F
November - February Most Likely |
For Clingmans Dome, TN (high elevation)
60F - 63F
June - September Most Likely |
35F - 65F
February, March, July Most Likely |
53F - 65F
Summer Most Likely |
18F - 38F
October - April Most Likely |
Clingmans Dome Visitor Center
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Clingmans Dome climbs a short and pretty easy path up to a 50-foot observation deck where you can see the North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia mountains.
It offers the most spectacular views of the fall foliage from mid-October to mid-November. It requires a sweater because it is located in the higher elevation of the park. |
who may meet you here?
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INSPIRATIONAL
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The Qualla Boundary, also known just simply as The Qualla, is just south of the park and is now home to the displaced Cherokee population that lived where the national park now lies. It is not considered a reservation but more of a protected native American area as the tribe purchased the land from the government in the late 1800’s. |
who was behind the great smoky mountains ?
John Rockefeller Jr.
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In the early 1900’s, not long after the establishment of the National Park System, people within NPs wanted to create a national park in the east but had no worthy large swathe of federally owned land to do so. John Rockefeller and the park system contributed a total of $7 million to acquire land for the purpose of a park. One by one people began donating their land or were forced to give up it up to preserve the diverse ecological area. On September 2, 1934, the park was officially created.
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SAFETY
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