Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

So first off let me say I am not an outdoorsy type who likes to hike. I mean sure I appreciate the beauty of nature but I am more beaches and theme parks than forests and mountains. With that said, we ended up going to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park twice during our trip because I underestimated how much time we’d want to spend there. Seriously it is amazing and either do sun-up to sun-down or plan two half-days there which is about what we did.

Where is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

The mountains are located between North Carolina and Tennessee. We drove through Gatlinburg to get there and it was maybe 40 minutes from there.

One of the trails we drove through actually had a spot where you could park and stand on technically two states all at once! My kids thought this was so cool!

3 important things to do before and when you first arrive at the Smoky Mountains:

First do your research and plan what you are going to want to make sure to do. I knew I wanted to do some driving trails and I was hoping to see black bears. We found what trail loops to do, where there is more active animals and some cool things to not miss.

Second, stop at a visitor center, they are everywhere and get a map or print out at home if you plan ahead.

Finally, pack water, snacks and lunch. We luckily planned ahead and had a ton in our car since we drove to Tennesse but we also stopped at Subway beforehand and brought those in the car for lunchtime.

What did we do in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

The first day we went to Jayell Ranch until around lunch, picked up Subway and then drove to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park until almost sunset.

We did the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a 5.5-mile-long, one-way, loop road. There are tons of spots to pull over and park to get out and walk and explore as well. We loved checking out all the preserved buildings and cabins that were all over.

Inside Roaring Fork Motor Trail is also Rainbow Falls waterfalls but its a 5.4 miles roundtrip and is considered moderately strenuous. We made it halfway before the realization set in that we’d half to walk all the way back through so we stopped.

Next stop was Clingmans Dome – which is the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. This was nice because you park in a parking lot (after a very long driving route to the top) and walk a paved trail to the observation tower at the top of Clingmans Dome. It is steep but luckily there are benches to stop at and the view is worth it.

It is hard to read in the photo but we also got to see one of the spots the Applachian Trail starts at. Pretty cool to say we “walked” on the Applachian Trail!

The second day we went to the Smokies we visited the 11-mile one-way loop of Cades Cove. We were going to Anakeesta nearby in the afternoon so we went to Cades Cove first thing in morning so we had time to walk around downtown Gatlinburg and then visit Anakeesta. Certain months this loop is bicycles and on-foot only on Wednesdays so try to avoid that day if you are unsure. The site recommends two to four hours to tour Cades Cove, longer if you walk some of the area’s trails.

Scattered along the loop road are three churches, a working gristmill, barns, log houses, and many other faithfully restored eighteenth and nineteenth century structures. Definitely fun to explore them, no cost or waiting just get out and walk around.

Did we see any black bears?

We did but they were very far away! We saw some way down in a canyon off of Roaring Fork Motor Trail and then again while driving on Cades Cove loop. Hard to tell from photo but there is a black bear sitting in field by a tree.

Will we go back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Yes! I loved driving through it and having the option to get out and walk around if we wanted to. I was worried about pulling over but there is a ton of parking and spaces in general to pull over onto side of road. I didn’t feel un-safe at all and just walking where settlers were back in 1818 was amazing. There is so much history and beautiful nature that even this non-outdoorsy girl had a great time.