Great Smoky Mountains
National Park
Trip Assistant
How Much Time?
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one place you really need to know what you’re getting yourself into. The north entrance (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville) is one massive tourist trap. Some people love it. Some people don’t. If you love that sort of thing you’ll want a few days just to spend goofing around there. If you don’t, I’d recommend accessing the park from other areas (Townsend, Wears Valley). Spend your nights in/near the quieter corners of the park too.
While one day isn’t nearly enough to really get to know the Smokies, it should be plenty to drive through (especially if you’re at Cades Cove when the gates open).
You could spend weeks hiking here. Check out the favorite trails list. Consider hiking up to Mount LeConte via Alum Cave (steep) or Boulevard trails and spending the night at LeConte Lodge (must reserve extremely early).
Need to Know
- You’ll need to get a Parking Tag to park longer than 15 minutes.
- Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited National Park and the only park to receive more than 10 million annual visitors. Expect it to be crowded from May through October.
- Popular spots like Cades Cove, Roaring Fork, Alum Cave, and Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) are busy. Visit early, late, or in the offseason, or come prepared with plenty of patience.
- If you’d like to see the synchronous fireflies (June), you must win a lottery.
Highlights
- Cade’s Cove
- Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
- Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome)
- Newfound Gap
- Heintooga Road
- Ocanaluftee Visitor Center
- Mingus Mill
- Tail of the Dragon (US-129)
Activities
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Biking
- Paddling
- Fishing
- Horseback Riding
Favorite Trails
Easy
- Indian Creek
- Laurel Falls (closed for 2025)
- Mingo Falls
When To Go?
Weather
Visitation
This is the most visited national park in the United States, seeing more than 10,000,000 visitors each year! Pretty much from March through October, it’s a good idea to avoid excessively popular areas like Cades Cove and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail during the middle of the day. Go hiking! Visit less popular regions like Deep Creek, Big Creek, Cataloochee, and Heintooga Road. Parking is competitive at popular trailheads like Alum Cave, Chimney Tops, and Laurel Falls.
Park Map Downloads
Road Trips
Helpful Tools
Below you'll see a Google Map (some of the routes are not shown when roads are closed due for winter) to help plan road trips from the east (Asheville, NC), north (Lexington, KY), west (Nashville, TN), and south (Congaree). It’s a good start, but I’d highly recommend making your own. Google My Maps, Wanderlog, and TripIt are incredibly useful trip planning tools. Find what works best for you!
There’s much more to our country. Here’s another Google Map with points of interest across all types of public land.
For campers, here’s a Google Map with National Forest campgrounds. National Park campgrounds are difficult to reserve (there are about 200!). With nearly 5,000 national forest campgrounds, you can usually pull in and find a spot.
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