Great Smoky Mountains: A Complete Travel Guide

1. About – A Little History
2. How To Visit
3. Best Time to Visit
4. Top Things To Do & See In Smokies
5. Our Itinerary
6. Recommendations for Stay & Dine
7. What did we miss in this trip and what we plan to cover in our next visit?

About – A Little History

The Great Smoky Mountains 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 Ridge Physiographic Province. The park was established in 1934 and, with over 11 million visits per year, is the most visited national park in the United States.

The Smokies are part of an International Biosphere Reserve. The range is home to an estimated 187,000 acres (76,000 ha) of old-growth forest, constituting the largest such stand east of the Mississippi River. The coves hardwood forests in the range’s lower elevations are among the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and the Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest that covers the upper elevations is the largest of its kind.

The name “Smoky” comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. This fog is caused by the vegetation emitting volatile organic compounds, chemicals that have a high vapor pressure and easily form vapors at normal temperature and pressure.

How To Visit

The nearest airport to Smokies is McGee-Tyson Airport. The airport is served by five major commercial airlines: Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier and United and is approximately 45 miles west of the Gatlinburg entrance to the park.

If you are coming from the east side, you can fly into Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte North Carolina which is about 187 miles or if you are coming from the south, you can fly into Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia which is about 200 miles from the park.

Note: There is no public transportation to the national park from major cities in the area. 

Note: Flying to the nearest airport and then renting a car is the best way to explore the park.

Best Time To Visit

June through August is the best time for wildlife and waterfalls. As the summer mornings and early afternoons beam with sunshine, the Great Smoky Mountains beam with activity. This is also considered as the prime time of the year for all outdoor activities like white-water rafting, hiking, horseback riding and much more.

Top Things To Do & See In Smoky Mountain National Park

Before starting our trip to Smokies, we spent two days in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta is about 3 and half hours drive (191 miles approx). Although travelling 191 miles might sound hard but you will drive through the Nantahala National Forest area and the scenic drive along the Highway 23 is amazing. Also there are more connecting flights to Atlanta than the nearest McGhee-Tyson Airport in Tennessee. The flights are also expensive if you are flying to the Tennessee airport. Make sure to consider that when you plan your trip to smokies.

Covering Atlanta as part of this trip

We are making a separate post on Atlanta with the beautiful waterfalls in Georgia which we definitely recommend you combine it with Smokies. We are still working on the travel guide for that and will be published soon…

How many days did we spend in Smokies?

We spent a total of 4 days in Smokies excluding Atlanta. If we include Atlanta, Georgia along with the tourist attractions along the way to Smokies, then including the flight travel, it will come to a total of 8 days.

Without any further ado, lets embark on an exciting journey and uncover all the top attractions Smokies have to offer..

1. Visit the highest point on Blue Ridge Parkway
2. Visit Big Foot Statue
3. In & around Catalooche Valley
4. Soco Falls On Highway 19
5. Mingo Falls
6. Clingman’s Dome
7. Visit the beautiful town of Pigeon Forge
8. The sinks
9. Meighs Falls
10. Cades Cove Scenic Loop
11. Visit the beautiful Gatlinburg
12. Get an old time portrait done
13. Anakeesta
14. Stay in a Cabin

Highest point on Blue Ridge Parkway

If you want to go to park’s highest point, you will need to drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It reaches an elevation of 6053 feet. The Jackson County-Haywood County crosses the mountain’s summit.

The best part of going to this Parkway, is if you are here during fall or right around the fall, you will see amazing fall colors on the way.

You can take in the expansive views of the Nantahala National Forest from the highest point on this Parkway at Richland Balsam Overlook. Named for the red spruce and Fraser fir trees found here, known as the “he-balsam” and “she-balsam” respectively, this area features a forest type that resembles a Canadian wilderness. Since the late 1970s the forest has been affected by the balsam woolly adelgid, an invasive pest that has been killing Fraser fir trees.

How to get there?

The best way to visit this highest point is by driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just put in “Highest Point on BRP, Blue Rdg Pkway, Canton, NC 28716” on Google maps to get here.

Falls Colors along the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway

Visit Big Foot Statue

This 10-foot Big foot statue is along a tiny, barely two lane road which is along the drive after exploring the Catalooche Valley. This part of the Catalooche Valley isn’t exactly on the main drag and most people dont even know that this statue is there and its very easy to miss it.

If you are not that into life size statues, you can definitely skip this one.

Nearest Physical Address
4286-4500 Cove Creek Rd, Waynesville, NC 28785

Catalooche Valley

Cataloochee Valley is nestled among some of the most rugged mountains in the southeastern United States. Surrounded by 6000-foot peaks, this isolated valley was one of the largest and most prosperous settlements in what is now Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some 1,200 people lived in this lovely mountain valley in 1910. Most made their living by farming, including commercial apple growing, but an early tourism industry developed in Cataloochee with some families boarding fishermen and other tourists who wished to vacation in the mountains.

Catalooche Valley is best place in the park to see historic frame buildings from the late 19th and 20th centuries.

How to Get here?

The entrance road to Cataloochee Valley is a winding, gravel road that has some steep drop offs with no guard rails. The road is narrow, so drivers may be required to stop or back up their vehicles to allow oncoming motorists to pass. Horse trailer traffic may be encountered on the road. Please use caution when driving on this road.

The most direct route into the valley is to take Cove Creek Road. To get to the valley from interstate I-40, exit at North Carolina exit #20 and travel 0.2 miles on route 276. Turn right onto Cove Creek Road and follow the signs 11 miles into the Cataloochee Valley. To get there from Oconaluftee or Cherokee, take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Highway 19. Follow 19 (toward Asheville) through Maggie Valley. Turn left onto Highway 276 N. Just before the entrance ramp to I-40 (but past gas station), turn left and follow the signs 11 more miles to Cataloochee. Using the Cove Creek Road route, motorists will be traveling on a gravel road for approximately 15 minutes.

What to do here?

There are plenty of things to do in Catalooche Valley including but not limited to Wildlife watching, Fishing, Camping, Hiking, Horsecamp and much more.

There are quite a few historic structures around the valley and you can tour a school, churches, a barn, and several homes. One of our favorite house is the Caldwell house.

Caldwell house was completed in 1903 by Hiram Caldwell. It sits beautifully overlooking Rough Fork creek with the Caldwell Barn just on the other side. Like the other historical sites in the area, it lies open to the public for viewing although there are no furnishings present inside. The house Caldwell house was completed in 1903 by Hiram Caldwell. It sits beautifully overlooking Rough Fork creek with the Caldwell Barn just on the other side. Like the other historical sites in the area, it lies open to the public for viewing although there are no furnishings present inside. The house  sits back off the road only 100ft but you cross the creek and walk up a small grass field to get to the house. The valley itself is a must visit in the park.

Caldwell House (Built by Caldwell and his family in 1903)

Elks seen at a distance in the valley (Note: Visit early in the morning or later in the evening for better chances of wildlife viewing)

Beech Grove School in the valley

Palmer Chapel

Soco Falls On Highway 19

Soco Falls on Highway 19 (It wasn’t at its peak flow when we visited)

How to get here?

Soco Falls is located between the towns of Maggie Valley and Cherokee in North Carolina. You can view it from a platform via a short walk from US Highway 19, just 1.5 miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Note: This is not the kind of waterfalls where you need to hike to get to. Instead its a short less than 5 mins walk to get to the observation deck of the falls.

When you are driving from Maggie Valley past the Blue Ridge Parkway crossing, before you reach waterfall there is small blue “Soco Falls 1/2 mile ahead” sign. Look for the small roadside parking on the left. You can easily miss this sign since its one tiny sign. So keep an eye out for this sign. The small trail starts at the bark in the guard rail and it takes less than 5 mins to walk to the observation deck to view the falls.

Mingo Falls

Mingo Falls is a 120 ft high waterfall located in the Qualla Boundary—a land trust of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians—near the town of Cherokee, Swain County, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the eastern United States. The waterfall is among the tallest in the southern Appalachians

Note: No special permits are required for access to the area. 

Hike Distance: The hike to the waterfall is only 0.4 miles (0.6 km) in length, but is considered moderate in difficulty. You must also climb 161 steps.

How to get here? From Oconaluftee Visitor Center, drive south (towards Cherokee) on US-441 and take the second left onto Big Cove Road. At the first stop sign turn left and drive 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to Mingo Falls Campground, where the trail begins.

Mingo Falls

Clingman’s Dome

Clingman’s Dome is a mountain in the Smoky mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina in the Southeastern United States. Its name in Cherokee is Kuwahi or Kuwohi meaning “mulberry place”.

At an elevation of 6,643 feet (2,025 m), it is the highest mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the 2,192-mile (3,528 km) Appalachian Trail. It is also the third highest point in eastern mainland North America, after Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet or 2,037 metres) and Mount Craig (6,647 feet or 2,026 metres).

How much time needed?

Plan about an hour to walk up and back. It is a steep incline to the top of the viewing deck. From the Information center, its about 0.5 miles one way to the viewing tower.

How to go?

Turn off Newfound Gap Road 0.1 mile south of Newfound Gap and follow the 7-mile-long Clingmans Dome Road to the large parking area at the end.

Important: Arrive early as the parking area can get filled up very quickly and the best time to visit is during sunrise. Arrive 30 mins before sunrise for the best colors.

Sunset view at the Clingman’s dome tower

Pigeon Forge

Pigeon Forge, a mountain town and vacation area in eastern Tennessee, is the home of Dollywood, country singer Dolly Parton’s Appalachian-themed park consisting of rides, an adjoining water park and a museum of her costumes and memorabilia. The city’s other attractions include country music revues like the Smoky Mountain Opry, dinner theaters such as Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede and outlet malls.

What to do in Pigeon Forge?

Alpine Coaster: We loved this attraction in Pigeon Forge. Tickets were about 18$ per adult. The track length is about more than a mile long and takes about 7-8 mins to complete.

Note: Be careful when you are going on this ride and its not advised to take phones, hats, wallets or any other loose items since any item lost on the ride cannot be retrieved.

You can get all the information regarding the ride here: http://www.smokymountainalpinecoaster.com/

Dollywood (We didnt do this during our visit. But its considered a top attraction in Pigeon Forge especially for Kids)

Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. It has won many international awards.

In addition to standard amusement park thrill rides, Dollywood features traditional crafts, food, and music of the Smoky Mountain area. The park hosts a number of concerts and musical events each year, including appearances by Dolly Parton and her family as well as other national and local musical acts.

The theme park is the anchor of Parton’s 150-acre (61 ha) Dollywood amusement destination, which also includes the 35-acre (14 ha) sister water park Dollywood’s Splash Country, the 20-acre (8.1 ha) Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Attraction.

Tickets to the park costs about 92$ per person for a 1 Day ticket and tickets are also given as 2-Day and 3-Day admission tickets which are slightly expensive than this. For more information, visit https://www.dollywood.com/tickets/

Titanic Museum Attraction

The Titanic Museum is a two-story museum shaped like the RMS Titanic. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States, and opened on April 8, 2010. It is built half-scale to the original ship. Similar to the one in Branson, Missouri, the museum holds 400 pre-discovery artifacts in twenty galleries.

If you are a big fan of Titanic movie and want to get a feel about being in the Titanic, this museum is for you. Tickets are about 40$ per adult. For more information on the tickets, visit their website https://titanicpigeonforge.com/

Wonderworks Pigeon Forge

Wonderworks is an Indoor Amusement park, one of the best Pigeon Forge attractions. With over 42,000 square feet of “edu-tainment,” WonderWorks is an amusement park for the mind. The attraction combines education and entertainment with more than 100 hands-on exhibits that challenge the mind and spark the imagination.

This can be an entire day activity. The interesting part about this amusement park is the way this is built. The building front entrance looks upside down from the outside. With over 100 hands-on exhibits, there is something unique and challenging for all ages in this amusement park.

The tickets for the entry to the park is about 34$ per adult and 25.99$ per child or senior. For more information on the tickets, visit https://www.wonderworksonline.com/pigeon-forge/location-info/ticket-prices/

Stroll through the beautiful town

Pigeon Forge town itself is pretty especially during evenings after sunset when the streets are lit. There is an incredible Christmas Place, plenty of local shops to explore, our favorite coffee place was Espresso Yourself. Also visit the Millstone Village shoppes. Creamery for ice creams. Lastly visit the Old Forge Plaza for some leather shops, Boutique shops and much more.

Old Mill Pigeon Forge, TN

Pottery Demo at Pigeon River Pottery in Pigeon Forge

Old Forge Distillery in Pigeon Forge

The sinks

The Sinks is an unnatural waterfall on the Little River, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, United States. The Sinks is the most visited waterfall in the park due to the ease of access. This is located on the Little River road and is a great stop to see rushing waters and also this is in the beautiful town of Gatlinburg in Tennessee.

Physical Address:
Old State Hwy 73 Scenic, Gatlinburg, TN 37738

How to get here?
From downtown Gatlinburg, drive into the National Park. Immediately after passing the Sugarlands Visitor Center, turn right on Little River Road. The parking area for The Sinks is approximately 12 miles west of the visitor center on the left side of Little River Road.

Important:
Although this is a popular swimming hole and jumping spot on hot summer days, please be aware that this exact spot has been the location of multiple drownings and many serious injuries. 

Meighs Falls

Meighs falls is viewable from the pull out on the Little River road. There is no trail to this waterfalls.

How to get here?

If you are coming from Sugarlands visitor center, drive west on Little River Rd for 11.8 miles and turn left into the parking area right before the bridge. This is also the parking for the falls creek trail and this parking lot gets filled very quickly during peak season. To get to the falls, drive another 1.1 miles and look for a pull off area with a retaining wall on the left.

Cades Cove Scenic Loop

An 11-mile, one-way loop road circles the cove, offering motorists the opportunity to sightsee at a leisurely pace. Traffic is heavy during the tourist season in summer and fall and on weekends year-round. While driving the loop road, please be courteous to other visitors and use pullouts when stopping to enjoy the scenery or view wildlife.

This loop road will be closed for vehicles starting May through September to provide opportunities for pedestrians and cyclists to experience Cades Cove without motor vehicles.

Important: Come here early in the morning to increase your chances of spotting wildlife such as black bears and deer.

The trailhead for one of the most popular waterfall hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in Cades Cove. Abrams Falls is a striking waterfall with a 20-foot drop to a pool and stream located below on Abrams Creek.

How much time needed?
Allow at least two to four hours to tour Cades Cove, longer if you walk some of the area’s trails. 

For Bike rentals: You can rent bike at Cades Cove Trading Company. The rates are 10$ an hour to 60$ for the entire day. For more information visit: https://cadescovetrading.com/bikes/

Also stop by at the visitor center for more information on top things to do around the area.

Oliver Cabin, Methodist Church, Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church, Cable Mill, Primitive Baptist Church and trailhead to Abrams Falls Trail are all along this beautiful scenic loop. For more information on these cabins, please read further.

Missionary Baptist Church

Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg is a mountain town in eastern Tennessee, which is known as a gateway to the roughly 520,000-acre Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Many of its key attractions offer sweeping views of the neighboring park, including the 407-ft. Space Needle observation tower and the Sky Lift, a 2.1-mile aerial cable car that journeys from Downtown to the popular amusement park and ski resort Ober Gatlinburg.

We loved our time in Gatlinburg. This is by far the best town we visited during our visit to any National Park in the United States.

Important: You must visit “The Village” which is in the heart of Gatlinburg and its like a shopping Square which is home for 27 Unique shops and most importantly the Famous Donut Friar shop.

This is a great spot for coffee shops, restaurants, plenty of shopping options, Mountain coaster rides, Laser Tags, Walking on Skypark bridge, Escape Game Rooms, Mini Golf, Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery for whiskey tasting, Space Needle and much more. There are more than 45+ activities in this town and the most important one is Anakeesta adventure Park.

This is a must visit for anyone who’s planning to go to Smoky mountain National Park and perfect place for kids since its very family friendly town with tons of activities for kids.

For more information on the top attractions visit https://www.gatlinburg.com/things-to-do/attractions/?skip=12&bounds=false&view=grid&sort=qualityScore

During our visit, we had a wonderful encounter of a black bear just right outside the Gatlinburg entrance when we had just finished our early morning breakfast and coffee and were heading to the park.

Old time Portrait

We must say this our best thing to do during our visit to Smokies. Getting old potrait photo done was something we never thought of at first, but then the way the photo came out at the end, made it completely worth it.

There are many old portrait places in and around Gatlinburg but our personal favorite was Somewhere in Time old time Photo in Gatlinburg, TN. You will get an opportunity to dress up as Queen, Cowboy, and there are many other costumes to chose from. Initially when we were planning our trip, we were little hesitant about this but it turned out to be our best decision and best thing of our trip. We got so many compliments for the portrait picture from our friends. Unfortunately for copyright reasons, we are not able to share our portrait picture here. But if you are interested, you can visit them when you are in Gatliburg.

The total cost including tax for a potrait photo was around 28$ USD which was definitely worth it.

Physical Address
968 Parkway #10, Gatlinburg, TN 37738

They do not have official website, but for more information you can visit https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60842-d15230673-Reviews-Somewhere_in_Time-Gatlinburg_Tennessee.html

Anakeesta

This is a must visit and we definitely recommend to add this for your trip. Anakeesta is Tennessee’s award winning outdoor family theme park which is located in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. There are plenty of elements of Play and adventure including but not limited to zip lining, gondola rides, a treetop play area & other fun.

How much does it cost?
The general admission tickets are starting from 36.99$ per adult (ages 12 – 59), 24.99$ for children (ages 4 – 11), Seniors (60+) 29.99$ and for children under 3 free. Along with the general admission, as an add-on of 15.99$, we would definitely recommend the Astra Lumina which is United State’s first lumina Enchanted Night Walk series.

How much time needed?
To fully enjoy this experience, we definitely recommend a day here.

Important: It is recommended that you purchase the tickets in advance.

Stay in a Cabin

There are plenty of cabin stay options in Tennessee, Smokies area and also along the way on your travel to the Smokies if you are driving from Atlanta. Since we travelled from Atlanta, we got the opportunity of staying in an amazing tiny cabin near Clarksville, GA.

We were so glad we stayed here and we left an amazing review for them. Its a perfect cabin for a couple and you also have bigger cabins for families and another good thing about this stay is, its a complete Family friendly. The hosts were very helpful and the cabin had all the necessary amenities and we wished we had stayed for more time. Unfortunately when we landed it was little late in the night and morning we had to checkout for our drive back to Atlanta. But next time when we are in Georgia, we will definitely visit this again.

Physical Address:
Blue Canoe Tiny Cabins
115 Sweetwater Cir, Clarkesville, GA 30523

Note: Recently they have made mandated two nights stay in the cabins especially if you are booking during peak summer times. So plan accordingly. For more information, you can visit their website https://www.bleucanoe.com/stay

Our Itinerary

Day 1

• Highest Point on Blue Ridge Parkway
• Big Foot Statue
• Cataloochee Valley for Elk Watching
• Palmer Chapel Methodist Church
• Beech Grove School & Caldwell House
• Soco Falls
• Mingo Falls
• Clingman’s Dome for sunset

Day 2

• The Sinks
• Meighs Falls
• Cades Cove Scenic Loop
• John Oliver Cabin
• Primitive Baptist Church
• Methodist Church
• Missionary Baptist Church
• Sugarlands Visitor Center
• Roaring Fork Motor Trail
• Noah Bud Ogle Cabin
• Grotto Falls
• Place of Thousand Dips
• Village Shoppes
• Gatlinburg Downtown
• Get old time portrait done

Day 3

• Donuts from Donut Friar (This is very famous in Gatlinburg)
• Laurel Falls
• Gatlinburg Skywalk
• Anakeesta

Day 4

• Old Mill Pigeon Forge
• Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster
• Wonderworks Pigeon Forge
• Whiskey tasting at Old Smoky Moonshine
• Crazy Mason Milkshake
• Dowtown Seveirvelle (You can skip this. Not much of attractions here)
• Check out Great Smoky arts & crafts

To do all the attractions we have listed in this guide, 4 days should be more than enough for this trip. However adding Atlanta and other top attractions along the route towards Atlanta from Smokies, you will need two more days.

Stay & Dine

During our visit to the Smokies, we stayed at three hotels and we stayed in the town called Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Best Western Toni Inn – Pigeon Forge, TN

This was an ok accommodation. Good thing about this is you will breakfast in the morning. Unless you are looking for more luxurious accommodation, this hotel should be ok for a one night stay.

Physical Address
3810 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863

Gatlinburg Mountain Inn

This is a good accommodation and budget friendly accommodation in Gatlinburg. The rooms were good although there is no free breakfast option. But you do have good restaurants in the town which are less than 5 mins drive from the hotel. Hotel accommodation price is around 70 – 100$ per night on an average.

Physical Address
390 East Pkwy, Gatlinburg, TN 37738

For more information on the booking and reservations visit https://www.gatlinburgmountaininn.com/

Arbors at Island Landing – Pigeon Forge, TN

This was a decent accommodation and most importantly the layout was pretty weird and we had to take our suitcase from one part of the building to another. The hotel did have good continental breakfast included. We still recommend this hotel if you are planning to stay in Pigeon Forge area. This hotel is however in the higher price range and costs about 130 – 150$ per night.

Physical Address
2809 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863

What did we miss in this trip and what we plan to cover in our next visit?

We didn’t miss a lot in our first trip but a couple of popular trails which we could not do because of time constraints and we plan on doing this in our next trip to the smokies.

• Clingman’s Dome (We didnt get a clear view since we were here almost after sunset. We plan on doing this correctly in our next visit)
• Riding the Yellow Trolley in Gatlinburg
• We didn’t go inside the Titanic Museum (Two-story museum shaped like the RMS Titanic) and also the Wonderworks Museum in Pigeon Forge.
• Dollywood (Family amusement Park which needs a day)
• Alum Cave Trail
• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
• Chimney Tops Trail
• Ripley’s believe it or not in Gatlinburg