Smoky Mountains National Park: The Ultimate Guide
Introduction:
Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains is actually not that difficult... wow that was refreshing to type. Most of the guides that I've written so far have been over National Parks that require a lot of logistics and planning to visit. For instance, Mt. Rainier requires a reservation system for all of the summer months. Big Bend National Park is damn near impossible to get to if you're not from Texas and has essentially nowhere to stay or eat. None of these issues apply to Great Smoky Mountains.
The Smoky Mountains are a section of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains... that was a lot. Simply put, the Smoky's are on the southern end of the ancient Appalachian Mountains and honestly feel more like a jungle than anything else. This region is beautiful, but not in the same way that other mountain parks like Rocky Mountain or Glacier are. Do not expect to be blown away by jagged, snow capped mountain peaks. Instead, be prepared to be utterly amazed by the greenery, wildlife, waterfalls, and so much more.
Logistics:
The best part of visiting the Smoky Mountains is how easy it is. The park is about four hours from Nashville, so not necessarily close but also not impossible. The drive there is very easy. You will simply head east towards Knoxville and eventually you'll make it.
We stopped and had dinner in the city of Knoxville and the day we arrived and really liked the town. It's on our list of places to go back to. On the way there you will also drive through the strange town of Pigeon Forge. I could write a whole page on Pigeon Forge, but I'll leave it out to focus on the town you will be staying in: Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Gatlinburg:
Gatlinburg gets a lot of hate, and I don't believe it's justified. This town is touristy, yes, and it's overpriced, and it kind of feels like a cruise ship but that's ok! Embrace Gatlinburg is the best advice I can give. Jordan and I actually fell in love with the little town. There are some good restaurants, plenty of things to do for families of all ages, and an abundance of places to stay. The best part about Gatlinburg is that is the entrance to the park. No seriously, it's like a five minute drive. The sheer convenience of visiting the Smoky Mountains is what makes them so popular.
It was so nice for once to come back from hiking for five hours and have a real meal for once. It was nice to have a bunch of hotels to choose from and stay in a place we wanted to be. The views from the town are beautiful, and you truly get the best of both worlds. If I had to pick one national park (real parks of course, looking at you Gateway Arch) to be considered the "easiest" to stay at, I would choose Great Smoky Mountains in a heartbeat
The park is also free to enter. Insane. The only thing you will have to do is purchase a parking pass for $10 if you plan on parking and hiking.
Finally, all of these amazing features I just talked about draw in huge crowds. After all, it's the most visited park in the system. Luckily this park is pretty much open year round so you can attempt to plan around the most crowded times. I wouldn't recommend visiting in the heart of winter, but March through November should be good. We went in May and that really is the perfect month to go. The mountains are covered in their famous haze (hence the name of the park), the waterfalls are flowing at full force, and the weather is perfect. Talking 50's at night and maybe low 70's during the day. It was also not too crowded in May.
Hotel Options:
We stayed at The Park Vista DoubleTree and loved it. It's shockingly not that expensive for being one of the nicest places in the area. It is older and the rooms are slightly rundown, but you should stay here for the view if nothing else. Every room has a view of something, whether its the mountains or Gatlinburg.
There are a lot of airbnbs in the area but when I was looking they were all more expensive than staying at the Park Vista and they were also further away. In a park the size of the Smokys, unecessary driving adds up.
Best Places to Stay
Best Places to Eat
Best Hikes:
Day One:
On your first full day in the Smoky Mountains there will be a fair amount of driving, so be prepared. The park is huge, so you're saved by Gatlinburg being right at the entrance because it could be a lot worse. You'll want to get started early to avoid crowds and ensure that you can find parking at the trailhead of your first hike. Unlike Olympic National Park, parking along the park roads is very limited, so you will want to make sure you can get a spot in the parking lot.
Today will focus on:
Hiking to Grotto Falls
Exploring Gatlinburg
Clingmans Dome
Morning:
I would plan on getting on the road between 7:30 - 8:00 A.M. today to ensure you get to the Grotto Falls Trailhead on time. If you did not get the chance to pick up your parking pass at the location below on your travel day before, then I would leave an extra 20 minutes early.
To get to Grotto Falls you will drive the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (RFMNT) which conveniently begins right outside of the Park Vista.
The RFMNT is a 5.5 mile, one way loop that goes through some of the parks most beautiful terrain. You could spend two hours driving the trail just getting out at the viewpoints without any hiking and feel like it was a success. I truly have never felt more like I entered the amazon rainforest than on this drive. There are waterfalls everywhere you look and if you're lucky, an abundance of animals including Black Bears.
The road also has a couple of historical attractions off of it, including:
Hike: Grotto Falls
The Grotto Falls hike is about 2.8 miles out and back with a 500 foot elevation gain. It is not very difficult and I believe almost anyone could hike it! The parking lot is a decent size but once again, get there early. We got there around 8:45 A.M. and we got one of the last spots.
You will hike through the lush forests and slowly scale a couple of hills, crossing over streams and small waterfalls along the way. Eventually you will reach the peak of your elevation gain and you'll be able to look down on Grotto Falls from a distance. The last quarter mile of the hike is descending down to get to the waterfall.
Grotto Falls was our favorite of Smoky Mountain's many waterfalls because you can walk behind it. It sounds dumb but you just have to see it for yourself, it's worth it. We sat on the bank of the pool in front of the falls for a little and ate a snack before hiking back. The hike took about two hours including our break.
ALTERNATE HIKE: Rainbow Falls
Another hike you could do today if you do not care about spending any time in the town of Gatlinburg is Rainbow Falls. The trail is much longer (5.5 miles) but the waterfall is higher and arguably more impressive.
Afternoon:
You should aim to finish the Grotto Falls hike around 11:00 A.M. Since the hike is halfway through the RFMNT, you will have the chance to finish the drive on the way back to Gatlinburg. Don't miss the place of a thousand drips on the way out. It's nearly at the end of the road, but it's worth stopping at and climbing up the waterfall if you can handle the slippery rocks.
After finishing the RFMNT I could totally understand if you wanted to drive it again, and you have the time! You can decide between some extra time to relax or taking another 45 minutes to do the drive again. We instead decided to go into town.
Lunch: Tom & Earle's Back Alley Grill
We recommend going to Tom & Earl's for lunch after hiking. It's a burger restaurant with a balcony that overlooks the town of Gatlinburg. We thought the food was really good and the location was awesome. You can park for fairly cheap at the Ripley's Aquarium Garage. Most of the street parking is pretty expensive so this is your best bet unless you can free parking elsewhere (I wish we could have).
Another popular place to eat is the sandwich restaurant, Tennessee Jed's.
Across the street from both of these restaurants are The Village Shops. Yes, it's touristy, but this medieval village has some cool local shops that are worth checking out just for the design.
We spent a solid two hours walking around downtown Gatlinburg and really enjoyed it. We did not do any of the expensive tourist traps like the Space Needle, Ripley's Mountain Coaster, etc. Not that these things are "bad", but they're just extremely overpriced. The view from the Space Needle is the same as a hotel room from the Park Vista and there are cheaper mountain coasters if you're willing to drive 20 minutes away.
After spending some time in town you have until options until your sunset hike.
Option 1: Rest
Not every National Park vacation needs to be on the go the whole time. Visiting the Smoky Mountains is a really fun experience all around, and spending extra time just taking a scenic drive or chilling at your hotel is not bad. If you stay at the Park Vista, we highly recommend checking out their indoor pool. It's massive and has a hot tub that rests against massive glass walls overlooking the mountains. You could also drive 30 minutes to Pigeon Forge and explore the very strange town.
Option 2: Hike Cataract Falls
If you want to experience more of the park I would recommend hiking the short Cataract Falls trail.
Cataract Falls is about 1.5 miles roundtrip and shouldn't take more than 45 minutes including a stop to see the falls. The trailhead is only 20 minutes away from town, so in total this trip should take about 90 minutes.
The trail is mostly flat and very accessible. The views are similar to that of Grotto Falls, but the trail is a lot shorter and easier. Keep your eye out for salamanders here.
Evening:
Unfortunately we don't have a good dinner recommendation since we did this trip while we were broke and really didn't want to go out for a fancy dinner. Since we visited as part of a longer roadtrip we brought a cooler full of snacks and deli meat, so we just had sandwiches for dinner before going to our sunset hike.
Hike/Viewpoint: Clingmans Dome (Now known as Kuwohi)
Clingmans Dome was renamed to Kuwohi in September of 2024, and I honestly did not know this until making this guide. Kuwohi is the best viewpoint in the entire park, offering 360 degree views of the mountains right on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. It is about an hour drive from Gatlinburg so if you want to spend a sunset here I would leave 90 minutes before the posted sunset time. We were lucky enough to go on a clear day, but I would also check a cloud chart. There is a short, half mile hike up to the viewpoint.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The hike to the dome is actually very difficult. We were shocked. It's all paved, but it has a really steep grade. Coming down was a little scary to be honest as someone with a slight fear of heights. It's doable for anyone if you take your time, but don't think that because its only a half mile and that it's just a viewpoint that it is "easy" to get to.
The famous Appalachian Trail also joins up with Kuwohi, so feel free to hike on this iconic trail for a few minutes if you want to say you've set foot on it.
From 6,644 feet high at Clingmans Dome you can see for miles out into both North Carolina and Tennessee. This is a must do when visiting this park, it's one of the best unobstructed viewpoints in the system in my opinion.
The drive back as the sun is setting is insane. The Smoky Mountains may not be as tall or as dramatic as the rockies, but they do have one of the best sunsets in America in my opinion.
Night:
We found the best desert on the main street of Gatlinburg after hiking Clingmans Dome during our visit. Yes, they're a chain restaurant, and overpriced, but you have to get a waffle at Waffle de Lys. The picture below is all you need to see.
Day Two:
Day two will have two options depending on what you want from your visit. Both begin with breakfast at Log Cabin Pancake House.
You will quickly notice that Gatlinburg is famous for its pancakes. There's a shop on every nearly corner, but our favorite was Log Cabin. We both got the miniature pancakes and I would highly recommend this. It's a great way to start your day before either the very long drive and very long hike ahead of you.
Day two will focus on:
Hiking Alum Cave to Mt. LeConte
Cades Cove
Morning: Alum Cave to Mt. LeConte Hike
The hike to Mt. LeConte is one of the most well known in the park but also one of, if not, the most difficult. According to AllTrails the hike is 11 miles out and back, but we logged it as being 12 miles. You can make this hike shorter (4.6 miles roundtrip) by only hiking to Alum Cave.
The trail is extremely challenging but also very rewarding. At the top of Mt. LeConte is the Mt. LeConte lodge, the highest guest lodge in the Eastern United States. The lodge was built in 1926, meaning "lodge" is a strong term if you're expecting something like the Paradise Inn from Mt. Rainier. It is extremely rustic and designed for backpackers seeking camp for the night. There is homemade food available for backpackers and snacks for purchase for hikers. The lodge is made up of individual cabins, a store, and a dining room. If you're lucky you might see the group of llamas that bring up the weekly supplies for the lodge while here!
There is a water fountain but there is no electricity or running water, so don't expect much.
Anyways, enough about the lodge. More on the hike.
The hike begins at the Alum Cave Trailhead. There's a fairly large parking area and it is well marked.
The hike starts off pretty easy, just a walk through the woods over a rocky trail. After about 0.5 miles in it will begin to climb in elevation, and it never really stops. At roughly 1 mile in is the Arch Rock formation, a great spot for photos.
After the Arch Rock is an aggressive ascent up to the Alum Cave. I wouldn't exactly call this place a cave, it's more of a large rock overhang. It makes a great place to either turn back or rest for a bit. Beware, there are a lot of chipmunks here that will try to steal your food. We spent about 20 minutes eating here before carrying on to the second leg of the hike. I personally don't think its worth it just to hike to Alum Cave, but if you're not up for the full ~12 miles or are short on time, but still want to see the rock formation, then this could be worth it.
The second leg is where the test begins. It is uphill essentially nonstop, and most of it at a very steep grade. The worst part is that when we hiked it, there was no view. It was insanely foggy and we were basically hiking in the clouds. All of this work for seemingly no reward. At roughly 4.5 miles in (almost 2 miles past Alum Cave) the trail begins to feel like you're hiking in Washington or Oregon rather than Tennessee. The trees change to pines and if the clouds set, it feels like a Pacific Northwest masterpiece. It is also at this point where the trail will have steep drop offs, so if its slippery (like it was for us) be sure to hang on to the trees and rock walls besides you. It's nothing dangerous, but a bad slip could be scary.
Finally, the trail will even out and you'll walk another 0.5 miles to reach the LeConte lodge.
We ate packed sandwiches here (which thank God we brought, because we didn't know beforehand that the restaurant is closed to hikers) and attempted to look at the store. The store sells some premade lunches and snacks, but nothing noteworthy. They also sell merch which I wish I would have gotten.
After a good long rest (we were exhausted) we made the descent. It took us from 8:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. to summit, and we left around 12:00 P.M.
The hike down was a little easier, but the last mile was brutal. We kind of just wanted the hike to end. However, we were unprepared. This was the first national park that Jordan and I visited together, which is why it holds a special place in our hearts, but we also didn't know the toll a 12 mile hike would take without hiking shoes, packing enough water, or eating enough on the hike. My feet have never been more dead than doing the whole hike in running shoes... my bad.
Overall, if you do this hike on a clear day it is definitely worth it. If the forecast has clouds, it's debatable because you don't get any form of a view, but the hike through the clouds to the old log cabin lodge was one of the most unique things I've ever done.
Afternoon:
We finally left Alum Cave around 2:00 P.M. and drove back to downtown Gatlinburg. Now is the time you have to make a choice.
Cades Cove is possibly the most popular place in Smoky Mountains National Park. When you picture the American outdoors, Cades Cove probably comes to mind. It is a beautiful valley in the middle of the mountains filled with old log cabins and an abundance of wildlife. If you want to spot a black bear, this is your best chance to see one. The drive from Alum Cave Trailhead to Cades Cove is roughly 90 minutes, and you won't want to waste much time. You will probably have time to run back to Gatlinburg and grab a quick lunch before continuing on.
If you want to ensure you have the time and the energy to properly appreciate Cades Cove, then you should either start the Mt. LeConte hike before 8:00 A.M. or only hike to Alum Cave. Only doing the Alum Cave section starting at 9:00 A.M. would have you back at your car between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M., giving you ample time to get lunch in Gatlinburg and then spend your afternoon in Cades Cove.
If you're like us and want to do both, then leave Gatlinburg no later than 4:00 P.M.
Regardless, Cades Cove is a beautiful area and deserves a couple hours of your time. It is only an 11 mile loop, but the road can take an hour because of speed limits and crowds. There are also multiple spots to pull off along the road to look at the historic viewpoints, such as the John Oliver Cabin, the oldest structure in the park.
Expect a Yellowstone-esque experience, with people stopping every 5 minutes to look at animals or slowing down for no particular reason. It can be annoying if you're expecting a relaxing scenic drive, so just go into Cades Cove with the right mindset. If you follow this itinerary you will be getting here in the late afternoon which is one of the best times to avoid the crowds. There are also several picnic spots you can stop at if you want to have an early evening dinner.
There is also a really good hike in the Cades Cove area; Abrams Falls
The trailhead sits about 5 miles into the loop and the hike itself is about 5 miles out and back. It takes about 2 hours but it's not very difficult. If you did the full Mt. LeConte hike then you probably won't have the time or energy for Abrams Falls, but combining this hike with just the Alum Cave section would be great.
The hike is really pretty. It winds through forests and over streams over the course of a 600 foot elevation gain until you reach the 20 foot waterfall at the end. Unfortunately you can't swim in the pool that it feeds into, but it is pretty to look at.
I would recommend leaving before sunset if you have the chance. The hour drive back at night is a little scary given the fact that the fog generally sets a little after sunset. We drove back in really thick fog and it was not a fun drive. It is doable, just take it slow, but avoid it if you can if there is fog forecasted.
Night:
We got pizza at Slice Pizza Bakery after Cades Cove. We didn't realize that this pizza place is actually in an arcade, so if you're looking for some entertainment then I would highly recommend coming here. I don't know if we were so exhausted that anything would have tasted good, but I really enjoyed their pizza as well.
Final Thoughts:
The Great Smoky Mountains rank inside my top 3 National Parks that I've been to, just behind Mt. Rainier and Big Bend. The only complaint you ever hear about the park is mainly centered around Gatlinburg and crowds. To the people who hate crowds, I'll just say this: There's a reason its crowded. To those who hate Gatlinburg, I believe it is what you make of it. If you want to camp in the Smoky's and never go to Gatlinburg, you don't have to! I just appreciate the convenience of Gatlinburg for little things like gas and food.
I would recommend visiting the Smoky's in May or October. Both will have great weather and won't be too crowded. May is amazing to see the waterfalls at full strength and hopefully spot animals. October is stunning because of the foliage.
We visited the Smoky Mountains as a part of an 8 day roadtrip from Austin, TX all the way to Charleston, SC. I'll have the full roadtrip itinerary published on Thatch and YouTube at some point in the near future!
SparkNotes Version:
Day One:
8:00 AM - Leave for Grotto Falls
8:30 AM - Hike Grotto Falls
10:30 AM - Finish the RFMNT drive
12:00 PM - Lunch at Burger
1:00 PM - Explore downtown Gatlinburg
3:00 PM - Hotel pool
5:00 PM - Leave for Clingman's Dome
7:00 PM - Drive back from Clingman's Dome
8:30 PM - Get desert at Waffle de Ly's
Day Two:
7:00 AM - Breakfast at Log Cabin Pancake House
8:20 AM - Begin Alum Cave to Mt. LeConte Hike
9:30 AM - Arrive at Alum Cave
11:30 AM - Summit Mt. LeConte
12:00 PM - Begin descent
2:00 PM - Complete Mt. LeConte hike
5:00 PM - Drive to Cades Cove (too late)
8:00 PM - Leave Cades Cove (scary)
9:00 PM - Done for the day
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