All About Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves the beauty of its ancient mountains spanning two states in North America.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also known as Great Smoky or simply “the Smokies”. It contains ridge upon ridge of forest between the two states as part of the greater Appalachian Mountains range. It’s the perfect place for an outdoor adventure of hiking, fishing, camping, or horseback riding.
What to do at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Best Trails and Hikes at Great Smoky Mountains
Oconaluftee River Trail
Clingmans Dome Observation Tower
- Look Rock Tower in the Abrams Creek area
- Clingmans Dome
- Kephart Prong Trail
- Oconaluftee River Trail
- Porters Creek
- Little River Trail
- Newton Bald Trail
- Chimney Tops Trail
- Andrews Bald Trail
- Rainbow Falls Trail
Things to do at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Go on a horseback riding tour offered at Cades Cove, Smokemont, and Sugarlands
- Walk a few feet or a few miles of the Great Appalachian Trail that runs from Maine to Georgia and is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world
- Visit one of the many historic buildings such as Cades Cove's oldest cabin, the Noah "Bud" Ogle Homestead, the Little Greenbrier School, and the old mills (four of which still work today)
- Have lunch at one of the 11 picnic areas in the park
- Visit the Deep Creek area for hiking to multiple waterfalls and streams
What to see at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Points of Interest
Great Smoky Mountains Visitor Centers
There are four major park visitor centers.
Sugarlands Visitor Center
The Sugarlands Visitor Center is near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on the north side of the park. There are natural history exhibits as well as restrooms and vending machines. The parking area is large enough for many vehicles. You can also get a Passport Book stamp here and talk to the rangers about the trails and a Junior Ranger book.
Passport Book Stamp Location
Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Oconaluftee is home to the historic exhibits in the park. This is the closest visitor center for those who enter from the south end of the park. Get a Passport Book stamp here, speak with the rangers, peruse the bookstore and gift shop, and use the real restrooms (not vault toilets you find at a trail head).
While here, walk behind the visitor center for the small trail that winds through the Mountain Farm Museum. This is a group of historic log buildings including a barn, applehouse, farmhouse, and more.
Passport Book Stamp Location
Cades Cove Visitor Center
When visiting the Cades Cove Visitor Center, you can learn about the culture of mountain life and see one of the only operational grist mills in the area. Speak with rangers, get a Passport Book stamp, and shop at the bookstore.
Passport Book Stamp Location
Clingmans Dome Visitor Center Contact Station
This isn’t a traditional visitor center like I am used to at most of the parks. It is located at the start of the trail up to Clingmans Dome. It has a small gift shop, a Passport Book stamp, and rangers on site to answer questions. The only restroom option here is a vault toilet.
Passport Book Stamp Location
Great Smoky Mountains Historic Structures
There are also two historic structures you can visit.
Cable Mill Historic Gristmill in Cades Cove
Cable Mill is a water-powered gristmill that is operational from 9 AM – 5 PM daily from about March through October and is closed on Saturdays in November. This is located near the mid-point of the Cades Cove Loop Road.
Mingus Mill near Oconaluftee
Mingus Mill is a turbine-powered gristmill that can be found about 2 miles north of Cherokee, on US 441, inside the park.
National Park Passport Book Stamp Locations
- Cades Cove Visitor Center
- Clingmans Dome Visitor Contact Station
- Oconaluftee Visitor Center
- Sugarlands Visitor Center
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Basics
107 Park Headquarters Rd,
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
$5 per vehicle
Valid for 1 day
Eastern Time Zone
1934
Location, Phone Number, and Address
Great Smoky Mountains is located on the border between eastern Tennessee and North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs through the middle of the park and is also part of the National Park Service. The park is nestled between the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests.
To reach the park by phone, call 865-436-1200. The park is large, so it doesn’t have one single address. The best option is to look up the visitor center closest to you and use that as a guide to get to the park.
What are the Entrance Fees for Great Smoky Mountains?
You will not be charged an entrance fee upon arrival to Great Smoky Mountains. However, if you plan to park for more than 15 minutes at any place within the park, you’ll need to get a parking tag for your vehicle. When purchasing the parking tag, it will be assigned to your license plate, so it can’t be transferred between vehicles.
The parking tags can be purchased online or at one of the many kiosks throughout the park. Once you have a parking tag, it is valid for any location within the park boundaries. Because of the Blue Ridge Parkway going through the park, they use the parking tag system so those just passing through aren’t charged.
As of July 2024, the parking tags have three options:
- Daily: $5
- Weekly: $15
- Annual: $40
Current as of July 2024
What Time Zone is Great Smoky Mountains National Park in?
All of the park is in the Eastern Time Zone.
When is the Best Time to Visit?
There are two best times to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visit in the late spring months of May and June to avoid most of the snow and ice on the ground but before the temperatures soar in the summer. Or, visit the park in September and October to have a chance to see the fall foliage before the snowfall starts. When the winter hits, and there’s a chance of snow and ice on the ground, some areas will be closed. One of the first things to close is Clingmans Dome Road, making that hike so much more difficult.
When did Great Smoky Mountains become a National Park?
Great Smoky was established as a National Park in 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was on-site for the opening ceremony at Newfound Gap. It took more work to establish this as a park than some of the previous parks due to the numerous small farms and logging companies that already occupied the land. The National Park Service commissioners also had to deal with legal issues in both Tennessee and North Carolina since the park spans both states.
How Big is Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
The National Park boundary covers 522, 247 acres of land. It is divided almost evenly between Tennessee and North Carolina. That’s about 816 square miles.
Park Website
Always check the official park site for the most up-to-date information, hours, prices, and conditions.
Travel Tips for Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Driving Through Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has over 300 miles of road, most of which are paved or well-maintained gravel roads. The park is huge, so give yourself time to make the scenic drive and make stops along the way.
The most popular scenic drives are:
- Cade Cove Loop Road
- Cataloochee Valley
- Foothills Parkway
- Newfound Gap Road
- Clingmans Dome
- Roaring Fork
Where are the National Park Entrances?
There are three ways to get into the park, so the location you will search for on a map depends on where you are coming from.
Through Gatlinburg, TN: If you are coming through Gatlinburg on the north side of the park, you’ll want to key in the address for the Sugarlands Visitor Center which is 1420 Fighting Creek Gap Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
Through Townsend, TN: For those entering through Townsend it would be best to search for the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center which is just outside the park on the road that leads into the National Park. The address for that is 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend, TN 37882.
Through Cherokee or Bryson City, NC: If you are entering from the south or through western North Carolina, search for the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at 1194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee, NC 28719.
What are the Nearest Cities to Great Smoky Mountains?
Tennessee
- Cosby/Newport
- Gatlinburg
- Pigeon Forge
- Sevierville
- Townsend
North Carolina
- Bryson City
- Cherokee
- Fontana
- Maggie Valley
What is the Nearest Airport to Great Smoky Mountains?
The closest airport will depend on which entrance you want to enter through and where you want to stay while visiting the Smokies.
On the northern side of the park, Knoxville Airport would be your nearest airport with only about a 30-minute drive to the entrance through Townsend. To the east, you would want to fly into Asheville, which is about an hour’s drive from the entrance in Cherokee.
A little further out are the major airports in Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Atlanta airport is about 3.5 hours drive away from the park and Chattanooga is about 2 hours drive from the park.
Itineraries including Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Lodging Near Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Where to Stay
There are so many cities surrounding the park, you have plenty of options for places to stay. I’ve been to the park a few times and we’ve stayed in different places each time. We have stayed in North Georgia near Blue Ridge and Ellijay. I’ve also stayed in Pigeon Forge, TN, and Murphy, NC, while visiting Great Smoky.
LeConte Lodge is the only place in the park to stay that isn’t a campground. This is only accessible by foot, though, and is at the top of the park’s third-largest mountain peak. The hiking distance is about 5-8 miles depending on the conditions of the trail.
Campgrounds in the Area
Great Smoky has plenty of options for those who want to go camping within the park. There are backcountry camping, frontcountry campgrounds, group campgrounds, and horse camps.
For backcountry camping, you need to have a reservation and obtain a permit. Make sure you also are aware of regulations, bear safety, and keep up with any trial closures. If you want to go on a horse trail through the backcountry, there are five drive-in horse camps with easy access to the trailheads.
Frontcountry camping, or regular camping with your tent near your vehicle, is offered at 10 different campgrounds throughout the park. Seven of those campgrounds also offer group sites for those with a part of seven or more.
What are the Closest National Parks to Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
Facts about Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Plants and Animals of Great Smoky Mountains
The diversity of plant life in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is astounding. There are over 1,600 species of flowering plants, 100 native tree species, and 100 native shrubs. There are also over 450 non-flowering plants that can be found in the park.
Please make sure you leave the plant life alone as there are three federally protected plant species in the park: spreading avens, Virginia spiraea, and rock gnome lichen. Over 300 more are considered rare but aren’t threatened enough to be on the endangered plant list.
The Great Smokies are teeming with animal life. It’s a great park for viewing wildlife at any time of the year. One of the best places to view wildlife is in the Cataloochee Valley on the southeastern side of the park. One of the park’s two main elk herds live in the valley. The park is home to 66 species of mammals, over 240 species of birds, 60 species of fish, 40 species of reptiles, and 43 species of amphibians. In addition to the black bears, you can find white-tailed deer, bobcats and cougars, coyotes, foxes, bats, flying squirrels, river otters, wild turkeys, brook trout, box turtles, black rat snakes, and the world’s most diverse salamander population.
Also, be on the lookout as you hike for dangers around you. There are two venomous snakes in the Smokies, the timber rattlesnakes and copperheads. In addition, The Smokies are home to many black bears. It is one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States and they can live in their natural surroundings. Bears can be found in all areas of the park, so be bear-aware as you are hiking.
What is the Highest Point? What is the Lowest Point?
The highest peaks in the Smokies are over 6,000 feet in elevation. Clingman’s Dome is the highest point in the entire park at 6,643 feet above sea level.
Abrams Creek is the lowest point in the National Park at only 840 feet above sea level. This is on the westernmost side of the park and has two campgrounds along the creek.
Great Smoky Mountains Fun Facts
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park with over 14 million visitors in a single year. That's more than Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton combined.
- There are 160 family cemeteries with 4,847 gravestones in the park.
- 16 mountain peaks in the park exceed 6,000 feet in elevation.
- Great Smoky has 2,900 miles of streams.