Smoky Mountain Travel Blog

Ten tips for visiting Cades Cove with kids — start early for wildlife, pack snacks, use the historic structures, bike the vehicle-free morning loop, and more.

Mount LeConte stands at 6,593 feet — the third highest peak in the Smokies, with five trail routes, a backcountry lodge open since 1926, and two summit viewpoints.

Six GSMNP secrets — the Elkmont Troll Bridge, steam engine wreck, Pearl Harbor Tree, Gregory's Cave, Walker Sisters Cabin, and Hyatt Lane ruins.

Seven things to do in Townsend, TN — river tubing on the Little River, Tuckaleechee Caverns, Cades Cove, the Heritage Center, horseback riding, and the Townsend Y.

Cades Cove Loop Road is open daily sunrise–sunset. Vehicle-Free Wednesdays run early May–late September all day. Visitor Center, stables, and campground hours inside.

Gatlinburg city waters close every Thursday for stocking. Catch-and-keep April–October; catch-and-release November–March. Here's what to know before you cast.

Wild elk were reintroduced to the Smokies in 2001 — herd now 150–200 animals. Best viewing: Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Cataloochee Valley. Tips on timing and safety.

Four picnic areas open year-round, seven seasonal. Cades Cove, Metcalf Bottoms, Chimneys, Greenbrier, Collins Creek — sites, pavilions, and what's nearby each one.

Step into an 1880s homestead in the Smokies — a rare saddlebag cabin, the park's last working tub mill, and an easy trail near Gatlinburg.

From a paved walk to Laurel Falls to a hike back in time to a preserved 1800s homestead, here are five Smoky Mountain trails built for young hikers.

From Cades Cove to the newly renamed Kuwohi, here are seven must-see destinations across Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

How six unmarried sisters refused to leave their Smoky Mountain homestead — and how their cabin still stands in the national park today.

From Puckers' massive new video wall to Calhoun's slow-smoked barbecue, here are four great places to watch the game in Gatlinburg.

Black bears, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, coyotes and more — what wildlife lives in Cades Cove, plus the best times and safest way to view it.

Cades Cove, Newfound Gap, Kuwohi, Roaring Fork, and the Foothills Parkway — the five best scenic drives in the Smokies, with distances, seasons, and what to see.

The House of the Fairies is a moss-covered stone springhouse off the Twin Creeks Trail near Gatlinburg. Here's its history and how to find this Smoky Mountains hidden gem.

From the Gatlinburg SkyBridge and Kuwohi's summit tower to Laurel Falls and Cades Cove — ten of the most romantic places to propose in the Smoky Mountains.

The 1875 Harrisburg Covered Bridge and the modern Emerts Cove Covered Bridge are two of the Smokies' most photogenic stops. Here's the history and how to find each.

The Tail of the Dragon packs 318 curves into 11 miles of US-129 at the TN–NC line. Here's what makes it legendary, plus safety and timing tips for driving it.

John Oliver's 1820s cabin, three historic churches, the working Cable Mill, and more — ten preserved historic structures to see along the Cades Cove Loop.