Great Smoky Mountains National Park
America's most visited national park!
USA
We had the pleasure of visiting The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is located on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. Known for its stunning landscapes and rich biodiversity The park features misty ancient mountains, lush forests, and a vast array of wildlife.
The park is also recognized as America's most visited national park with nearly 3 times more annual visitors than the grand canyon, which is the nations second most visited park.
Highlights we enjoyed in the park included the scenic Cades Cove, Alum Cave trail, the Mountain Farm Museum, and the Kuwohi Observation Deck.
Our first major hike in the park was the Alum Cave Trail. To get to the Bluffs it was 2.3 miles on way. The trail was well maintained and marked with good signage. At 1.4 miles into the hike there was a large rock archway that spanned over the trail and stairs had been built underneath.
Just before arriving at the bluffs we reached inspiration point with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Aliya took this time to have a snack.
Eventually we reached the Alum Cave marker. The caves are not actually caves and are a bluff that span 80 feet tall over the trail.
As the park is the most visited in America we started our day by purchasing a multi day parking pass at the visitor center after entering the park.
We then made our way to the Mountain Farm Museum where they had samples of apple cider and many farm animals. Aliya had fun running around with the chickens trying to feed them some leaves that she found.
We then went to a nearby trail towards Mingo Falls. The falls are technically outside of the park but have a nice parking area and well maintained steps up to the falls.
It was a quick and easy hike to view some tall cascading falls.
The next day we went to Cades Cove. This is a one way scenic loop road where you can pull off for some trails or just drive through and enjoy the scenery.
We pulled off at one of the parking areas next to a grassy plain to view the surrounding mountains.
On our way out of the park the next day we stopped a the Deep Creek Valley Overlook #2. This was a great spot to stretch our legs and take in the beautiful view through the park.
On our way back from the hike we made a stop at The Sinks. This is an easily accessible area next to the main road where Loggers had used dynamite to free a large log jam. The explosion blasted a deep hole in the riverbed and altered the course of the river.
The cascading water over the rocks makes a loud roar as it flows down next to the trails.
As sunset neared we made our way to the Kuwohi Observation Deck. Finding parking was a challenge as there is limited parking at the top area and sunset viewing time is a huge draw for the crowds.
We would recommend to arrive earlier in the day and try to visit during the week, avoiding holiday's and weekends. After finding parking we were able to get some pictures of the light fading on the mountains and then hiked up to the observation deck.
The path is a paved trail with a moderate slope and then we made it up to the viewing platform just in time for the sunset.
We then made our way to the Abrams Falls Trailhead. The trail was well marked with some unique wood bridges. As we were visiting in the fall we also got treated to many Monarch butterflies making their way to Mexico.
After a couple hours on the trail we made it to the falls and had a snack. The falls are fairly small but the small lakeshore is peaceful, shaded, and a nice place to grab a snack.
This park was full of natural beauty. We were caught off guard how busy it would be and quickly learned that it is the most visited park in the United States. We would recommend to plan you trip in advance with the specific sights you want to view, and avoid the weekends. Happy Exploring!
