Great Smoky Mountains National Park Lodging
The former site of the Smokemont lumber village renders the first opportunity for camping, hiking, and horseback riding through outfits like Smokemont Riding Stables. Surrounding towns, notably Gatlinburg , Pigeon Forge , Sevierville , and Townsend , Tennessee , and Cherokee , Sylva , Maggie Valley , and Bryson City , North Carolina , receive a significant portion of their income from tourism associated with the park. The road continues its ascent to Newfound Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border elevation 5, feet , where a viewpoint looks out over much of the Smokies.
National Park
It was ; about 80 percent of the forest in the park had been decimated by logging. Much of the land belonged to 1, small property owners. It took the governments of Tennessee and North Carolina, donations from wealthy conservationists, the U. Park Service, and a whole lot of work to buy out the loggers and landowners, and to restore the Great Smoky Mountains to their glory.
As the mountains regrew their native tree species and over native Glacier National Park To Great Falls Mt speciesthe haze that gives the Smokies their name filled the mountain valleys in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Lodging morning. Don’t miss Great Smoky Mountain National Park has five visitor centers, ideal starting Great Smoky Mountains National Park Lodging for your journey. Here are our favorite points of departure for exploring the park.
Hiking Mount LeConte could be the bucket-list item for the Smokies. LeConte Lodge sits close to the summit of Mount LeConte, at 6, feet the third highest peak in the park. There is no driving to the summit; hiking in is the only way to get there. Built on the site of a tent camp erected in around to house visiting dignitaries, LeConte Lodge hosts day trippers as well as overnight guests. Spectacular sunrises and uninterrupted nature at LeConte Lodge welcome hikers to the only National Park Service lodging in the park.
Wears Valleyjust outside the Tennessee side of the park, has pastoral views and its own lesser known park entrance. The other Tennessee park gates, especially the one in Gatlinburg, get congested at peak times of year.
But the Wears Valley entrance just south of Townsend is where many locals enter the park. Synchronous fireflies light up late spring with their annual stupendous display of nature.
At least 19 species of fireflies live in Great Smoky Mountains and the males and females of one species synchronize their bioluminescent flashing. But plan ahead: A free lottery determines who gets to ride the shuttle into the park on certain dates to view the night lights. Not all of the burial places in the park are marked, but keep an eye out for periwinkle. According to local author Gail PalmerEuropean settlers planted periwinkle on graves to keep away evil spirits. In addition to a sizable bookstore and information desk, the center offers exhibits on Smoky Mountains history, in particular the Cherokee Indians and the early European settlers and their ancestors.
Behind the visitor center, the Mountain Farm Museum gives insight into the lives of the people who once farmed the region, with hands-on exhibits and historic buildings brought from elsewhere in the park. Beyond the mill, Highway starts its forest-flanked climb into the heart of the mountains. The former site of the Smokemont lumber village renders the first opportunity for camping, hiking, and horseback riding through outfits like Smokemont Riding Stables.
The road continues its ascent to Newfound Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina border elevation 5, feetwhere a viewpoint looks out over much of the Smokies. A stone monument marks the spot where FDR dedicated the park in A side road leads to Clingmans Dome, at 6, feet the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Lodging park, third highest peak in the eastern United States, and the highest place along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.
Hike trails, experience scenic drives, & enjoy nature
Built on the site of a tent camp erected in around to house visiting dignitaries, LeConte Lodge hosts day trippers as well as overnight guests. Camping is allowed only in designated camping areas and shelters. It is surrounded by over 1.