Ranking as the top visited National Park in the US, The Great Smoky Mountains NP straddles Tennessee and North Carolina, covering an area of over 800 square miles. It is filled to the brim with diverse plant and animal species and boasts that it has “more tree species than in northern Europe.”
We drove in from the north along winding roads and spent three days on the Tennessee side of the park, basing ourselves out of the Cades Cove Campground which was one of the nicer national park campgrounds we’ve stayed in, with large flat, spacious sites. The girls started each day with school work at the picnic table, saving the late afternoons for exploring and exercising. Slowing down after several days of moving camp each morning felt wonderful.
Serendipitously, we arrived on a Wednesday which happened to be the day they restricted cars from driving around the historical Cades Cove Loop Road. Taking advantage of our good luck, we rented some cruisers and headed out in the early evening to see what all the hype was about. The loop travels eleven miles with over a dozen places to stop and explore old cabins and churches from the early 19th century. The middle of the loop is filled with lush fields, flowers, trees, critters and is ringed in by mountains, creating a grand view from any point on the loop. Because we started when others were eating dinner, we nearly had the road to ourselves. We ‘raced’ a few horses, happened upon a yearling bear who was only slightly interested in us, interrupted turkeys hanging out all over the road, and generally had a great time. It was less than two hours from start to finish but has become a highlight of our trip!
A few days after the bike ride we were back on the loop, driving to the trailhead of a hike we had chosen: Abrams Falls. The falls are at the end of a pleasant 2.5 mile trail that follows the river bearing the same name. The falls cascaded into a nice, cool pool with many large flat rocks that made for perfect lounging. One of the other visitors shared a photo he had taken of the four of us while we were hanging out enjoying the view.
In our down time we met some chatty, kind locals, went for scenic runs, caught up on lounging, and generally relaxed. We lucked out with sunny but cool weather and left feeling refreshed. In the time since we’ve left, The Smokies come up as one of our favorite parks and a place we all hope to visit again some day.
Another amazing adventure!