Great Smokey Mountains National Park - driving, one day?

Matthew

Matthew

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Matthew
Will be traveling by car this summer on a long XC road trip. We have our route planned out for the outbound leg, but am only now considering the return leg. Looks like one option will be through the Great Smokey Mountains NP in early August, heading east to west (returning to KC from eastern NC).

I looked at the NPS website a couple minutes ago and see there is an entrance near Cherokee, NC. If we came in through there, is there a decent 1-day trip through the park? Is it one of those places you can drive through and say you saw it, or is it one of those places you need to stop for a couple days?
 
I am no expert but there's the casino, Maggie valley seems to be a popular camping destination, and I highly recommend playing a round at sequoya national golf course. That's about all I can tell ya. But play the golf course, even if the lil lady just rides along....great views.
 
GSMNP - America's most visited NP, and it shows. Expect bumper to bumper around Cherokee in August.
Much better, less crowded locales in the southern Appalachians - suggest Mt Rogers National Rec Area, Pisgah National Forest, Biltmore, Cherohala Skyway, to name a few.
 
wrbix said:
GSMNP - America's most visited NP, and it shows. Expect bumper to bumper around Cherokee in August.
Much better, less crowded locales in the southern Appalachians - suggest Mt Rogers National Rec Area, Pisgah National Forest, Biltmore, Cherohala Skyway, to name a few.
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Thx, will look those up.

We will be on the road for quite a few days in a row on this trip, it looked like SMNP was on the way back and maybe we could cut through it. But if traffic is like what I am starting to imagine, it might not be worth the trouble. I'll look those other places and see how far out of the way they are.
 
Ever been to the Biltmore House and grounds in Asheville? Worth a stop IMO.
 
Matthew said:
Will be traveling by car this summer on a long XC road trip. We have our route planned out for the outbound leg, but am only now considering the return leg. Looks like one option will be through the Great Smokey Mountains NP in early August, heading east to west (returning to KC from eastern NC).

I looked at the NPS website a couple minutes ago and see there is an entrance near Cherokee, NC. If we came in through there, is there a decent 1-day trip through the park? Is it one of those places you can drive through and say you saw it, or is it one of those places you need to stop for a couple days?
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It's been quite a few years ago, but I stopped off at Cosby and camped for a few days while driving to the coast. Campground was very quiet, not crowded, and is a short hike to the AT. Lots of good hiking trails around there, if you want to get out and see some of the scenery. I was there in July and there were very few other campers, and only bumped into one or two other hikers on the trails. There is some kind of historic site where Cosby meets the AT if I remember correctly so there was some traffic around there but wasn't a bad thing.
 
Really planning on making this a day-trip. We have approx 3 days in the car on the way back already, after being in the car 5+ days out of the previous week, and I'll probably be getting close to the stage of, "I just want to get home." But I also don't want to miss out on driving through someplace and spending a day visiting.
 
With kids and or shopping, Gatlinburg area. Scenic drive through Cades Cove. Nice view of 7 states on a clear day or an RV on an overcast day at Clingman's dome. History, Cherokee. Biltmore gardens.
 
Just my wife and me. We are dropping a daughter off at college and driving back. Biltmore sounds promising.
 
Asheville is a nice place to visit as is Smoky Mountain National Park. There are also a lot of small towns near the mountain, near the park and near the Blue Ridge Parkway that are nice stops. My wife and I really like a small town called Waynesville and also Blowing Rock but there are many others.

Where is she going to college?
 
Those small towns sound good, too.

Dropping her off in Greenville, NC at East Carolina. We have a route and schedule pretty much set for leg one, but the return trip us pretty flexible. We'll be moving her from Colorado, so we already have one long round-trip a couple days ahead of this one.
 
1+ on Waynesville
 
Not sure what you guys like to do but if you want to see the park hwy 441 from cherokee up to clingmans dome then down to gatlinburg. (pigeon forge is just shopping and amusement rides) drive through Gburg check it out if you want, the aquarium and shops are pretty cool. Then fighting creek gap rd (i think) to little river road all the way to cades cove. Then you'll have seen it all. Not sure where else your going but after cades cove take hwy 321 and you'll have access to I75 and I40 in 35 min or so. Skip the hike up to clingmans or don't spend much time in Gburg and you could be in knoxville in time for dinner and be back on the interstate.

Traffic exist but its mainly pigeon forge/gburg. The rest of the time expect speed limit through the mtns 35-40mph which is fine if your sightseeing. Cades cove is fine unless you run into a bear then its tourist stopping in the road till park service quickly starts shooing them along.

When I had the motorcycle I used to ride cherohalla(sp) skyway or the dragon over to cherokee and back up 441 down foothills parkway and back home near the dragon every few weeks or so.
 
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Matthew said:
Looking at Waynesville now. Any hotel recommendations?
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I wish I had a recommendation. The first time we visited Waynesville we stayed in Asheville. The second time, we drove there early in the morning, spent the day and drove back to Charlotte late afternoon.
 
Looks like it's roughly 5.5 hrs from Greenville to Waynesville. Maybe stop there, then drive up to Knoxville the next day?

Also thinking about heading through Memphis, then angling back towards KC.

I just noticed Chilhowee gliderport isn't that far away either...maybe catch a ride. Nah, probably not.
 
Avoid Pigeon Forge unless you want to see the biggest tourist trap in the country.
 
RV10flyer said:
With kids and or shopping, Gatlinburg area. Scenic drive through Cades Cove.
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This.
Take the drive through the mountains and into the park. Cades Cove and Clingmans Dome in Gatlinburg are great places to hike and relax. Sevierville just outside of Gatlinburg is good for the family (go-karts, mini golf and shopping etc.). It's a nice touristy town with lots of things to do for a day or two.
 
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Tennessee Air Museum in Sevierville, TN........just sayin
 
If you do choose to stay in or around Gatlinburg for a night you might consider staying in one of the vacation cabins there.

We own 3 cabins there and enjoy staying. Most cabins have hot tubs outside, heart shaped jacuzzi tubs inside, pool tables and arcade games such as the pac-man arcade games from the 80's, big screen tv's, gas fireplaces, etc, you get the picture.

There are numerous cabin rental companies: https://www.google.com/search?newwi...hp..0.20.2217.0..35i39j0i131j0i20.pHqzTZ0YWns
 
The wife and I stayed in such a cabin near Gatlinburg back in 2003. We enjoyed it.
 
EppyGA said:
Tennessee Air Museum in Sevierville, TN........just sayin
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Yeah it's small museum but worth a visit.

I've been to Cades Cove a few times and it's worth a visit as long as you're not in a hurry. If you go in the evening it's amazing watching the deer come out of the woods to graze in the open fields, and I mean hundreds of them. Saw a black bear w/ her 2 cubs one time.

We used to go there every fall and rented a cabin at Hidden Mountain Resorts in Seiverville, nice place and IMO better than a motel.

If you wanna get a thrill check out Tail of The Dragon, over 300 curves in 11 miles.

Downtown Ashville is artsy and cool, Biltmore worth a visit, and I think there's an aviation museum in Henderson.
 
mscard88 said:
And Gatlinburg too, and man it is crowded.
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It's become so commercialized over the years..takes the fun out of it. Definitely a place to avoid during the holidays and the weekends.
 
Matthew said:
Will be traveling by car this summer on a long XC road trip. We have our route planned out for the outbound leg, but am only now considering the return leg. Looks like one option will be through the Great Smokey Mountains NP in early August, heading east to west (returning to KC from eastern NC).

I looked at the NPS website a couple minutes ago and see there is an entrance near Cherokee, NC. If we came in through there, is there a decent 1-day trip through the park? Is it one of those places you can drive through and say you saw it, or is it one of those places you need to stop for a couple days?
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Matthew,
I spent my high school years in Waynesville. My dad still lives there. When I get up there, I stay at the Waynesville Country Club (now gentrified to the Inn, Golf Club and Spa). Still a nice quite stop for a night with good food. If you come through Asheville and visit the Biltmore House, you can stay at the Inn at Biltmore, but I recommend the Grand Bohemian just outside the entrance to the Biltmore Estate in Biltmore Village. A great drive is along the Blue Ridge Parkway early in the morning from Asheville to Waynesville. +1 on the gliderport at Cullowhee. The GA airport for Cullowhee is Jackson County Airport, A24 if I remember correctly. 3250 ft., paved, on the ridge line. Waynesville is a nice town with an International festival in the summer (Folksmoot), but not much industry now, just retirees and the medical industry catering to them.
 
wrbix said:
Ever been to the Biltmore House and grounds in Asheville? Worth a stop IMO.
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If you go to the Biltmore, they offer extra tours on top of the general admission, and we always do one, very educational. If the weather is good, the rooftops tour gives spectacular views of the building and grounds, close up examination of gargoyles[1]etc. Recommended! If you have time hit the winery for a tour as well.

mscard88 said:
Downtown Ashville is artsy and cool,
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If you hit Asheville, I give a strong thumbs up to the White Duck Taco Shop, very cool and flavorful. http://whiteducktacoshop.com/menu/

[1] You will learn that each one is hand crafted, no two are alike, and there are hundreds.

http://www.wecallitjunkin.com/gargoyles-biltmore-estate/
 
GlennAB1 said:
You can drive through and miss almost everything. If you don't do short hikes you will miss most of best points of interest.
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Or even longer ones. Best day hike is probably from Newfound Gap to Charlie's Bunion and back. It's a scenic hike nearly the whole way, and the Bunion is a nice place to have lunch and enjoy the view.

At least it was, 30-odd years ago. Sorry to hear the park has gotten so crowded. :(
 
Lucky me, I've been on a couple Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg vacations with the wife's family and nobody was interested in going into the park... seems I married into the wrong family.... but love them still.
 
Lots of ideas. I'll pull out an atlas today and see where everything is. We might be willing to add an extra day to the trip back for day in the park. We've tried day trips in crowded NPs before, and they weren't all that fun. I like the idea of Ashville and surroundings.
 
How about the Asheville - Waynesville - Chattanooga route (US-74 or US-64)?
 
If you choose Asheville you might read a little about the Grove Park Inn and spa. It is expensive but we liked it more than the Biltmore. It has alot of history; many famous people have stayed there. The lobby is fantastic. The spa is world class. One of the 5 restaurants at the inn named the Blue Ridge Room has a buffet on the weekends that we have really enjoyed (something like $25/person if only choosing the cold items room or $50/person with both hot and cold items). It was sold a few years back by the longtime family ownership to a more commercial organization which I believe led to a loss of the soul of the inn and more commercialization but you might want to check it out.
I am close by this area.
 
What a walk down Memory Lane! In the late 70's my wife and I would come over to see my folks every Christmas. A stop at the Biltmore House was in the plan every Christmas Eve. This was before the Winery and Inn were built. Our rental would be one of the three or four cars at the house! We had a guided tour every year by two or three of the employees (out of sheer boredom.) The Cecil children have done marvels in marketing and putting the House on a sustainable footing.
Absolutely follow Bill's advice: the extra tours are worth it. They used to have a tour of the House systems: amazing technology for 1895!
How could I have forgotten the Grove Park Inn! We would eat dinner every Christmas Eve there. It has undergone many changes and enlargements over the years. I can remember the doorman remembering our names after a year's absence year after year. Simply amazing. FORANE is spot on: the Blue Ridge Room is the best bet today to avoid the crush and wait times at the Grove Park, and the views are great.
 
PIREP: We went around the park. We stopped in Asheville night one, then took the interstate through Knoxville into Nashville for night two. Outstanding drive and scenery.

Ashville - checked in about 3pm. On a Sunday night, with rain, the bars and brewpubs were still busy. Our hotel shuttle driver said weekends are crazy busy, but on a Sunday night not so much.

The next morning we ate breakfast and I thought our waiter was going to kill himself. Our room rates included $20 towards breakfast. My wife and I ordered up > $20, not hard to do when OJ is $3.75. My wife's omelette must have been dropped or something and we had to wait a long time. Waiter apologized for the delay and said breakfast was on the house - I said it was probably on the floor and mentioned that we paid a bit extra for the breakfast already in our room rate. He disappeared to talk with the manager, came back, and said it would be taken care of and apologized some more. I kept thinking, "wow, all this for an omelette?" We were back in our room, packing up, and waiter stopped by with a bottle of wine for us. An hour or so later, the hotel manager called to apologize, said he discounted our stay by 20% and gave us a bunch of bonus points.

Unexpected hilarity: We were sitting on the balcony, waiting for that expensive omelette, and I was trying to get my bearings. I asked the waiter what direction we were facing. He said, "Well, sir, right now you are facing the highway."

Nashville - Checked in about 3pm. Monday night, took the hotel shuttle into downtown. Wow, cool place, right on the riverfront the outdoor amphitheatre had a concert going on, too. Every other storefront is a bar, live music, cold beer, and no cover. We walked around to get a feel, then popped into the place our driver recommended. Had a beer and listened to the guy on stage...good stuff. Then we went across the street for another beer and listened to two young ladies play and sing...very good stuff. Then walked back across the street to Jack's BBQ. Then next door for another beer and listen to the band... outstanding stuff, those guys were good, they played a whole lot of requests and that isn't easy.

Overall: I approve.
 
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