Top Things to do in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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What to do and see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Best Scenic Drives
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1. Little River Road
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 218 reviews
Scenic road through the Great Smokies.
Reviewed By crystalm37 - Gatlinburg, United States
It snowed our first night in town so we decided to venture into the Smokies. Little River Road had amazing views of the mountains. Most of the ride from Sugarlands Visitor Center to Miegs Falls was a Winter Wonderland with white fluffy snow! It was beautiful!
2. Newfound Gap Road
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 744 reviews
Reviewed By MaryKop - Colorado Springs, United States
Being from the west, we miss all the deciduous trees turning green in the spring..such a beautiful drive, winding road with pull outs to enjoy all the creeks and waterfalls, etc...worth it--we spent hours wandering along this road.
3. Foothills Parkway
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 577 reviews
Reviewed By CountryChick94 - Velpen, United States
Did a June motorcycle trip in the Smokies, and the Foothills Parkway was great. The "missing link" was our favorite stretch. The missing link has enough curves and hills to give you the joy of a mountain ride without the challenges of the Tail of the Dragon. The road is very well cared for, not much traffic, and a lot of pull-offs for site seeing. Ask the locals if you need to know how to get to the missing link. They're happy to tell you why it's called that and how to get there!
4. Newfound Gap
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 225 reviews
Newfound Gap in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the lowest drivable pass through the Great Smoky Mountains. Standing at an elevation of 5,048 feet. Newfound Gap captures the essence of the Smokies: like the Park, it lies half in Tennessee and half in North Carolina. Newfound Gap provides wonderful mountain views atop this high ridge. Clothed in a mixture of spruce-fir and northern hardwood forests it supports a wide variety of plant and animal life. Millions of people drive through Newfound Gap annually. Also at Newfound Gap is the Rockefeller Memorial. A two-tiered stone structure, this monument is a thank you to the Rockefeller family's $5 million donation to complete the Park's land acquisition. Without this generous gift, the dream of a Great Smoky Mountains National Park would remain unfulfilled. It was at this spot in 1934 that President Roosevelt dedicated the National Park.
Reviewed By California_momofsix
Great place to stop when driving through SMNP on the main road. Beautiful views, plenty of parking in a paved lot, indoor bathrooms. There are two fun photo opportunities here, a sign marking the state border and a sign marking the Appalachian trail which crosses the road here. You can see the distance to walk to Maryland, and you can say you have walked on the Appalachian trail. For most of us, that may be as close as we will ever get to walking the Appalachian trail. Seems to be busy at all hours, but in our experience people didn't crowd us and it was easy to maintain social distancing. Felt very safe.
5. Rich Mountain Road
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 35 reviews
Reviewed By hillbillyvol - Townsend, United States
The Rich Mountain road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a very little used road connecting Cades Cove to Tuckaleechee Cove in Townsend TN. There are no spectacular vistas on this road but what you will sense is a bit of serenity found in the southern forest. Our last trip there was highlighted by a couple of bear sightings. You never know what you will see in the mountains and by taking this one way road out of Cades Cove you will miss the rest of the Cades Cove loop road but there is always another day to do it again.
