Smoky Mountain Guide

November 12, 2020

Smoky Mountain Wildflowers

We wanted to repost an article from the main Great Smoky Mountain National Park website that we felt was worth your reading. Check it out! “Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a world-renowned preserve of wildflower diversity—over 1,500 kinds of flowering plants are found in the park, more than in any other […]
November 7, 2020

Gatlinburg Chili Cookoff and Winterfest Kickoff Returns!

In less than a week, the city of Gatlinburg will be some of the most active it’s ever been concentrated in one spot with the highly anticipated return of the Gatlinburg Chili Cookoff! The city of Gatlinburg writes this for this year’s Winterfest kickoff festival: “For over 30 years, Gatlinburg has celebrated […]
September 13, 2019

Along Little River Road

Laurel Falls The moderate 2.6 mile trail to Laurel Falls is one of the Park’s most traveled. The trail divides the waterfall in two. At the top, Laurel Branch bursts from a grove of rhododendron, or “laurel” as it was called by early settlers, and falls nearly 50 feet to collect in […]
September 13, 2019

Inside the National Park

70 miles of the trail pass through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Within the Park’s borders, the trail crosses from Davenport Gap near Big Creek on the east to Fontana Dam, N.C. on the southwest, reaching a halfway point at Newfound Gap. It passes near or over several of the highest peaks […]
August 27, 2019

Top 5 Things To Do in Wears Valley

Just 15 minutes from Pigeon Forge going south is a community known for its quieter status and “less is more” approach to showcasing the Smoky Mountains. This community is Wears Valley (and one like it in Townsend further down that same road) and while it offers much less in the way of […]
August 27, 2019

GSM Heritage Center

It’s not just Cades Cove that functions as a great testament to the history and culture of Tennessee Appalachia, the Heritage Museum of Townsend is also a must-see for anyone with even a passing interest in the Smoky Mountains. Larger and more in depth in the subject of the area than even […]
August 27, 2019

Cades Cove in Townsend

One of the last, great, true treasures of Appalachian history held sacred in the Tennessee Smokies is Cades Cove; a sanctuary of mountain culture if ever there was one. Cades Cove is a valley inside the GSMNP that was once known as “Kate’s Cove”. The area was once a hunting ground for […]
August 27, 2019

Guest Post: Driving Through Wears Valley

The following blog post was sent to us by a couple that recently visited Wears Valley for a rainy afternoon and took a drive through part of the new Foothills Parkway addition that connects Wears Valley to Townsend through the new extension. They wanted to tell us about their visit and showcase […]