Get Outdoors - Destinations: Great Smoky Mountains NP in One Day?

If you are passing through or only have one day to see the Great Smokies, you will miss many things to see, but you can still have an extremely rewarding experience - from the seat of you car! Some of the most beautiful areas of the Great Smokies are seen from your car, so take a day and enjoy the sights.From Gatlinburg, Townsend, and Tennessee

An excellent plan is to head to Cades Cove early in the morning to see the wildlife. Located near Townsend, Tennessee, this beautiful area receives 2 million visitors each year. It is the most crowded Park destination.

Cades Cove is a look into the past. Preserved homes, churches, and a working mill highlight the 11-mile loop road. Beautiful mountain vistas climb from the valley floor to the sky. Situated in a limestone window, the result of earthquake activity and erosion, Cades Cove provides a fertile habitat. Wildlife abounds around the cove and sightings of deer, foxes, wild turkeys, coyotes, woodchucks, raccoons, bears, and red wolves often occur. Settlers first came to the cove in 1819, and farmed this land until the Park formed in the 1930s.

Driving: Cades Cove''s main auto touring route is the 11-mile loop road tracing its fringe. The loop takes from 1 to 1.5 hours to drive. Traffic is often bumper to bumper, especially in summer months and October. Throughout the summer, the road is closed to motorized vehicles on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 10am, although bicycle rental is available.

Other opportunities to explore the area include walking, hiking, hayrides, horseback riding, and fishing. Rich Mountain Road, a gravel road suitable for 2-wheel drive vehicles, offers a unique perspective of the cove - and a way to escape the traffic.

After Cades Cove, take a hike to Abrams Falls. Abrams Falls is a 5-mile roundtrip hike. The trail begins in the back of Cades Cove loop road and is a moderate hike. Abrams Falls has the largest water volume of any park fall in the Great Smoky Mountains, and is among the most photogenic.

After a picnic lunch at Metcalf Bottoms or the Chimneys picnic area, drive over Newfound Gap Road and take in the scenery. Also stop to enjoy a few of the secluded and quiet walkways.

After Newfound Gap, take Clingmans Dome Road for its seven miles along the State-line ridge.
Clingmans Dome is one of the Park''s most popular destinations. At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park''s highest point. It is the highest point in Tennessee, and the second highest point east of the Mississippi. Only North Carolina''s Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet) rises higher.

Located along the state-line ridge, it is half in North Carolina and half in Tennessee. The peak is accessible after driving Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap, and then walking a steep half-mile trail. A paved trail leads to a 54-foot observation tower. The Appalachian Trail crosses Clingmans Dome, marking the highest point along its 2,144 mile journey.

Vistas from Clingmans Dome are spectacular. On clear, pollution-free days, views expand over 100 miles and into seven states. However, air pollution limits average viewing distances to 22 miles. Despite this handicap, breathtaking scenes delight those ascending the tower. It is a great place for sunrises and sunsets. Weather conditions atop Clingmans Dome change quickly. Snow can fall from anytime between September and May. Get a current weather forecast before heading to the tower.

The cool, wet conditions on Clingmans Dome''s summit make it a coniferous rainforest. Unfortunately, pests, disease, and environmental degradation threaten the unique and fragile spruce-fir forest. Dead trunks litter the area, and dying trees struggle to survive another year. Berries thrive in the open areas, and a young forest wll replace the dying trees.

Although Clingmans Dome is open year-round, the road leading to it is closed from December 1 through April 1, and whenever weather conditions require. People can hike and cross-country ski on the road during the winter.

From Cherokee, Bryson City, and North Carolina

Starting from the Deep Creek area, slightly north of Bryson City, take the short walk to Toms Branch and Indian Creek Falls.

Then head over to the Blue Ridge Parwkay and follow it 9 miles. The Blue Ridge Parkway extends 469 miles through the southern Appalachians of Virginia and North Carolina, linking Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Designed as a "scenic drive", the Parkway provides both stunning scenery and close-up looks at the natural and cultural history of the mountains.

At Balsam Mountain Road drive into the park and pass Mile High Overlook. The paved road ends at a developed area where a .1 mile walk leads to an overlook. After that, head down the well-maintained Heintooga-Roundbottom Road. This road ends in Cherokee.

If there''s still time drive up Newfound Gap Road. Newfound Gap Road is US Route 441''s name through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is a 33 mile scenic highway connecting Cherokee, North Carolina with Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Average driving time is 55 minutes. Built to National Park Service standards, the road retains a grade of less than 5%, and is passable to all RV and bus traffic. Commercial vehicles are only allowed on park roads with permission.

Newfound Gap Road rises 3,600 feet from Gatlinburg to Newfound Gap. The winding road hugs the mountainside while revealing spectacular vistas of the Oconaluftee and West Prong of the Little Pigeon Valleys. At one point the road makes a loop over itself and Clingmans Dome Road to Clingmans Dome.