Great Smoky Mountains National Park Review

On the border between North Carolina and Tennessee lies the most visited National Park in the USA. This national gem lies in the southern Appalachian Mountains, just a short distance from Knoxville, Tennessee (to the northwest of the park) and Asheville, North Carolina (to the east of the park). I'm talking about Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a popular family vacation destination in the eastern United States.

Park Commentary:

With extensive wildlife, mountain scenery, rivers, waterfalls, hiking, camping, horseback riding, picnicking, and fishing, the Great Smoky Mountains are a nature lovers dream come true. It would be very easy to spend a full week in the park and the surrounding areas. Tourists usually stay in one of the nearby cities (Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, etc.) and then visit the park at their leisure. But it would be very easy to spend a full week doing nothing else besides partaking in the park and its outdoor activities.

Because of its eastern location, this park is easily accessible for most people living in the United States. More than half of the U.S. population lies within a single days' drive of this park. This fact is one of the reasons why the park is so popular. Families can easily jump in the car and drive here in one day or less, making it a convenient and relatively inexpensive place to visit. This fact has helped the Great Smoky Mountains National Park become the most visited of all the United States National Parks.

Summer is a popular time to travel here, but the most popular time of all is the Fall season. Visitors flock to this park by the thousands to see the Autumn foliage, and it can get very crowded, with long waits in your car to get through the park entrance. During other times of the year, there can also be a wait and it's common to see all the parking spaces taken at some of the scenic overlooks. If you want to avoid some of the crowds, you need to come during the low season, which is from December through March. The only bad thing about coming during the slower season is that some of the roadways will be closed. You can still enjoy a road trip on route 441, but many other routes (like the one leading up to Clingmans Dome) will be closed during the winter season.

The weather is constantly changing when you drive through this park. As the elevations rise, you can feel the temperature drop as your vehicle navigates each curve and hairpin turn. It's often up to 20 degrees cooler in one part of the park compared to another. And the other thing you will notice about the weather is that there's a lot of rainfall. Generally speaking, the higher the elevation, the greater the amount of precipitation. Total annual precipitation ranges from 65 inches in the low- lying areas to 90 inches in the highlands, making the Great Smoky Mountains one of the rainiest places in the United States.

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Designated as a National Park in 1934, Great Smoky Mountains attracts between 9 and 10 million visitors annually. It's an excellent choice of destinations when you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The main roads and the adjacent tourist towns can get crowded. But with a minimal amount of effort, you can get away from it all and enjoy some peace and solitude in this large National Park. It's a fun, scenic family getaway!