The Park is in the south eastern part of the state, on the North Carolina border. From Knoxville (about twenty-five miles away), take I-40 to Highway T 66, then US 441 to Gatlinburg entrance. From Asheville, NC (about forty miles away), take I-40 west to US 23, then US 441 to Park's soutern entrance near Cherokee, NC.
WHEN TO VISIT
Open year round. Peak visitor month is July. Climate: January, 25 to 48 degrees F; July, 60 to 84 degrees F.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The loftiest range east of the Black Hills and one of the oldest uplands on Earth, the Smokies have a diversified and luxuriant plantlife, ofter of extraorkinary size. Besides the exquisite flora and fauna the Park also preserves structures representing southern Appalachian mountain culture.
Great Smoky is the nation's busiest Park. While driving along the 270 miles of mountain roads, pull off, park the car, and take a stroll along one of the many Quiet Walkways, one-quarter-mile paths into what the signs call "little bit of the world as it once was". 900 miles of hiking trails--from one-half mile to seventy miles--through deciduous forests. The tangle of brush and trees exude water and hydrocarbons from leaves to produce the filmy "smoke" that gives the mountains their name. Inside Park--LeConte Lodge, Wonderland Hotel. Bryson City, Cherokee, Fontana Dam, Gatlinburg have accommodations.
