Smokies was our pandemic road trip when people had just started moving around. Couple of us friends decided we should be able to explore the wilderness while being socially responsible and distancing from others and Smoky Mountains was the right spot for us. Last weeks of October is the best time to visit smokies for excellent fall foliage. As all of our group trips, this was also bound to be memorable and epic. Remote cabin space all to ourselves, work from home for first few days, barbeque, games, movies in the night and loads and loads of chitter-chatter.
There are lots to do in and around Smoky Mountains National Park based on how long you are planning to explore. We only did the NP since we had to work first half of the week and long drive from and back to Austin. But fall was at it’s peak so there were beautiful colors all around us which was an absolute visual treat and completely justified the 15hr drive. As I mentioned before, ours was a pandemic safe – Remote work friendly – Relax type of trip so we missed a lot of things due to safety and time constraints although we were at Smokies for a whole good week. Down below I am modifying our itinerary and providing a better plan than what we did.
Here is my suggested itinerary for The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Day 1: Drive/Fly to Gatlinburg
Our Airbnb by the stream 
Gone Fishing Cabin
Reach destination and settle in. The best place to stay closest to park is in Gatlinburg. But, that comes with some disadvantages – huge crowds, expensive stays and best places get booked very quickly. As it was still peak covid (October 2020) we decided we wanted to stay away from all of that, even if it means driving a little extra every day. We booked a remote yet accessible cabin via Airbnb in Sevierville 20 minutes from Gatlinburg and we did not regret much. Pigeon Forge is another place to stay which is in between the two towns above; also funky – multiple dinner theatres and huge but weird looking buildings. You will know what I am talking about when you pass by, you won’t ignore the vibe. If not for covid, we would have done at least one of their dinner shows – they looked so fun! I would encourage if your time permits.
Day 2: Cades Cove
Started late morning since we arrived late previous night. Also lots of catching up so you will never leave out of the stay on time. We drove to Cades Cove after lunch on the way which was about an hour drive for us; will be more closer if you stay in Gatlinburg. You will need at least half day for Cades Cove so plan accordingly. On the way you will also pass Cataract Falls (hike details), Laurel Falls (hike details) and The Sinks . We skipped them since we were already late. Cades cove is a 11 miles one loop road via some of the most picturesque mountain backdrops of Smoky mountains. It was home to European settlers and still hosts some historic buildings along the way. You can explore it with your cars, hike or rent bicycles – (Note that all will use the same routes so it might get annoying at times for drivers, riders and hikers). Be prepared for frequent traffic jams caused by the special visit of the host animals. We rented bikes at the parking lot, at the entrance and started exploring few famous spots – John Oliver Cabin , Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery , Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church, John P Cable Grist Mill, Cades Cove Visitor Center, Tipton Place . There is also trailhead to Abrams Falls in the loop if you want to add a hike in between. Spent nice evening cycling along the loop and absorbing the beauty of the valley. Got back to Airbnb later for a fun games night.
Day 3: Alum Cave Trail to Mount LeConte
We always try to get on some hard hike during any National Park visit. Especially when it is the #1 hike in the park. Alum Cave Trail to Mount LeConte is one of the top hiking trails in the Great Smoky Mountains and rightly so. Hiking 11miles (out and back) with 2,896 ft elevation gain, not unreasonably difficult but yes you will burn lots of calories and the views keep changing as you ascend and will not disappoint. And then add fall colors to your entire trail – you can imagine the beauty around the hike. Start early to beat the crowd and to get a good parking spot. Parking lot is smaller and we had to park somewhere on the side of the road since we couldn’t reach there early. At 1.3 miles you will find the naturally formed arch and around at 2.5 miles you will get to Alum Buff Cave – this is the final point for many hikers and is the most crowded section of the trail. Past this point keep climbing Mt LeConte up to reach your summit. Primitive cabins style lodging is available at the peak of Mount LeConte, the end of this trail, but spots fill up very early so plan accordingly if you want to add stay here in your itinerary. I would imagine sunrise and sunsets would be fantastic at such altitude and view. Restrooms are located at this point too and a small coffee shop. We were so stocked with our accomplishment that we decided to hike a bit more further to Myrtle Point – a great view point to see the Great Smoky Mountains stretching far until your eyes can see. We had our lunch at this point and headed back down the trail – much much easier. Went back to our cabin for great barbeque night.
Day 4: Exploring Smokies on Car
Keep the day easy after a good hike the previous day. We just worked from home and covered some places in the evenings from this day on but I am putting out the places and itinerary we would have followed if we were not working. This could be the day to explore the beauty of Smokies from car (except for one steep but short hike).
First stop: Newfound Gap – at the boarder of Tennessee and North Carolina this spot is usually crowded for those picture perfect Smoky mountains. The Appalachian trail – one of the longest continuous foot trail in the world runs through this spot. Next is Clingmans Dome – The Clingmans Dome Observation Tower Trail is a short (1.2miles) steady inclination hike that takes you to the highest point on Smoky mountains. Try to do this hike during sunrise or sunset for those spectacular panoramic 360 degree views. This is the most popular spot in the Smokies so can get crowded. All though the tower is open year round , the road leading to this place is closed seasonally (usually mid December to March), so check nps website before you plan your trip here. It is also 20 degree Fahrenheit cooler at this spot so bring a jacket even in summer.
If you have couple more hours for the day I would highly recommend driving down some parts of Blue Ridge Parkway – one of country’s best scenic drives. The parkway south end can be found around 30 minutes past New Found gap near Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Have heard rave reviews about the drive, especially during Fall season. Unfortunately we could not visit this one although it was part of itinerary due to heavy rains owing to Hurricane Zeta. The parkway is about 469 miles starting at southern end of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia down to reaching this South end at Smoky mountains. So you will not be able to cover all of it – just take as much beauty as you can. On your way back, if time permits take a de-tour to Mingo Falls (too many waterfalls in Smokies. Pick and choose) for a quick look at the beauty using 0.4miles access trail, before heading back to cabin for a chill evening. If you don’t want to drive to blue ridge parkway this could be a good day to explore Pigeon Forge in the evening – may be Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show or any of the other dinner shows or simply stroll around this funky little town.
Day5: Chimney Tops Trail & Gatlinburg
Another hard but relatively shorter hike – Chimney top trail trailhead is located here on NewFound gap road. Although AllTrails marks it as hard we found it intermediate than the other hike. Steady uphill with elevation gain of about 1500ft, this is a 4.1miles out and back trail and views get better and better as you go up – and did I not say its a stairs master trail. Unfortunately, due to wildfire damage back in 2016, the last quarter-mile from the Chimney Tops is closed – that’s the best part of this hike and what made it popular. There is an observation deck just before a gate appears which blocks entry to the last stretch. On a clear day you should be able to see the chimney tops from here, along with those beautiful smoky mountains. We did not get to see any view during this hike unfortunately, due to thick fog covering everything around. But we still thought it was a great hike! I hope the Chimney tops open soon, I would love to do this hike again, to see those beauties.
Spent the rest of the day exploring the town of Gatlinburg. The eateries, the chocolates, the breweries (Ole Smoky Moonshine was recommended – we have not been), or wine tasting (found some best fruit based wines).
Day 6: Gatlinburg
There are many things to do in Gatlinburg depending on your liking. There are skylifts, mountain coasters, adventure parks like Anakeesta and so on. So you can spend as much time as you want here. We did not do most of the activities due to social distancing concerns and also since we wanted more of the nature than town experience. The one thing that I would recommend you do is the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park. We wanted to do this but the place was so crowded that we didn’t think it was safe at that point so had to skip. Unfortunately we had planned this the last day of our trip so didn’t get any chance later. The park’s main attraction is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America- called the skybridge – from top of which you can see the small buzzing town of Gatlinburg and the Smoky mountains in the backdrop. With 30$ all day ticket you get as many as you want skylift chair rides up to the top and access to the skybridge. A must do while in Gatlinburg. I would recommend buying ticket online and visiting this place early mornings or evenings.
After lunch this could be a good time to drive the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Just beside the town of Gatlinburg, this 5.5-mile-long, one-way, loop road follows the mountain stream based of which the road is named. Similar to cades cove, this loop is used by cyclists, hikers and cars so can get little jammed at times. Lots of great trails on this loop so make sure you hike at least one. The most popular one in this area must be Rainbow Falls Trail – 5 miles strenuous hike to the named falls. We did not do this since we were shot on time. Instead we hiked the Grotto Falls Trail – a moderate/almost easy 2.6miles hike to a nice beautiful waterfall. Due to hurricane Zeta that has crossed by past days, all waterfalls were gushing and streams were in full flow. It was a treat to eyes to be in between all this beauty on a nice day of Fall . We again came back to the town for dinner and souvenir shopping. Oh, also don’t forget to visit Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen(they have two of them on same street) , their chocolate selections are amazing and reasonably priced! We went there every time we crossed the town!
As I have mentioned earlier, there are too many things to do in and around Gatlinburg. For summer, another fun activity to do is white water rafting offered by companies like Smoky Mountain River Rat, Rafting In the Smokies, NOC Gatlinburg. Although we planned for one, we didn’t get a chance due heavy rains spoiling a lot of our weekday plans. If you visit in summer , see if you can try to add this in your itinerary.
Day 7: Head back home
We drove back to Austin visiting Nashville and Memphis (stayed over night at Memphis and celebrated Halloween!!!) . It was a lot of driving but we sure had fun.
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