Park Services
No lodging is available inside the park, other than LeConte Lodge, which requires a long and difficult hike to reach. A huge variety of lodging is available outside the park in Gatlinburg, Cherokee, and others towns. See our
Great Smoky Mountains Lodging Page for all the details
Camping is available at 10 locations spread all over the park.See our
Great Smoky Mountains Camping Page for details.
There is no food of any sort available in the park. Many choices are available in the surrounding towns.
Gasoline is not sold in the park, but is available near all entrances.
Each of the main visitor centers listed below have bookstores in them operated by the park's non-profit partner.
There is no public transportation of any sort offered by the park. A private vehicle is necessary to get around the park roads.
There are three main visitor centers within the park boundaries. The Sugarlands Visitor Center is located at the intersection of
Newfound Gap Road and
Little River Road just inside the Gatlinburg Entrance. It is open 8AM to between 4PM and 7PM depending on season. The Cades Cove Visitor Center is in the Cable Mill area on the
Cades Cove Loop Road. It is open 9AM to between 4PM and 7PM depending on season. The Oconaluftee Visitor Center is on
Newfound Gap Road just inside the Cherokee Entrance. It is open 8AM to between 4PM and 6PM depending on season.
Visitation Seasons
The spring is an outstanding time to visit. By mid April wildflowers are blooming at the lower elevations, and by the beginning of May spring green is growing all over the park. Water levels are generally higher so the parks streams and waterfalls look their best. Crowds start to arrive towards the end of spring. May is our personal favorite month in the park.
The summer brings heat, humidity, and almost unbelievable crowds. Good experiences can still be had though, particularly by heading down a trail away from the main parts of the park. Balsam Mountain, Big Creek, and Cataloochee are good places to go to avoid the crowds. If you can visit another time, avoid the summer.
The fall is a world-famous time in the park. Sometime between the middle and end of October, peak foliage change occurs, painting the parks massive hardwood forests a rainbow of colors. Crowds during this time rival the height of summer, and parking areas and roads are filled to bursting. The level of scenery more than makes up for this however, and a visit to the park in peak color change is something everyone needs to do at least once.
The winter brings a relative lack of crowds and cool temperatures. Many days can still be comfortable at the lower elevations, while snows may close the highest parts of the roads at times. Many people consider winter the ideal time to visit, especially those fond of waterfalls, where snow, ice, and more open forests can lead to better views.
Visitation Time
A full day is needed to take in the main part of the park across Newfound Gap, with a second day to cover the northern section and Cades Cove. Several more days to cover any of the several outer area such as Cosby, Big Creek, Cataloochee Cove, Balsam Mountain, Deep Creek, Abrams Creek, and Look Rock. A "complete" visit to the park should encompass at least a week, and for avid hikers, there's really no maximum amount of time for the park.
Park Q & A
How many waterfalls are in the park?
This depends on what you consider a waterfall. There are countless small drops of water on the parks many streams. As far as known, named waterfalls go, there are dozens. There are instructions for reaching several on the
Hiking Page, and one nice falls can be seen directly along
Little River Road. The best resource on the internet for the hundreds of waterfalls in the mountains surrouding the park is
www.ncwaterfalls.com They focus mainly on western North Carolina, but also include some of eastern Tennessee and upstate South Carolina. They even have a few falls in the park we haven't been to yet.
