On clear days you can see over miles in any direction. This highest peak in the park is easy to access for visitors of all ages and abilities and a must for any visit. Seriously though, these beautiful rustic pioneer structures hearken back to the hard scrabble life forged by early settlers of the area and add to the beauty of the park. Known as Cataloochee, the valley was formerly home to a small mountain community before the park was established.
Now you can explore the remaining historic homes and buildings and take in the peaceful mountain charm that once made this an ideal place to settle. There is also a herd of elk that can be commonly seen grazing the pastures of this peaceful valley, some of the bull elk can grow to immense sizes with very large antler racks.
You can also spot wild turkeys and a number of other interesting wildlife in this scenic and quiet part of the park. Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains and the eastern U. Overhunting and habitat loss drove them to extinction in most of the eastern U. Fortunately elk were successfully reintroduced to the Great Smoky Mountains in and now thrive in their native habitat. In the fall you can watch them rut as the males clash and compete for dominance of the herd.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a whopping ten campgrounds, each offering a different type of camping experience. On top of this the park also offers backcountry camping for those looking for a more primitive and quiet experience.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has ten campgrounds, each offering a different type of camping experience. Abrams Creek Campground is one of the more remote campgrounds in the park and offers a peaceful and quiet setting along a creek.
The campground has flush toilets and running water and offers opportunities for hiking and fishing. Reservations are required. Balsam Mountain Campground is located in one of the more remote areas of the park and offers a peaceful and quiet setting nestled amidst the mountains.
Elk are often seen in the area in the spring and fall. There are 42 campsites and the campground offers flush toilets and running water. Big Creek Campground is one of the more remote campgrounds in the park and offers a beautiful setting along the rolling waters of Big Creek. Visitors may spot black bears in the area and river otters along the creek. The campground has flush toilets and drinking water, no generators or recreational vehicles are allowed.
Cades Cove Campground is one of the most visited campgrounds in the park and is located in possibly the busiest part of the park where some 2 million visitors come to explore the historic structures and take in the wildlife and beauty of the Smokies along the mile scenic loop drive. The campground is open year round. Cataloochee Campground is nestled in the historic Cataloochee Valley, a more remote section of the park.
The campground provides flush toilets and drinking water. Cosby Campground is a secluded campground nestled in the forest of the Smokies. This campground offers plenty of sites and a more primitive camping experience. Deep Creek Campground is a traditional campground located on the popular Deep Creek. There are 92 campsites here and reservations are required. Elkmont Campground is the most heavily used campground in the park and also the largest. A hike through the Great Smoky Mountains — whether it be on the Appalachian Trail itself, a wildflower walk, or a trip to one of the many waterfalls — will leave you with a smile and a lasting impression.
The best way to experience the Smoky Mountains is to do what the original settlers and explorers did: hit the trails. From the original Appalachian Trail to breathtaking wildflower walks, there are Smoky Mountain trails covering miles of pristine backcountry.
Waterfalls, wildlife, valleys and vistas are everywhere. Learn more. Thousands of species of plant and animal life have been documented in the Smokies, and more are being discovered every year. Bring your binoculars, enjoy the show, and read more about what to expect in our Guide. There are three entrances to Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Gatlinburg, and every one takes you into a section of the square miles of unspoiled Appalachia. Survey Manual. The Great Smoky Mountains, and the entire Southern Appalachians Mountains of which they are a part, are rich in geologic history, biodiversity, and beauty.
The origins of the landscape stretch back a billion years, and the park is the most biologically diverse in the entire National Park system. The Great Smoky Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, and the rocks there reveal a fascinating history.
The effects of this history are what allows for the vast array of plant and animal species found in the Smokies, which are supported by its present rainy, temperate climate. The oldest rocks that can be found in the Great Smokies, and throughout the Southern Appalachians, are over a billion years old. Much of the core of North America is composed of remnants of the Rodinia supercontinent Figure 1. Around million years ago, the supercontinent began to pull and break apart.
As low areas were created, new oceans formed over time Figure 2. One of the oceans was the Ocoee Basin, which formed near present-day western Carolinas, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia, where the Great Smokies sit today.
Rivers and streams carried massive amounts of sediment into this basin over millions of years. These layers of sediment were eventually cemented into layers of rocks over nine miles thick. Younger sedimentary rocks in the Great Smokies were formed to million years ago. These rocks were formed when what is now the Appalachian region was a shallow marine continental margin. Sediments deposited here formed limestone rocks and fossils can be found among them.
Fossils here include worm burrows and shells of tiny crustaceans. About million years ago, the continents that had pulled apart started moving towards each other again. The movement of continental plates is slow, occurring at a rate of a few inches per year over many millions of years. But eventually, what we now know as Africa collided with the eastern edge of ancestral North America around million years ago, part of the formation of the supercontinent Pangea Figure 3.
As ancestral North America and Africa collided, the entire Appalachian region was uplifted, creating mountains whose elevations were likely higher than the Rockies today. Continental collisions generate huge amounts of pressure and heat, which has a number of interesting effects. One of those effects is the creation of plutons. As the continental blocks rode over each other, the tremendous pressure and heat melts some rocks.
If the molten rock makes it to the surface it forms volcanoes or lava flows. If it stays underground, however, it cools and hardens forming igneous blocks of rock called plutons. The heat and pressure also metamorphosized the sedimentary rocks that had previously existed in the area.
The process of metamorphosis turned sedimentary rocks like sandstone and shale into quartzite and slate, respectively. Yet another process associated with the continental collision was folding and faulting. Great Smoky Mountain National Park has five visitor centers, ideal starting points for your journey. Here are our favorite points of departure for exploring the park. Hiking Mount LeConte could be the bucket-list item for the Smokies. LeConte Lodge sits close to the summit of Mount LeConte, at 6, feet the third highest peak in the park.
There is no driving to the summit; hiking in is the only way to get there. Built on the site of a tent camp erected in around to house visiting dignitaries, LeConte Lodge hosts day trippers as well as overnight guests.
Spectacular sunrises and uninterrupted nature at LeConte Lodge welcome hikers to the only National Park Service lodging in the park. Wears Valley , just outside the Tennessee side of the park, has pastoral views and its own lesser known park entrance.
The other Tennessee park gates, especially the one in Gatlinburg, get congested at peak times of year. But the Wears Valley entrance just south of Townsend is where many locals enter the park. Synchronous fireflies light up late spring with their annual stupendous display of nature. At least 19 species of fireflies live in Great Smoky Mountains and the males and females of one species synchronize their bioluminescent flashing.
But plan ahead: A free lottery determines who gets to ride the shuttle into the park on certain dates to view the night lights. This national park contains more than cemeteries from tiny plots with just a few headstones to hundreds. Not all of the burial places in the park are marked, but keep an eye out for periwinkle. According to local author Gail Palmer , European settlers planted periwinkle on graves to keep away evil spirits. North Carolina : Located just outside Cherokee, the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is the starting point for most visitors entering the park from North Carolina.
In addition to a sizable bookstore and information desk, the center offers exhibits on Smoky Mountains history, in particular the Cherokee Indians and the early European settlers and their ancestors. Behind the visitor center, the Mountain Farm Museum gives insight into the lives of the people who once farmed the region, with hands-on exhibits and historic buildings brought from elsewhere in the park.
Beyond the mill, Highway starts its forest-flanked climb into the heart of the mountains. The former site of the Smokemont lumber village renders the first opportunity for camping, hiking, and horseback riding through outfits like Smokemont Riding Stables.
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