Great Smoky Mountains · Things to do

An 11-mile one-way loop round a broad valley south of Townsend, open sunrise to sunset, past three churches, a working gristmill and a run of restored log houses, with the park's best odds on deer, turkey and black bear. Allow two to four hours, more in summer traffic. The loop closes to motor vehicles every Wednesday from roughly May to September for cyclists and walkers.

At 6,643 ft this is the highest point in the park and in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi; the National Park Service now lists the area as Kuwohi, its Cherokee name. From the car park it is a half-mile paved path to the spiral observation tower — paved, but too steep to be wheelchair accessible. The access road closes seasonally, typically early December to late March, and in dangerous weather.

A 5.5-mile one-way road out of Gatlinburg past mountain streams, old-growth forest, log cabins and gristmills, with the Grotto Falls trailhead two miles in and the Place of a Thousand Drips near the end. No buses, trailers or motorhomes; the road closes for part of the year, and demand for parking routinely exceeds capacity, so have a second plan.

A quiet valley on the North Carolina side, reached by Cove Creek Road from I-40 exit 20 — about 15 minutes of winding gravel with steep drop-offs and no guard rails, where you may have to reverse for oncoming traffic. It holds one of the park's two main elk herds and a set of early 20th-century frame churches, a school and houses; around 1,200 people lived here in 1910.

Five trails climb Mount LeConte, from 5.0 to 9.1 miles, to the highest guest lodge in the eastern United States at around 6,400 ft: hand-built log cabins with propane heat, kerosene lanterns and wool blankets, meals served family style, and no road in at all. The season runs late March to mid-November and beds are booked far ahead; 865-429-5704.