This year, we welcomed fall in the Great Smoky Mountains, which is also the most-visited national park in the USA. And while exploring the park, we also understood why this place is called the “Smoky Mountains.” In this blog post, I’m sharing my weekend itinerary along with other things you can do around the national park.
You can check out all the spots we explored in the national mark on my YouTube video next.
From watching layer after layer of mountains fade beneath a soft blue haze to looking out for bears in the deep forested areas to experiencing Southern hospitality. Here is everything we covered in two days, along with where we stayed, what we ate, and what I recommend knowing before your first visit.
How to Reach Great Smoky Mountains
If you live nearby, driving is the best way to reach this national park. However, if you’re coming from any other state, the closest airports are Nashville International Airport (3 hours 42 mins) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (3 hours 55 mins)
We flew to Nashville from Seattle the night before and started early in the morning, heading to Pigeon Forge, which was our base for the national park. This way, you get two whole days to explore the park.
Where to Stay: Pigeon Forge vs. Gatlinburg
There are two main cities near Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Pigeon Forge is bustling, unapologetically touristy, and filled with dinner shows, arcades, restaurants, and family-friendly attractions. Whereas Gatlinburg is a little more closer to the national park and is quieter and more walkable. Either way, expect crowds during popular travel periods.
We chose Pigeon Forge as our base because we wanted to do more than explore the national park like Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Show. If easy park access is your main priority, Gatlinburg may work better for your trip.
Things to Know Before You Plan a Trip
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is huge. Trying to see the entire park in one weekend would mean spending most of the trip rushing from one location to another. Instead, pick the places you are most excited about and build your itinerary around them.
The park is divided into 12 zones and we focused on these four zones: Sugarlands, Cades Cove, Kuwohi and Newfound Gap, and Oconaluftee.
The park is also extremely popular, so leave buffer time between stops. Traffic, crowded overlooks, wildlife activity, and limited parking can all delay your plans. Plus, parking at Sugarlands Visitor Center can be particularly difficult later in the morning. Road access and weather conditions can change in the mountains, so check the official National Park Service website before your visit.
Pro Tip: Try to arrive before 9 AM at the visitor center, this will give you a better chance of finding a space.
Black bears live throughout the Smokies, but a sighting is never guaranteed. We kept looking for them throughout the weekend but did not see one. A few people driving ahead of us on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail reportedly saw a mother with her cub, proving that wildlife sightings can come down to timing and luck.
Pro Tip: Do not plan your trip around seeing a bear. If you encounter any wildlife, stay inside your vehicle when appropriate, maintain a safe distance, and never approach or feed the animals.
Day 1: Cades Cove, Kuwohi and Newfound Gap
We went here on labor day weekend, so the Sugarlands area was extremely crowded. We somehow managed a quick visit to the Sugarlands Visitor Center, which is right at the entrance near Gatlinburg bypass. However, we spent rest of the time exploring the lesser crowded parts of the park in the morning, like the Cades Cove. If you have time, you can explore trails near the visitor center like Cataract Falls.
Cades Cove Scenic Loop
Cades Cove is a beautiful valley located in the south Townsend offering a 11-mile scenic drive connecting all the top overlooks, historic cabins and churches, and meadows around. It’s a great first spot for a slow yet scenic start of the day.
This took us roughly half a day, but the exact timing depends on traffic and how often you stop. The drive is slow, so this is not an attraction to squeeze between tightly scheduled activities. Although Cades Cove is known for wildlife, we did not see any bears. Even without a sighting, the quiet scenery, old cabins, and mountain views made the drive worthwhile.
Driving Newfound Gap Road
Newfound Gap Road is the main highway passing through the national park, connecting the Tennessee and North Carolina sides of the park. There are several overlooks on this road that will get you a stunning view of the mountains, especially when approaching the golden hour.
Stopping at various overlooks was one of my favorite things about the Smokies. It showed me how different the mountains looked from every viewpoint. At one stop, we could see densely forested valleys. At the next, the ridges seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.
Leave room in your itinerary for spontaneous stops. Some of our favorite views came from pulling into overlooks we had not specifically planned to visit. Moreover, during the golden hour, the trees around started releasing a natural compound that created a smoke-like effect, which is exactly why this place is called “the Great Smoky Mountains.” Honestly, this was the most magical thing I witnessed at the park. Here are a few overlooks I recommend stopping by:
- Carlos C. Campbell Overlook
- Chimney Tops Overlook
- Alum Cave Trail – a nice hike through the woods leading to a natural cave.
- Ben Morton Overlook
- Newfound Gap
- Charles A Webb Overlook
Kuwohi Observation Tower
Our final spot of the day was the Kuwohi Observation Tower, which was formerly known as Clingmans Dome. Kuwohi is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains and the tower is a 0.5 mile steep uphill hike but will get you the best sunset views in the park.
We reached the observation tower before sunset, and the timing could not have been better. As the sun went down, the mountain ridges gradually turned into hazy layers of blue and grey. Standing there, watching the mist settle between the peaks, I realized that the true beauty of this place comes out during the golden hour.
It was one of the best sunsets I have ever seen! If the weather is clear enough and sunset fits into your schedule, Kuwohi is a beautiful place to finish the day. However, give yourself enough time to park and reach the observation area without rushing.
Day 2: Roaring Fork and Oconaluftee
On day two, we were quite determined to spot a bear, so we did some research, asked around and picked Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail as our starting point. We did pass by some spots we visited the day before on the New Found Gap Road, but didn’t make a stop to save time.
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a 5.5 mile scenic loop drive through dense forest and ended up being my favorite scenic drive in the national park. The road winds slowly through dense forest, passing historic structures and rushing mountain creeks. We could hear the water as we drove, making the Roaring Fork name feel entirely appropriate.
The route is also a popular area for looking for bears. We did not see one, although people ahead of us reportedly spotted a mother bear and cub. Wildlife can appear unexpectedly, so drive slowly and stay alert. That is good advice throughout the park, but it felt particularly important on this narrow, forested route.
Bear or no bear, I would happily do this drive again. The combination of thick forest, moving water, and the early-morning atmosphere made it feel completely different from the open mountain overlooks we had visited the previous day.
Oconaluftee
After Roaring Fork, we drove toward Oconaluftee Visitor Center, stopping at more overlooks along the way like Plott Balsam Overlook and Thomas Divide on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was another long scenic stretch, but the changing views kept the drive interesting. Every overlook seemed to reveal a new side of the mountain range.
Near the visitor center, we finally spotted a few elk grazing in the distance, a beautiful scene we lingered over for a while. And on the way back, we saw two tiny gray foxes waiting along the curb to cross the road. After spending most of the weekend searching the woods for bears, finding elk near Oconaluftee felt like nature reminding us that it decides what you get to see, not your itinerary. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful way to end our time in the national park.
Final Thoughts
If you ask me, is two days enough? I’d say yes! Two days is good enough time to experience several of the park’s highlights without making the weekend feel like a race. We covered scenic drives, mountain overlooks, historic structures, visitor centers, and a memorable sunset. We also had time to enjoy Pigeon Forge’s dinner shows, restaurants, shops, and arcades.
Would I return? Absolutely.
There are still waterfalls, trails, scenic roads, and entire sections of the park we did not explore. But for a first visit, this itinerary gave us exactly what we wanted: a relaxed weekend filled with mountain views, beautiful drives, good food, and just enough man-made entertainment between our adventures in nature.
We did not find the bears we kept looking for, but the Smokies gave us something else: elk by Oconaluftee, roaring creeks in the forest, and a sunset I will remember for a very long time.
