11 mile, one way drive with jaw dropping scenery and some old homes and churches along the way. We…read moresaw some horses and deer, but unfortunately no bears. We arrived around 6am on a Saturday, and while there were other cars around, we had no problem finding parking and there were no traffic jams. We finished up around 9am. The visitor center and mill are located about halfway through the drive. It opens at 9am though, so if you get an early start like we did, it probably won't be open. Definitely get the map for $1.25 so you know what you're looking at. On Wednesdays, they close the loop to cars and it's only accessible to pedestrians and bikes.

The drive for us proved to be fruitful as we saw 5 bears on our first day in the national park. We…read moresaw 2 baby bear cubs in the trees, we walked on a trail and saw them. Subsequently, we drove towards the Cades Cove visitor center and saw 3 juvenile cubs crossing the road and eating grass next to the cars. Absolutely amazing. Only traffic we encountered was when everyone was stopping to see the 3 juvenile cubs by the side of the road. Other than that, we finished the loop quickly...maybe because we went late in the afternoon between 3-4pm. Lots of wild turkeys along the pastures too. Maybe saw 11-12 of them that afternoon on 6/6/2026. Also saw some deer hiding among the trees. Definitely go here to spot wildlife!!

Will make it brief: this is a lovely hike, slippery when wet (which is often, it rains a lot) -…read moretake your time so you don't slip (I did, and it HURT). There are a LOT of stairs, and when it's humid you will need to stop for breaks along the way. The final view is closed from fires but they have a reconstructed viewpoint near the end that is gorgeous - the views of the mountainside are stunning. Overall - would do again, but it's a relatively difficult hike because of the uphill climb so come prepared!

This is a busy trail. Go early to avoid crowds. It is short but steep so if you don't normally…read moreworkout or hike it may be difficult. The view is pretty. It's an out and back not a loop.

Beautiful over look of Panther Creek. The State Rangers were awesome helping us get the TN passport…read morebook when the visitor center was closed. Bathrooms amazed at how clean they are!! Overlooking was well worth going out of the way to see this state park.

Real customer service is hard to come by these days, but two of the Panther Creek crew deserve a…read morestanding ovation. It is Thanksgiving day, at 4:30 pm and we discovered that our 50 amp power outlet was only working on one side. That meant that our fireplace/ heater was not working on the coldest night so far with 20's forecast for tomorrow night. The new camp host, Mike, called the office and Ranger Brown was there in 15 minutes and resolved the problem. End of shift after a long day serving alone on a holiday and he never hesitated. Kudos, Kudos, Kudos. This is our 14th year at Panther Creek- even more of a favorite now.

First time for us biking Cades Cove, I'm adding it to my must do's for our return Tennessee trip…read more We had so much fun! Only thing I would change is I would rent it longer. Bikes are comfortable, communication helmets are so cool, battery lasted. One of the funnest things I've done in Tennessee! And we saw bears! Go early to avoid the traffic back ups that happen in the afternoon. We booked from 9-noon.

Rented four bikes for half a day and rode all over Townsend. I only tried e-bikes once on a…read moreprevious trip and we plan to do a ride on every trip we can. It's a great way to see the mountains and the countryside and it's just plain fun! Sue took great care of us and when we took a pit stop for some food she hooked us up with fresh batteries. Not sure if a lot of places have them but Scotty Bike helmets have a built in walkie-talkie system so you can chatter on the ride. Lots of fun banter exchanged as we rode. The weather here is crazy so when you get some sun grab a few bikes!

Absolutely legendary place, I ride here more than I ride at any other bike parks. It's the best…read moreplace I've ever found, dirt is pristine and pump track jumpline is my personal favorite especially firedrill. Insta-varjoaquin_mtb

Having bike around downtown Knoxville before, I was excited to try out this trail. This one. A…read morelittle more outdoors and rustic. Turns out it might just be a Greenway/nice road bike girly. Area currently has a lot of construction going on but it's pretty well marked. I parked at a church, which turned out to be a delightful little restaurant and brewery. What an amazing way to end a bike ride. Maybe not the best way to start it. But hey, no judgment here. There are also if you porter potties, which were medium level clean and I appreciate them. I went on a Sunday and they were definitely people, but it wasn't overly busy. Lots of children trying out tricks. The problem I have with this trail is that it is short little burst of fun challenges. When I run and bike, I prefer to just get on the bike and go for hours. Just because it's not my jam doesn't mean it doesn't serve a purpose though. And I definitely appreciate it being in the area. There are wood, bridges and stumps, ramps, and other fun little woodsy elements. I definitely think it could be for all ages trying out their tricks. Even had some people walking. If I had more time, I would have explored whether it goes to the road or Greenway. I did a tiny few detours, but they always ended at the road with busy traffic and not a lot of bike lane action. Definitely recommend the spot If you wanna try a little tricks and are in the area. It was beautiful greenery with tons of wildflowers all around. Very nice people.

Great Smokey Mountains National Park is bigger than we expected! So much to take in and we only had…read moreso much time. We did go to the visitor center and get a map. It was a good visitor center and had some cool merch and friendly rangers with good advice. We hiked a bit, saw many mushrooms, squirrels, birds and snakes. We did not see bears but we heard there are there. Highly recommend and can't hardly wait to check it out again with more time.

So incredibly beautiful. So many dang bears…read more Or so I've been told. Fortunately for me, a person who is very much afraid of bears and wants nothing to do with them, I did not see any bears during my visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But they're there! Lurking ... somewhere ... in the forest, I'm sure. I visited during the spring, when the bears were waking up from their long slumber, and I'm sure they were just waiting, with growling tummies, to eat someone. Because of the bears, I didn't travel too far away from the visitor center area of Newfound Gap. But there are trails and other things to see that are beautiful if you like hiking and whatnot. As for me, I was satisfied staying close to where there was more concrete and cars than nature. (I know! I'm kind of dumb sometimes.) Newfound Gap straddles both Tennessee and North Carolina, so you can be in two states at once -- literally, you can have one foot in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina! There's also a cool rock structure that you can climb to the top of called the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, where you'll get great views of the mountains. They really do look smoky! They ain't lyin'. The Newfound Gap area of the Smoky Mountains also has a trailhead for the Appalachian Trail, plus restrooms. I saw backpackers who definitely looked like they had been on the the Appalachian Trail for a while. I've since learned that although this is not the largest national park, it's the most visited, and I believe it! There were quite a lot of people at the Newfound Gap area. That said, I visited a few other places around the park where there were zero people, so you might have to change locations, depending on how many people you want to share your park experience with.

I came here to do some trail riding with family. Windrock is a huge place and there are so many…read moretrails and options for outdoor entertainment and sports for all levels. There are easy up to very difficult trails, there are bike trails, and they even will bring riders up to the top along with their bike. My guess is that my group traveled around 70+ miles over the two days I was there. Now I need to replace a busted tire and a bent rim. The Windrock campground is also quite large and clean. I stayed in a tent site that had plenty of room. The parking is setup to handle visitors with trailers and extra vehicles. The bathhouses are nice and the hot water is plentiful. Overall, I had a great time. The personnel I interacted with were really knowledgeable and friendly.

I had to redownload yelp just to leave this review…read more This place is AMAZING!!! My buddy and I were biking to Myrtle Beach from Colorado and this was our last campsite before the last stretch in. We did a regular campsite right behind bathhouse #2 and let me tell you...10/10 would and will camp here again. Toilets, showers, open spaces, far enough away neighbors that aren't tent camping. That shower after 1300 miles on a motorcycle was THE best. Reserving the spot the day of our arrival was even better. The gal was very helpful and made the booking process so easy. The ONLY thing...it's a bit of a steep paved road, about 1/4 mile, to get from the road to the campgrounds. But, we made it up on our motorcycles and there were several toy haulers up here as well.