With 3 full days in the park, our plan is to hit a couple must-do trails, but not see all the peaks or anything. In planning, I’ve realized you can’t do too much more if you hit those must-dos and only have 3 days. Also, Alum/Leconte, Clingman’s Dome, and Charlie’s Bunion are all in the same area - is it worth venturing elsewhere?

We have 2 nights booked at Elkmont and nights 3/4 still to book.

We are thinking:

• Alum to Leconte one day
• Charlie’s Bunion/Clingman’s Dome/Spruce-Fir another day
• possibly another area for the third day
• possibly Meigs Creek/Little River to keep it more low-key and stay close to our Elkmont camp one day

What would you do to get the most out of 3 full days?

My partner and I will be driving from Knoxville to Ashville for a wedding the weekend of Halloween and are looking for some advice on where to stop along the drive. We may have my older parents in tow who would not have the ability to do a long hike. We a slightly time constrainted to get to Ashville but would be willing to make something great work. We are planning on taking Foothills Parkway and blue ridge parkway where they are available. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff have closed Parson Branch Road due to potential fire danger.

I'm signing up for the Cades Cove Loop Lope run in November and the parking passes on the race site are sold out. As a runner, I'll be taking the shuttle to the start line, but my boyfriend will probably need a parking pass to be a spectator. Does anyone have any experience with the Cades Cove Loop Lope race and daily pass? Is that something that is possible to finagle?

Coming to GSMNP next weekend. I’m a little confused about when it opens. Some sites say 8am and others say sunrise. Which is it?

We’re planning a getaway to the Smokies between Xmas & New Years. We hope to get in a little bit of hiking, nothing too heavy duty as we have a video game playing 8 year old. We aren’t so interested in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, where would you recommend finding a cabin and which trails would be best for our abilities? Also worth noting is we drive a Prius, so steep icy inclines are a concern.

I am trying to reserve campsites for two nights, on Friday Oct 25th and Saturday Oct 26th for 8 people.

I know I have to use https://smokiespermits.nps.gov/, and they're released 30 days in advance, but does anyone have any other tips? I know this is a busy season and don't want to miss them. Do they usually sell out pretty quickly? Is there a specific time they go live so I can jump on immediately?

Thanks!

We are considering visiting the park the week of October 7. Will it be overly crowded at that time? I know October is the busiest month for the Park, but I've always assumed most people start coming in around mid-month and later. If you have any insight for what to expect earlier, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Trying to find out the road condition and if a Subaru Outback can handle the road conditions? Don't know the name but it runs along the eastern boarder of the park.

I'm planning a trip to the Smokies in October and I'm trying to decide what trail to take. I've got it narrowed down to 4 loops-

1. Forney creek to Forney Ridge loop

2. Siler's Bald to Forney ridge loop

3. Forney Ridge to Noland Divide Loop

4. (Not a loop but...) AT to Goshen Prong out and back

I love a tough trail so I'm glad these all have big elevation gains and good mileage, I'm just wondering which of these would give the best views? As far as I can tell Siler's Bald and Andrew's Bald on Forney Ridge have the best views in the area so I'm leaning towards the Siler's Bald to Forney Ridge loop, but I wanted to get some other opinions

My other option is doing Alum Cave to Mount LeConte, this trail isn't quite as tough as the others on my list but I've heard great things about it, what do you all think?

Great hidden waterfall.

Trying to decide if we should go to GSMNP Cade's cove today on a Friday before Labor Day weekend arriving at around 2:30 PM or save it for Sunday with a much earlier in the morning arrival but in the heart of Labor Day weekend. Which do you think will be more crowded?

Staying in Cades cove and wanted to drive Parson's Branch but saw it was closed due to fire danger. Decided to hit the Foothills Pkwy instead and saw the reason the road was closed. I think it has grown a bit in size since Wednesday afternoon.

Pic is from Murray Gap Overlook

Flint Gap Fire (Middle Left)

Hello, going to the smokies soon. One day we will be white water rafting in hartford at 1:30 PM. Looking for things to do before then. Any suggestions on places to stop on the way? We will have kids with us. Looking for pretty views, easy trails, anything nature related. Thanks

I finally did what I had promised myself I would do, which is walk the Cades Cove loop road, starting at the exit, during a vehicle-free Wednesday. These Wedensdays will remain in effect until September 25th.

Pros:

It is a great way to see Cades Cove. I find that by walking, you are also in tune to the sounds of the forest and so spotting wildlife is easier. This is definitely something you cannot rush and plan to bring water and make stops. I also found it fun to get into conversations along the way with other walkers and volunteers. I ran into two friends, both wildlife photographers, and one I have not seen in a long time.

Cons:

It is popular and when I got there at 6:45 am, the parking lot at the camp store was filling up and when I left at around noon, it was full, as was the parking lot at the gate. I do not know if you are allowed to park at the daytime picnic area.

And excuse me, but . . . &%^$#@! e-bikes and what one volunteer called "the elites." It should go without saying that people should NOT be biking faster than the speed limit for cars. Most of the e-bikes seemed to be ridden by older people and some clearly have not been on a bike in years, based on their apparent inability to ride, but full speed ahead (why pedal assist when you can throttle and use it like a moped)! I recommend walking from the exit because at least you can see them coming; any cyclist must ride in the same direction as cars would go. One guy came around a blind curve on his far left, which is my far right, and I had to jump out of the way to avoid a collision - and he never even slowed down. At the bridge by the Abrams Falls spur, about 15 middle-aged men in Lycra came by in a pack - no single file as is required - on e-bikes at top speed, so much so that I and another walking couple had to hug the bridge rail. "The elites" are the people with road bikes who seem to be using the loop road as their own training ground for the Tour de France, weaving in and out of crowds on the road. You have families, some of whom have kids riding normal bikes - I don't think approaching them on a fast e-bike or racing cycle and screaming "ON YOUR LEFT!!!!" is very helpful. As I approached Sparks Lane, I decided to cut across and come out at the exit, where I had begun. While on that back stretch, one guy actually brushed me slightly riding past me and when I called after him, "Slow down!" he called back, "Walk faster!" It was frightening, hearing bikes come up behind you and seeing how close they came to pedestrians.

I wouldn't mind doing it again with company and starting off before the sun comes up, with a head lamp. Actually, I would like to do a night walk in Cades Cove.

Hello! I have been dying to get to GSMNP and would love to come visit and camp this fall. I was wondering when peak fall foliage usually is and how late it goes? I’m from PA so I know our peak is right around 15th and was wondering if it was around the same there

Coming to Pigeon Forge for Dollywood and I saw that Cade's Cove looked like a cool run. I know that Wednesdays are "vehicle free days", but I have also seen some things about it being closed to cars on Saturdays. Is this true? Also, is it safe to run? Thanks

For the section between Hughes Ridge Trail and Dry Sluice Trail, is Chasteen Creek more scenic/worthwhile than Bradley Fork? Looking at All Trails I see only Chasteen being used.