Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the centerline of the park. It is the most visited national park in the United States.On its route from Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian Trail also passes through the center of the park. The park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940.It encompasses 522,419 acres (816.28 sq mi; 2,114.15 km2), making it one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States. The main park entrances are located along U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) at the towns of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina. It was the first national park whose land and other costs were paid for in part with federal funds; previous parks were funded wholly with state money or private funds.

Attractions and activities


The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a major tourist attraction in the region. Over 9 million tourists and 11 million non-recreational visitors traveled to the park in 2003, twice as many as visited any other national park. Surrounding towns, notably Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Townsend, Tennessee, and Cherokee, Sylva, Maggie Valley, and Bryson City, North Carolina receive a significant portion of their income from tourism associated with the park.

The two main visitors' centers inside the park are Sugarlands Visitors' Center near the Gatlinburg entrance to the park and Oconaluftee Visitors' Center near Cherokee, North Carolina at the eastern entrance to the park. These ranger stations provide exhibits on wildlife, geology, and the history of the park. They also sell books, maps, and souvenirs. Unlike most other national parks, there is no entry fee to the park
Cades Cove is the most visited part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park--and for good Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Cades Cades fawns are at home in the beauty of this green valley. reason. The idyllic setting of Cades Cove is a sampler of everything the Park has to offer the Smokies visitor. Interesting Tennessee cabins, cabin rentals, and other pioneer structures dot this cove and tell the history of its early inhabitants. Wildlife is abundant. More than a dozen hiking and horseback riding trails originate in Cades Cove. The Smoky Mountains, which tower above picturesque Cades Cove, serve as guardians to the Cove's serene beauty; and the splendor of color when Mother Nature empties her paint buckets on the Cove's hardwoods in the Fall is unmatched! Cades Cove is home to trout streams to tease the fly- fishing enthusiast and campgrounds are available for those who want to live in Cades Cove--even if only temporarily. In addition, Smoky Mountain cabin rentals found on this web site gives the opportunity for tourists to hark back to the former inhabitants of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.