Return trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Good to be back for some exploration and some hiking!
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| Cades Cove Scenic Loop |
It had been almost a year since we last visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. My wife and I were wrapping up our 10 week long cross country road trip that would take us to Southern California and back, back to our home in North Carolina.
Last time we visited the Smoky Mountains, we chose to stay at a Quality Inn in Gatlinburg. We enjoyed the comfortable room with nice views of the West Prong Little Pigeon River and the Moonshine Mountain Coaster.
We stayed out on the balcony, especially during the evenings, watching the aforementioned roller coaster across the street from the hotel, hearing the loud screams of people as the coaster would descend every few minutes. Alpine air was absolutely refreshing during the early February evenings, and we really cherished the sound of the roaring river below, creating a perfect “white noise” for us to sleep well into the Tennessee night.
On our second trip there, we chose to stay at Home2 Suites Pigeon Forge, several miles north of Gatlinburg. We, by that time of our road trip, knew Home2 Suites fairly well, as we had stayed at one in Hilton Head Island.
We really were impressed by the modern furnishings, the nice breakfast buffet, and the roomy as well as very practical set up of the room. It made our 5 nights/6 days stay there a delightful experience.
The one in Pigeon Forge was no different. It still had that modern design but this time around, we chose a two queen bed room, meaning the size was even bigger than our standard one queen bed room we had in Hilton Head Island.
We found the hotel off the main thoroughfare (Parkway), located on a hill with nice views of the city. The room was definitely bigger than what we had previously, and it also had nice views.
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| Home2 Suites, Pigeon Forge |
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| Nice views of the mountains and the city |
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| At night! |
After checking in, we drank warm coffees available for free from the hotel lobby (still available in the late afternoon!), took warm relaxing showers, then settled in for the night. This would be our home for the next 3 nights/4 days. During our stay, we also got to enjoy the patio area taking in deep gulps of cool alpine mountain air while also keeping warm thanks to the roaring fire pit. Nice touch, Home2 Suites!
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| Nice & toasty |
We got good night’s sleep for the entire duration of our stay, and we looked forward to coming back to our temporary home after few hours of sightseeing or hiking. Using Home2 Suites as our base camp, we explored the following places below:
- Cades Cove Scenic Loop
Cades Cove Scenic Loop is an epic, 11 mile one-way loop road that encircles the scenic Cades Cove valley. The road is surrounded on all sides by mountains and it provides access to hiking trails, historic sites, and overlooks.
We didn’t get to drive this famous road on our first trip, as frankly, we were exhausted by that final leg of our 10 week long cross country journey. On our return trip, we made sure we got to drive it!
We headed out of our hotel on a Sunday, January 21 (Tru by Hilton Alcoa/Knoxville) around 10 a.m., setting out towards Cades Cove Scenic Loop. The drive would take roughly an hour (32 miles).
Near Pigeon Forge, we saw one of our favorite places, Buc-ee’s, had opened up. We stopped by to fuel up, and to grab some ready to eat meals to go. We picked up some burritos, tacos, salads, and snacks. Oh, we also picked up 10 cans of our favorite mints, the cotton candy flavored sugar free mints. These are so good!
By the time we got near the Great Smoky Mountains, we saw several sections of the mountain roads were still covered with snow and sometimes ice. We drove extra careful, taking corners super slow. We occasionally saw idiots who thought they were invincible driving SUVs or trucks on slick roads. You just can’t cure stupidity!
We eventually made it to the entrance to the Cades Cove Scenic Loop, and we immediately were impressed. Awesome scenery was literally everywhere we looked. It almost reminded us of being on the west coast, somewhere around Colorado…Wow.
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| Heading towards Cades Cove |
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| Slick roads |
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| Beautiful scenery… |
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| Cades Cove Scenic Loop |
We made frequent stops along the route, whenever we saw either awesome views or wildlife, like deers. Set against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains, the location was just about perfect. It’s what I would think of when someone says “idyllic”.
The contrast in colors was phenomenal even on a chilly January morning. There was the bluest sky, brown and green fields of grass, and the scenic white snow capped mountains. It was the kind of scenery that can make a man philosophical. It was that beautiful…
When we finished our loop, we felt like we had experienced something that was truly special and transcendental. This was one of the reasons why we love to travel: to experience nature at its finest.
We made a quick pit stop at the visitor center before heading to our hotel. When we went out to the parking lot, we saw a large deer grazing on the sparse vegetation. It was beautiful to see it so close. What a scenic place…
- Cataract Falls
Because of that, we decided to hike Cataract Falls as recommended by the park ranger at the visitor center.
The hike to Cataract Falls is .7 mile round trip. We decided to hike something to get some exercise for the day, and that was at least something.
We followed the easy to follow directions to the falls right behind the visitor center and followed several other disappointed visitors who were doing what we were doing. The hike, although short, was actually very scenic thanks to the white snow that had fallen just several hours before.
We breathed in the fresh air, glad to be walking among mature trees. We felt good and alive, taking in life giving oxygen deep into our lungs.
We followed the path of a creek (Fighting Creek) upstream, listening to the soothing sounds of the creek and the sounds of our feet crushing freshly fallen snow below our feet. We absolutely love walking on fresh snow. Add the sounds of a creek or river just adds to the experience.
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| Walking next to the creek |
We made it to the Cataract Falls after about 15 minutes. It was wasn’t the biggest waterfall we had seen, but for this hike, the journey was the prize. The waterfall was frozen, but it looked pretty cool that way.
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| Cataract Falls |
Because the hike was so short, we decided to push on further along the trail. We figured the views would open up the higher we climbed. We were right!
The views got better and better with each step we made. We were no longer cold the higher we climbed. We stopped frequently to catch our breath as well as to enjoy the views of distant mountains.
We decided to head back after hiking for about 30 minutes. We weren’t concerned with the distance or the time of the hike. We just enjoyed the journey, of just being one with nature, sniffing the fresh mountain air, and enjoying the sights. We were glad we got to hike on a beautiful sunny day out in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park once again!
In conclusion:
Our return trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was a good one. Despite the inclement weather conditions for the duration of our trip, we still managed to squeeze in two different attractions.
Our hotel was a good one, super roomy and comfortable, with nice selection of breakfast items. It definitely made our stay more pleasant.
There’s something very inviting and welcoming about the Great Smoky Mountains. There’s just so many things to do and see. Throw in endless possibilities for dining/entertainment with the national park as a backdrop, is what makes it so good.
We would love to revisit the area in our future travel plans. It is still one of the most affordable places to explore as well as being relatively close to most east coast cities, making it one of the best travel destinations in the country.
It’s no wonder the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. We think you’ll like the place.
Thank you for reading and happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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