Smoky mountains advice

#1
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SobeVol

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#1
I just married into a Cuban family who has NEVER seen "forests and mountains" as they went from island living to miami. I am trying to plan a vacation to the smokies to see the mountains in the full glory of the color change.
I need suggestions for a house or cabins to rent, where is the best location and timeframe for 2016 (I remember sept-oct but I've been gone a while)
Need 4-5 bedrooms
Any advice is appreciated.
 
#2
#2
October, imo. Cooler, colors, and football. Cabin in Gatlinburg high on a hill for viewing.
 
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#4
#4
Fun fact the highest point in the Smoky Mountains is Clingmans Dome which is less then 200 feet higher then parts of the Sierra Maestra mountain range in Cuba.
 
#7
#7
The end of September would be the right time frame for fall foliage in the Rockies. However, the latter third of October would be a better target to shoot for in the Smokies. I remember driving from Nashville to Knoxville for the 2006 Alabama game (10/21) and the color was then very good as we drove across the Cumberland Plateau. Of course, the timing of fall color is difficult to predict and you can count on the park being crowded if you are there duing its peak.

According to the park service website, "The park usually experiences an autumn leaf season of several weeks as fall colors travel down the mountain sides from high elevation to low. . . . At higher elevations, where the climate is similar to New England's, color displays start as early as mid-September with the turning of yellow birch, American beech, mountain maple, hobblebush, and pin cherry. From early to mid-October, fall colors develop above 4,000 feet. To enjoy them, drive the Clingmans Dome Road, the Blue Ridge Parkway, or the Foothills Parkway. The fall color display usually reaches peak at mid and lower elevations between mid-October and early November. This is the park's most spectacular display as it includes such colorful trees as sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red maple, and the hickories." Fall Colors - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

You will also find excellent information on this topic at Fall Foliage | Great Smoky Mountains Guide.
 
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#8
#8
It's a pretty cool and picturesque drive up to Newfound Gap. There is a parking area up there, and if your family is up to it, you can take a hike up to Ice Water Springs - it's only a couple miles, if memory serves. And if you still have any energy you can continue down the trail for a bit and you will come to the Sawtooth Range to take pictures.
 
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#9
#9
Thank you guys for the input.
I can't tell you how much you miss the mountains and woods until you leave it.
As said above it really is god's country
 
#11
#11
SobeVol said:
Thank you guys for the input.
I can't tell you how much you miss the mountains and woods until you leave it.
As said above it really is god's country
Click to expand...

Once you enter the park, you will feel a noticeable difference in the atmosphere. You feel it and smell it. It is quite nice. Stop at the first visitors center in the park and you can pick up some good reading material and get some really good advice from the rangers. I also agree with whomever suggested Cade's Cove - very cool place and you can drive it. Also, make sure if you drive way up to the Gap to take a real good look at the mountains. You will see what looks like little clouds coming up out of the forest. These are not 'clouds' - it is pure oxygen wafting up out of the trees as it's being produced, thus the name, The Smokies.
 
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#13
#13
SobeVol said:
Anyone with any cabin recommendations or reservations?
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How much time do you have at your disposal? Do you want a one-stop base of operations or would you prefer to drive a bit and expose them to more of the mountains of east Tennessee than just the Smokies? Would you prefer quiet, family time as opposed to a more tourist-infested scenario?

If you don't mind a little driving, you could incorporate a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway along with park highways. Roan Mountain State Park would provide a quieter, but just as visually impressive experience. Finally, if you choose to emphasize the Smokies, remember that even the park web site warns that the entire month of October is a peak season in terms of traffic. "Weekends in October are especially crowded, and traffic delays should be expected. . . . Areas in the park which experience the longest traffic delays are Cades Cove and Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441). Try some of these suggested autumn drives and hikes (Autumn Drives and Hikes - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)) to enjoy fall leaf colors in areas of the park that are a little less crowded."
 
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#14
#14
Check on reservations at LeConte. If you can't stay there, consider a day hike. Rocky Top is another amazing hike. On the easier side, Clingman's Dome offers great views.
 
#19
#19
A cabin in wears valley 2nd or 3rd week in October would be ideal. Nice and quiet with relatively quick travel to either Gatlinburg/Pigeonforge and cades cove. Just google Wears valley cabins.
 
#22
#22
SobeVol said:
Anyone with any cabin recommendations or reservations?
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I've had good luck with Chalet Village Properties. Nice folks and the cabins are in Gatlinburg rather than Pigeon Forge or Wears Valley. They have all sizes.

Fall will be a busy season but it's a good time to go.
 
#23
#23
We've stayed up there several times using Sunset Cottage rentals. I'm not sure if they are still around, but they always had really nice cabins in the wears valley and Gatlinburg areas for reasonable prices. If you are going in fall try and make a side trip to cataloochie valley. It's kinda like cades cove, but smaller and it is where they have the elk. A cool fall morning and hearing the bull elk bugle is something else.
 
#24
#24
As for things to do - I like to picnic at the Chimneys facility on the way up to Newfound Gap, I love the drive to Townsend from Gatlinburg with stops at Metcalf Bottoms for a picnic, Elkmont, the Sinks and the Y.

If you plan to do Cades Cove either try it during the week or get there before everyone else. The last 2 times I tried it was an absolute cluster on the weekend with bumper to bumper all the way around moving at about 2mph.
 
#25
#25
volinbham said:
As for things to do - I like to picnic at the Chimneys facility on the way up to Newfound Gap, I love the drive to Townsend from Gatlinburg with stops at Metcalf Bottoms for a picnic, Elkmont, the Sinks and the Y.

If you plan to do Cades Cove either try it during the week or get there before everyone else. The last 2 times I tried it was an absolute cluster on the weekend with bumper to bumper all the way around moving at about 2mph.
Click to expand...

Another thought on Cades Cove: bicycle traffic only on Saturday mornings until 10. It's a really nice ride.
 
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