Hi, Tom,
I live right at the foot of the mountains so that's my backyard.
Clingman's Dome, Roaring Fork, and Cades Cove are the Big Three top places to see, of course. When you are on the roaring fork motor trail, the first cabin you come to is the Noah Ogle cabin. My great aunt Becky Ann was born and raised in that cabin. Cades Cove is my favorite place by far with a wide variety of scenery and wildlife. I usually spend at least one morning a week there, including yesterday and today.
Caught this high-flyer yesterday there:
This is a good info site about Cades Cove:
http://www.cadescove.net/auto_tour.htmlAnd some galleries of my Cades Cove scenic and wildlife photos here so you can get an idea of what you might see there:
http://www.pbase.com/richardr/nikon_d70That time of year is one of the busiest so expect lots of traffic. Which town will you be staying in? It makes a difference as the access routes to the good places may be different. There are no real shortcuts but I do know some alternate routes to get to some of the good places. No matter where you go, early morning is always best, not only for the light but you beat the late-sleepers and get there before traffic gets too heavy.
Some other places I like are Greenbrier, East of Gatlinburg, and Cherokee, NC., across US 441 from Gatlinburg.
For a very special dining experience, I highly recommend the Greenbrier Restaurant. It's not at Greenbrier, but just on the Eastern edge of Gatlinburg. The food and service are exceptional and the rustic old inn quite interesting and historic. It's not a large place so be sure to make reservations.
http://www.greenbrierrestaurant.com/Greenbrier has a boulder-strewn river leading to the trailhead to Ramsey Cascades, one of the park's most beautiful falls.
http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/greenbrier.htmlCherokee itself is kinda touristy but there is the Museum of the Cherokee, first rate; Oconaluftee Living Indian Village, where Cherokee artisans practice their crafts; and "Unto These Hills", an outdoor drama depicting the history of the Cherokee. It's an outstanding performance and I highly recommend seeing it.
See:
http://www.cherokee-nc.com/oconaluftee_main.phpCherokee is well worth a day exploring the waterfalls, pioneer village, indian village, and topping off the evening at Unto These Hills. There is a gambling casino there (machines) but I've never been and don't plan to...too many good things in the mountains that are free! I'm 1/8th Cherokee but don't get any of the tribal funds so have no interest other than to see that you enjoy the place!
There are a lot of waterfalls in the Smokies, including Cherokee. They are listed here:
http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/publ...waterfalls.htmlMore good info sites about the Smokies:
http://www.friendsofthesmokies.org/parkinfo.htmlhttp://www.shannontech.com/ParkVision/GreatSmoky/GreatSmoky.html http://www.smokiesinformation.org/index_f.htmI'll be glad to answer any questions and try to help make your trip a great one. You can email me if you'd like or post it here.
Regards,
Dick:)
