| The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located | | | | Townsend on the Tennessee side and by Maggie |
| in southeastern Tennessee and borders North | | | | Valley and Cherokee on the North Carolina side. Each |
| Carolina on its western side. The parked was so | | | | town offers a diverse mixture of activities, shopping, |
| named because of the perpetual haze that lingers | | | | dining, lodging and of course, great southern |
| over the valleys and peaks that make up this part of | | | | hospitality. |
| the Appalachian Mountains. | | | | Smoky Mountain National Park is also home to Cades |
| Smoky Mountain National Park covers more than half | | | | Cove, one of the most serene and picturesque |
| a million acres and is home to a large diversity of | | | | locations in the eastern United States. Cades Cove is |
| wildlife and more than four thousand species of | | | | a must see if you are anywhere near the Smoky |
| plants. Black bears can be seen on many of the trails | | | | Mountains on your vacation. The highlight of Cades |
| in the park and quite frequently in Cades Cove and | | | | Cove is the 11 mile loop that encircles the valley. To |
| some campgrounds. Despite their rather cute | | | | catch a glimpse of some of the Smokies wildlife, plan |
| appearance, they are not to be messed with. | | | | your trip around the loop road early in the morning or |
| Once a part of the Cherokee Indian homeland, the | | | | at dusk. |
| Smokies today are a hiker's paradise with over 800 | | | | You will be able step back in history and enjoy the |
| miles of trails within the borders of the park. There | | | | pioneer spirit for a few hours or a full day when you |
| are all classes of hiking trails for those that are just | | | | visit Cades Cove. Don't miss it. |
| out for a nature walk to those that are serious | | | | There are an endless amount of activities to enjoy |
| hikers and climbers. You can even get backcountry | | | | while visiting the Smoky Mountain National Park such |
| permits to hike some of the more obscure trails not | | | | as hiking as I mentioned earlier, biking, camping, |
| open to the general public. | | | | wildlife watching, tubing and white water rafting and |
| The park is the most visited National Park in the | | | | much more. |
| entire United States with more than nine million | | | | Come to the Smokies and experience the reason |
| visitors each year. You will want to plan out your | | | | more than 9 million people vacation in this serene |
| adventure through the park as traffic can get quite | | | | mountain paradise each and every year. |
| congested in some of the more popular areas of the | | | | Alan LeStourgeon operates a vacation rental web |
| park, especially during the more popular summer | | | | site where you can find comfortable cabin rentals, |
| months. | | | | recreational and hiking vacation information and |
| The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is serviced | | | | information on Lake Tahoe. |
| by the towns of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and | | | | |