Great Smoky Mountains National Park: America's Most Beloved Park

The National Park Service ranks Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the most visited park in the United States with more than ten million annual visits. It spans two states, North Carolina and Tennessee, which cover over half-a-million acres. Visitors flock to the Park each year due to its exciting activities, picturesque views, accessible location and family-friendly entertainment.

Outdoor Activities

There is plenty of entertainment in the park that drives visitors back to the park each year. Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers bicycle rentals and safe bike trails for most seasons. Fishing is available year round, and the park features an abundance of fish local to the area. Guided horseback riding, trails for personal horse use, hayrides, carriage rides and wagon rides are available in both Tennessee and North Carolina areas of the park.

Opportunities to Learn

The park contains to institutes and a staff-led program to educate visitors on wide variety of topics, such as the ecology of the park, Appalachian music, animal life and indigenous populations. Programs for children and adults offer opportunities for learning at all ages. The institutes on the park serve as a base for research and training for biologists, ecologists, anthropologists and more.

Trails

Trail lovers enjoy over 850 miles of trail options throughout the park. The trails range from beginner, intermediate and advanced. Families bring children along for short nature walks, while adventurers backpack deep through the Appalachian Mountains on trails for serious hikers only.

Along the way, visitors see the abundant waterfalls that fill the park’s rivers and streams and bring hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Pigeon Creek Trail features Mingo Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the region at 120 feet. Other popular waterfalls range from 20 to 100 feet, though smaller waterfalls occur throughout the park.

Wild Animals

Love for the park is also a result of the many species that call the park home. There are more than 17,000 documented animals and insects with double to quadruple that number waiting to be discovered. In particular, the ever-declining population of the black bear is largely within the confines of the park. Rangers take precautions and great care to protect the bears from further decline and promote education on black bears. Though typically found in the back country, black bears can make a rare appearance in more developed areas as well. Elk, deer, turkey and other animals are common throughout the park. Noted viewing areas provide visitors with safe ways to observe wildlife in its natural habitat.

Location

The location of the Smokies makes the park more accessible and allows park visitors to feel a part of the national spirit. Encompassing two states, the park has multiple entry points. Mountain communities in North Carolina and Tennessee provide charming stops upon arrival and when leaving the park to find souvenirs and homemade gifts. One town in Tennessee is home to Lookout Mountain, which has a view of seven states. These cultural experiences just outside the park make the national designation that much more cherished by visitors.

Historic Designations

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is so beloved that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which designates it as a natural landmark of international importance. It is also an International Biosphere Reserve, designated in 1976, for its vast natural splendor and importance to the environmental climate of the Appalachian Mountains.

History runs deep in the park, and there is evidence of tribes from over 9,000 years ago. Artifacts from prehistoric times are available for viewing in the visitor’s centers, and rangers maintain almost 80 different historical sites throughout the park. During the popular logging and then conservation eras in the 1800s, residents built homes, schools and community buildings that still stand today. Visitors can even experience the park’s history without leaving their vehicle with an auto tour. These historical connections people experience in the park help make it so popular.

Ecological Diversity

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a generally temperate climate with large amounts of rainfall (up to eight feet per year). The most popular areas of the park are in the lower areas of the mountains and the foothills. However, the park also has snow at almost any point in the year. The highest elevation in the park is almost 7,000 feet. On the highest mountains in the park, snowfall is prominent due to the high altitude. Visitors can even find glaciers in the higher altitudes. Warm-weather plant and animal species dominate the lower altitude areas of the park, while plant and animal life typically found in colder climates dominate the higher altitudes.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park exemplifies traditional community and environmental preservation in the American Southern region. The large number of visitors to the park each year is a direct result of all the park has to offer, including charm and a piece of American history. There are plenty of ways to create an adventure, and outdoor experts and newcomers alike are able to enjoy the frontiers and beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.