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Great Smoky Mountains

By: Shari Hearn  

Okay, everyone who’s visited the Great Smoky Mountains in the past
year raise your hand. That’s right, all 9,000,000 of you! And, if you’re
not one of the 9,000,000 who visited within the past year, you owe it
to yourself to visit this year.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, part of the Appalachian
Mountains, is located along the border between Tennessee and North
Carolina, and covers 521,621.15 acres of land (both Federal and
non-Federal lands).

Open all year round, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers an
incredible range of activities for visitors. Besides touring the area by
car, you can take your pick of fishing, camping, hiking (over 800 miles of
trails), horseback riding and nature viewing.

Five forest types dominate the Great Smoky Mountains, consisting of more
than 130 species of trees, including red spruce, Frasier fir, yellow
birch and mountain-ash. 4,000 other plant species live in the park. You’ll find
wildflowers, mountain laurel, flame azalea and rhododendron, so be sure you take your
camera everywhere.

If you’re lucky you may spot some of the parks numerous wildlife to
photograph: bears, red and gray foxes, bison, elk, bobcats, woodchucks, rabbits,
squirrels, and beavers.

Aside from camping, the only other lodging within the park boundaries is Le
Conte Lodge, which is accessible by trail only. The lodge is located
atop 6,593 foot Mount le Conte, the third highest peak in the park.
Reservations must be made within a year in advance. Le Conte Lodge is opened from
mid-March to mid-November. For reservations, write to:

Le Conte Lodge
250 Apple Valley Road
Sevierville, TN 37862

If you can’t make reservations at Le Conte Lodge, don’t despair, other lodging
is provided in nearby Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Whether you just drive through
the park, or plan an extended stay in or near the park, you’re sure to make
memories to last a lifetime.


Shari Hearn suggests you visit the
Travel Planning website, www.thetravelerscompanion.com, where you can find all you need to travel well.


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