The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a major tourist attraction in the region. The Park gets twice as many visitors than any other Park in America today!
The 2 main visitor centers inside the Park are Sugarland Visitors Center near Gatlinburg, Tn and Oconaluftee Visitors Center near Cherokee, NC.

The Park is bisected by US Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) providing access to many trailheads and overlooks, most noteably Newfound Gap. It is located between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, at an elevation of 5,048 feet and it was here where President Roosevelt dedicated the national park!

On the Tennessee side of the park there is a highway 73 that runs from Gatlinburg’s side of the park to the Cades Cove and Townsend, Tn side. On this roadway there are numerous pullouts where you can stop and access the many trailheads for hiking and the rivers for fishing or swimming.

The Park has quite a number of Historical Attractions with the most well known of these being “Cades Cove” the most frequently visited destination within the national park. Self-guided auto and bicycle tours offer sightseers a glimpse into the way of life of original cove settlers around the 11 mile loop road that encircles the mountain valley!

“The Smoky Mountains, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park” by USchick – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Smoky_Mountains,_in_Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park.jpg