About This Trip
Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the crest of the Smokies on the Tennessee–North Carolina line. Congress chartered it in 1934, Franklin Roosevelt dedicated it in 1940, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. This trip starts in Gatlinburg, climbs to Newfound Gap and up to Kuwohi, then crosses the park to Cades Cove, about 73 miles.
US 441, Newfound Gap Road, climbs from Gatlinburg to Newfound Gap, at 5,046 feet the lowest pass you can drive through the park. From there a 6.7-mile road runs up to Kuwohi, known until 2024 as Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the park, in Tennessee and on the whole Appalachian Trail at 6,643 feet. That road, Kuwohi Road, is open only from April 1 to November 29 and can close at other times for snow and ice; the rest of the year the summit is out of reach by car, and our planner does not yet apply that closure.
Cades Cove, a valley ringed by mountains south of Townsend, is the park's most popular spot, drawing more than two million visitors a year to its old homesteads, churches and wildlife. Its 11-mile one-way loop is open sunrise to sunset, but closed to cars every Wednesday, usually from May through September.
Stops
Gatlinburg, TN — Gateway
The Tennessee gateway town, in Sevier County, whose tourism draws include Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. Newfound Gap Road leaves town straight into the park.
Newfound Gap — State Line Overlook
At 5,046 feet, Newfound Gap is the lowest pass you can drive across the park, on the Tennessee–North Carolina line; it is much cooler than the valleys, and rain in Gatlinburg can be snow up here. The Appalachian Trail crosses the road at the gap.
Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome)
Kuwohi, renamed from Clingmans Dome in September 2024, is 6,643 feet high: the top of the national park, of Tennessee and of the Appalachian Trail. A steep paved path, a mile round trip, leads to a 45-foot concrete observation tower from 1959 whose spiral ramp ends on a circular deck with a view all the way around.
Abrams Falls Trailhead
The trail starts inside Cades Cove and follows Abrams Creek, the longest stream wholly inside the park, to Abrams Falls, one of the park's most powerful waterfalls, which falls into a big natural pool that fills with swimmers in busy seasons.
Cades Cove Loop Road
An 11-mile one-way loop around a valley whose settlement took off in the 1820s, past old homesites, cemeteries and churches. The road is open from sunrise to sunset and closed to vehicles on Wednesdays, typically May through September. The park suggests allowing two to four hours.
Where to Stay
Driving this in a day? You can still book a room near the start or finish of the route.
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Scenic byways on this drive
More places to stop and photos on each road's own page.