Fall 2016 Road Trip – Smoky Mountains NP, Cades Cove

Fall 2016 - It's early November 2016 and we decided to take a road trip. We knew our farthest point, Panama City, FL where we would watch the Blue Angels homecoming show, the last show of the year. On the way, we were hoping to see some late fall colors so we would meander toward the Smokey Mountain National Park to see what we could see.

As normal, our exact route is up in that air. We prefer the stay off the interstates and discovering small town America. On this trip, we have a few days to get the Panama City so we decided to jump on I-75 and hightail it to Knoxville then travel state and county roads over to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

While still north of Knoxville and on I-75, we passed a number of forest fires that are dotting the area. The summer and fall of 2016 had been unusually dry. The drought provided a perfect situation for fires. Since we were driving on I-75, we couldn't get photos but some of the fires were amazingly close to the highway. Only a week or so after we were in this area, major fires destroyed many 10,000 acres of forest. There was loss of life and many towns were impacted including Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

From Knoxville, we drove east to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Even though we missed the peak fall color season, there was lingering leaves that provided us nice views.

Cades Cove
About a hundred years ago, a valley was settled in the western Smoky Mountain range. The area became home to around 100 settlers and named Cades Cove and is the most visited area within the national park. The is an eleven mile drive that passes near a number of the original farmsteads and churches.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Road to Cades Cove – still some nice color

John Oliver cabin - 1st cabin built in Cades Cove (1823)

John Oliver cabin

Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church

Interior of Baptist Church

Barn

The settlers were great builders with hand hewn logs.

They made the wooden hinges.

Grist mill

The eleven mile road road circles the valley below and features many of the early homes and churches. We have not been here in the summer but it looks like there are crops grown like they were 100 years ago. While driving, it's possible to see wildlife such as deer, wild turkeys and more.

Fields with great views of the mountains.

Cases Cove takes us back in time. The homes, barns and buildings are open so visitors can go inside and browse around. There are also a few pieces of machinery to view.  We spent a few hours at Cades Cove on this chilly day but on a nice day, visitors could wander an entire day through the area.

Near the entrance of Cades Cove, there is a general store and an RV campground. We have this area on our list to check out another time.