In an article published by CNN.com on July 17, 2009 the Smoky Mountains were tapped by Greg Melville as one of the best National Parks to visit on a budget while avoiding lots of tourists.
"Melville presents the Smokies as a packaged itinerary with Shendandoah National Park and a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trip starts outside of Washington DC and leads down to Asheville, NC on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is merely suggested by Melville to take a drive across the Smokies on Newfound Gap Road to Clingman’s Dome and its 360-degree view of the mountains. And if you have time, he suggests, spend some of it in Gatlinburg, TN before the return trip." per Ashley Raybourn
Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains - From CNN article:
Winding between these two parks in Virginia and Tennessee is the Blue Ridge Parkway, a bucolic 496-mile route with over 200 misty, megapixel-worthy overlooks -- forcing some difficult decisions.
DAY 1 A 90-minute drive from D.C. on Interstate 66 through Virginia horse country, the 105-mile-long Skyline Drive meanders along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with the broad Shenandoah Valley unfolding to the west. Paralleling the road for much of the way -- and crossing it many times -- is the Appalachian Trail; from the side of the road, utterly fearless Virginia white-tailed deer sniff at passing cars.
Near Waynesboro, Skyline Drive turns into the Blue Ridge Parkway, where it stretches for hours and passes overlooks with memorable names (Raven's Roost, Peaks of Otter), before reaching a turnoff for surprisingly cosmopolitan Roanoke. The recently renovated 1882 Hotel Roanoke has history behind it: The hotel's bar was once a World War II officers' club, and the ballroom hosted a cattle auction in the '60s. Today, in-room spa services are more typical (rooms from $119).
DAY 2 As you drive farther into the heart of Appalachia, the traffic thins and the valleys plunge deeper. The Blue Ridge Music Center, with its Saturday evening outdoor concerts and weekday-afternoon banjo-picking sessions, is a welcome sign of civilization near the North Carolina line. From here, a curving 100-mile drive leads to 87-acre Chetola Resort, North Carolina's only Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing lodge. Yoga, horseshoes, and canoes await those with little interest in hooking a trout (rooms from $145).
DAY 3 It's easy to see how the Blue Ridge earned its name -- layers of peaks really do tint blue in the distance. In downtown Asheville, North Carolina, 87 miles west of the resort, Southern classics (cornmeal-crusted catfish) are made with ingredients from local farms at the Early Girl Eatery (lunch from $6.50). After lunch, it's on to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where the Bearskin Lodge's lazy river mimics the nearby Little Pigeon River (rooms from $80). To experience the full sweep of the Great Smoky Mountains, take Newfound Gap Road up 6,643-foot Clingmans Dome, the park's tallest peak, where you can see more than 100 miles out on clear days.
DAY 4 En route back to D.C., take in the crystalline formations of Skyline Caverns in Front Royal, Va. And get a sweeping final view of the Shenandoah Valley on a Blue Ridge Hot Air Balloons tour (rides, $200).
Stick around
It's almost a sin not to spend a couple of extra days in Gatlinburg, on the edge of the national park, and explore the Great Smoky Mountains.
The options are limitless, from hiking and biking to rock climbing -- but the white-water rafting trumps them all, with no fewer than five world-class rivers in the area. Get a taste through a half-day trip on the 24 Class III and IV rapids of the Big Pigeon River (raft trips from $39).
Source: CNN
Source: Examiner.com
The great Smoky Mountains national Park the most traveled part in the United States often exceeding 10 million visitors per year. The Park is hundreds of square miles and you will need a week or more to explore all of its finer points. Many people come back year after year and discover new things each time. We recommend staying in one of the many Gatlinburg cabin rentals that are available that will allow you to stay very near to the national Park. There are thousands of Gatlinburg cabins to choose from, but if you're vacation is during the summer months for peak holiday season try to reserve your cabin several months in advance.
Posted by: Bryan Gatlinburg | 08/06/2009 at 11:42 PM