Here’s how to enjoy Cades Cove sans the annoying crowds, according to a local
Cades Cove is among the most popular tourist spots in the country, if not the world. With its wide sweeping vistas of the mountains across the valley, wildlife viewing, historic settlements and trails, the Cove offers all that is great about the mountains in one, condensed spot.
But when I say the Cove is popular, I mean it. During heavy traffic days, the congestion on Cades Cove Loop Road becomes as frustrating as anything you might find in Nashville or Atlanta. I love the Cove. I love it. But I’ve spent so much time stuck in traffic on the loop that if I get there and see cars backed up at the entrance, I’ll turn around and leave without getting one tire on the loop. Truthfully, it’s just not worth it. So here are my best tips to having the best Cades Cove experience:
1. Go early
As much as I love the mountains and Cove views, I’ve seen them. Of course, I always enjoy seeing them again. But for our family, the wildlife viewing is the main attraction, specifically bears. When I was a kid, seeing bears active in the Cove was a fairly rare occurrence. Now, it seems like we see them more often than not. When it comes to wildlife viewing in the park, two times are the best. One is in the early morning when the sun has come up and the day is just starting to warm. The animals will get active seeking their food for the day. The other is as the sun starts to set. The animals once again go on the move as the day is winding down.
Now, considering how many people visit the Cove on vacation, it stands to reason that many of the people visiting the Cove don’t want to spend vacation days getting up before dawn. There will be some. But it is a scientific fact that there will be heavier traffic late in the afternoon versus early in the morning.
2. Visit during car free Wednesdays
On Wednesdays from May to September, the Loop Road is closed to cars. As you can imagine, this cuts the traffic down significantly. Keep in mind that if you’re not an experienced biker or hiker, the Loop road will be strenuous. The Loop is 11 miles long and is hilly. Now, you won’t have to peddle up any mountains, but there are some pretty significant inclines. Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are permitted but motorcycles are out. Class 1 e-bikes have a motor that only assists the rider while pedaling. They reach a max speed of 20 mph. Class 2 e-bikes assist the rider via pedal or throttle but stop assisting at 20 mph.
3. Get a spot at the campground and scout traffic
This one also involves arriving early for the greatest chance of success. Just outside the entrance to the loop is the Cades Cove picnic area. Set between two creek prongs, it’s a relaxing and refreshing place where you can picnic, grill out and enjoy the mountains. The kids can play in the stream and there’s a trail at the top popular with horse riders and hikers where you can get away from the crowds a bit. It’s one of the premier picnic areas in the mountains and we will frequently go without even thinking about doing the Cove.
However, it’s unclear what the crowds will be like, we’ll go up before noon, get a picnic spot and kind of gauge the crowd. If it seems manageable, we’ll load up the picnic and head into the loop. If not, we either hang out in the picnic area longer or call it a day.
4. Don’t do the whole loop
It’s not always easy to tell just how thick traffic will be in the Cove from the entrance. Sometimes everything looks good and then you get behind a tour group from Rhode Island or somewhere that doesn’t have deer and the day quickly changes. My favorite parts of the Cove are almost all on the front half. So, if we get into the Cove and realize we’ve improperly assessed the traffic, we’re not above taking one of the three main routes to abort a full loop trip.
There are two shortcuts built into the Loop that cut across the valley. Sparks Lane is about a mile into the drive and cuts your total trip to 3.5 miles. You still get some of those great Cades Cove views, can get some good pictures and you can get out without dedicating five hours of your day to an 11-mile tour. The other shortcut option is Hyatt Lane. It’s about 3 miles into the drive and reduces your trip to 8 miles. You again cut across the valley. You’ll miss the mill and the Angel Falls trailhead, but you can shave some time if the traffic is heavy.
The final option – the nuclear option, I call it – is to take Rich Mountain Road, a 7-mile one-way gravel lane that takes you out of the Cove. There are some great views and trailheads along the way, but you cannot return to the Cove. It will eventually take you out of the park and out into Townsend. If you’re staying in Townsend, Wears Valley or Maryville it would represent a significant time savings and give you some unique views. Keep in mind while the Rich Mountain Road is perfectly safe, it can be intimidating at times to anyone not used to driving small gravel roads in the mountains. Also remember that Rich Mountain Road will be closed seasonally, usually from mid-November to some time in April.
There is another seasonally open road out of the Cove. Parsons Branch Road is also one-way and gravel that takes 8 miles to get to U.S. 129 – aka The Dragon – which you can take to Highway 411 Southwest of Maryville or Robbinsville, North Carolina. To be clear, unless you’re going very specifically to one of these locations, this is not in any way, shape or form a shortcut. But it will get you away from the crowds.
5. Find an alternate route
Another option to consider is ignoring the Cove altogether. The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail above Gatlinburg offers a scenic drive of another kind. There are still historic homesteads, great trailheads and wildlife viewing. However, the Roaring Fork Trail climbs up into the high mountains and gives views of the valley below whereas in the Cove you’re in a valley looking up at the higher mountains. There is always the possibility of crowds on the Roaring Fork, as well. But it is not quite as heavily visited as the Cove. Note that it also closes in the winter months.
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