GSMNP

Why Great Smoky Mountains National Park Attendance Dropped in 2024, According to a Local

A local’s take on why GSMNP attendance dropped in 2024 We live in a time of magnificent hyperbole. Blaring headlines on social media and the internet make the yellow journalism of the early 1900s seem quaint by comparison. Click here to watch your favorite politician DESTROY his political enemies. Watch here as this comedian ANNIHALATES, the politician you hate. Click

Are the Horses in Cades Cove Wild?

What You Need to Know about the Horses when visiting Cades Cove It looked like something out of a movie.  Moving through an early morning mist, with the deep green of the mountains in the background, a herd of horses ran through a valley in Cades Cove.  I’ve been going to the Cove for 30 years now. I’ve seen all

Things To Do in Tennessee: Best Attractions Throughout the State

A long time Tennessee resident shares the Best Attractions in the Tennessee Tennessee is a deceptively large state. People have a basic understanding of scale when talking about Texas or California or even Florida. I think most people understand that it’s a long way from Jacksonville to Miami. But Tennessee? It’s thin, but it’s wide. Sure, it’s a short drive

Ogle log cabin

Gatlinburg History: When Did Gatlinburg Become a Tourist Attraction?

The History of the now Famous Mountain town Gatlinburg, by a local The area that would become the village of Gatlinburg existed long before a South Carolina farmer made his way to the mountains looking for a new home for his family.  The history of Gatlinburg begins with the spine that existed long before the American Revolution, long before colonists

5 Best Things To Do and See in the Smokies Without Leaving Your Car

A local talks about his favorite things to do and see driving in the Smokies In the days before my mom and stepdad married, they were in a courting phase. The kids today would call it dating. At a certain point, when the relationship started getting serious, my brother and I were introduced to Joe, the man who would become

5 Things Not to Do When Hiking in the Smoky Mountains, According to a Local

A Local Offers Tips on What Not To Do When Hiking in the Smokies There’s something primal about the great, wide places of the world. You feel it standing on a lonely shore, looking out over a great grey ocean. You feel it on the precipice of a canyon or valley, looking across a wide expanse. And you feel it

old structures in the great smoky mountains national park

This Smoky Mountain Trail Leads to Lost Ruins, Abandoned Structures

Following the trail to abandoned cabins and forgotten history in the Smokies There is an alternate history of how things might have been different if the National Park had not been created. In the decades before the park, there were a variety of groups that changed the future of the park. Logging companies – to the chagrin of naturalists campaigning

laurel falls in the great smoky mountains

Major Changes Coming to Laurel Falls Starting in 2025

One of the most popular trails in the Smokies will be closed for 18 months The National Park Service (NPS) will begin a major rehabilitation on Laurel Falls Trail, which is one of the most popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail will close for 18 months starting Jan. 6, 2025 as crews make improvements to the

girl points to winter lights in pigeon forge, tennessee

3 Brilliant Ways To Avoid Crowds in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg

Local offers advice on avoiding crowds during your next Smoky Mountain vacation There was a time when I didn’t mind the crowds in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. When you’re young and life sprawls out before you, spending a couple of hours in traffic breathing gas fumes from the out-of-state SUV in front of you isn’t the torture it is later

snow covered road in the mountains

Big Changes Coming to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Entrance

Crews will be renovating the 2.3-mile-long entrance from SR 32 to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Big changes are coming for one of the lesser visited entrances to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The Cosby entrance, located off State Road 32, carries visitors up to the Cosby Campground to explore the scenic – and under-visited – Cosby Creek. The