A Local Shares Absolute Top-Tier Bucket List Items You Must Do in the Smokies at Least Once
When I think about my bucket list of things to do in the Smokies, the checklist naturally tumbles into a handful of categories. For instance, there are things to do in the mountains, like seeking out a distant waterfall. And there are things to do in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, etc.
Some things can be done throughout your life. You can seek out wildflowers and dangle your feet in the various branches of the mountains’ streams. But some things are available for only a very short window of time, like going cruising in Gatlinburg to flirt with the tourist girls. At 17, it’s fun and a little daring and an exploration of youthful freedom. But it doesn’t take long for the same activity to become first a little sad and then a lot creepy.
But for this list, I’m thinking of the mountains themselves. The eternal bucket list of things that, when the final morning comes, we will be able to console ourselves with the mighty achievements of a life well lived. And certainly, a memorable night in Gatlinburg might make the list. But even those will pale to a shower of shooting stars that feel so close you could reach out and catch them.
Top Five Bucket List Things To Do in the Smokies
1. Spend Time in a Mountain Meadow at Night
I’m being fairly specific here. It’s not enough to simply go camping in the mountains. While the Smokies have many excellent campgrounds, they are mostly affected by a canopy of treetops or by too many other campers too close.
Backcountry camping is a good option. But to truly experience the wonder of the mountain sky at night, you need a soft, grassy meadow, a wide, unobstructed view of the night sky, and, hopefully, no other people around.
I’ve written before about being with my friend Joseph in the Cove when his car broke down. It was already into the evening, it was a long wait for a tow truck. By the time they got to us, it was late and well after dark. The Cove was closed to essentially everyone but us, the park rangers and eventually the tow truck driver. With little else to do, we got comfortable and stared up at the stars. I’ve lived in some rural places, far away from the lights of the city, but I’ve never seen the sky like I did that night.
To look up into a clear, dark universe from atop the mountains is to see celestial wonders in a way that is reserved only for the remote places of the world. It’s like you’re suddenly living in pictures from National Geographic.
2. Go Under the Mountains
There are a lot of wonders to be seen above the Smokies. However, the majestic caves, lakes and formations under the Smokies are just as awe-inspiring. There are several commercial operations in the mountains and the surrounding area where you can safely experience the geologic wonders of a world known previously only to the native peoples of the mountains and later moonshiners looking for a place to ply their craft away from prying eyes. Both the Tuckaleechee and the Forbidden Caverns are an easy drive from Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. The Lost Sea in Sweetwater is a bit further afield, but the massive underground lake is impressive until you start pondering how vast and unknown it is, and get a little creeped out.
3. Hike a Portion of the Appalachian Trail
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of trails through the mountains. But the AT, which stretches from Georgia to Maine, is the grandaddy of them all. There’s a certain romance to dropping out of life and walking up and down mountains for months on end. But not many of us can do that – either because of responsibilities or because we lack the willpower, stamina and physical traits necessary. However, we can get a feel for it. We can carve out a piece, put our feet on the trail and trudge along. We may even fool ourselves that we might knock out a state or two.
The Appalachian Trail is a link to our adventurous forbears, a people who would walk into the wilderness in search of a new life, a new home. That time is gone. But we can still connect to a piece of it. There’s a quote from JRR Tolkien’s Bilbo Baggins that I think of whenever I step foot on the AT.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
For Bilbo, the road is alive with currents and possibilities. I feel that on the trail, specifically on the Appalachian Trail. It has a personality, even a bit of a Siren’s Call. It wants you to come hike on it and see how far you can go.
4. Travel Newfound Gap Road
Another road of possibilities, although different ones. The road connecting Gatlinburg to Cherokee, N.C. Carolina takes about an hour if you don’t stop anywhere along the way. But why wouldn’t you stop? Newfound Gap Road runs through the heart of the mountains, connecting everything historic and great and spectacular, all in one very compact drive.
From Gatlinburg, you quickly pass the Chimneys Picnic Area, one of the best spots to stop and rest, when it’s open, in the Smokies. You weave through the mountains and are blessed with more than a handful of places where you can pull off and soak in some of the most amazing views in the mountains. Stop at the Rockefeller Memorial and put your feet where FDR stood as he dedicated the park. You can also take the detour up to Kuwohi – formerly Clingman’s Dome – for more majestic views.
Several great trails intersect where you can get off the road and go exploring, including the Appalachian Trail and more. As you arrive in Cherokee, you’ll find the best places for elk viewing in the mountains. If you want to soak up the experiences that make the Smoky Mountains what they are, Newfound Gap Road is the path you need.
5. Have a Real Conversation With a Park Ranger About the Mountains
Park rangers have been in the news a lot recently for political reasons, but let’s set that aside. Have you ever sat down with a park ranger and chatted about the park? Not transactionally, like “what’s the best this?” Or “how do I do that?” In my experience, Park Rangers have a passion for their work and the park they serve that transcends even the most enthusiastic of real-world employees. They are fonts of knowledge of history, of conservation and so much more. But for me, it’s not so much what they know, it’s how enthusiastically passionate they are to share it.
Do you have a Smokies bucket list? Let us know in the comments! Are you planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains soon? Make sure to check out our coupons page before your trip!