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"Premier" must be a relative rating
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Today’s destination is Smokey Mountain Nation Park and after sitting around for many days, we are really looking forward to a little hiking. We are staying where it was advertised as being “across the street from a gravel road that leads you into the park” at Smokey Mountain Premiere RV Park. Well, yes, technically they were correct. Their campground property is in fact touching this sprawling 816 square mile park. The reality was that we had nearly a 40 minute drive to get to the park entrance and Visitor’s Center and the more popular trails.
Just moments after we arrived at our campsite, it started pouring buckets while accompanied by bolts of lightning. How lucky we were not to have to park in the pouring rain! We had lunch and a quick nap then finished setting up after the rain stopped.
Our site was facing an ugly aluminum building, but the proximity to the laundry, which I now unfortunately need, was perfect. I washed 6 loads of clothes in my rig, and dried them in their dryers which were clean and new plus only cost $1.50 per load. Perfect!
We had a busy night. We packed the car with all things fun ( both hiking and kayak gear ) then finished the laundry while watching The Voice, my favorite show, on TV.
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America's most visited National Park.
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The Visitor's Center at Sugarland Visitor Center at Great Smokey Mountain National Park.
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The next day we left by 8AM to hit the Visitor’s Center and decide on a trail. Since we like to get to the highest point in any park, Clingmans Dome was our choice. At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in Tennessee and if one is willing or able to hike up a very steep 1000 feet to the observation deck they would be awarded with 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. On a perfectly clear day one could see 100 miles, but due to air pollution it is usually limited to 20 miles.
We were disappointed once again that due to the drought, the rivers were nearly dry. Even the local rafting companies had to close. So, hiking by default, would be the exercise of the day, and boy it was a beautiful one!
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Some of the best views were from the parking lot
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It took about 20 more minutes to drive up to the parking lot at Clingmans Dome, and we were a bit disappointed to find the climb from there was paved. It was much easier than stairs, but we like dirt under our feet.
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The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome, the tallest of the Smokey mountains, gave visitors a 360 degree view
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The visibility was pretty good from the observation deck of Clingmans Dome.
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The views up top were great, but a little hazy. I guess at this point in our trip we are getting hard to impress. The Smokey Mountains are much more rolling than our preferred rocky cliffs we are always awed by.
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We started our hike in Tennessee, but had lunch in North Carolina. We only hiked a few miles, but I found it pretty cool, for some reason.
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We then went back toward the parking lot and took a trail with hopes of a vista. With the name Andrews Bald, we assumed it would be a large bare rock with a view, (we saw a photo of that description ) but upon reaching what appeared to be the end of the trail, Norm and I were searching around for the rocky outcropping. We were informed by some local hikers that this was it – a grassy knoll, which for some reason is called a “bald”.( I have since learned that in the Southern Appalaician Mountains, high altitude grassy meadows are called "balds"). The day was lovely, and it was enjoyable having our lunch while talking to other picnicking hikers about their travel adventures, and more about the immediate area.
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We hiked from the parking lot up to the observation deck then the Andrews Bald trail.
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By the time we finished the hike people had arrived in droves.
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When we got back to the parking lot we were shocked to see the hordes of people and cars parked a mile down the road! We passed through downtown Gatlinburg which was very busy with tourists, so we headed back to the campground. A difficult hike always deserves an ice cream, so we stopped at one of the many little shops along the way and had the most delicious ice cream I have had in years. In fact, I am still dreaming of it.
