Traffic in Cades Cove | Lee Coursey | flickr
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.
While there is little doubt that the Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway should be on everybody’s list of places to see, the idea that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is suggested as a less crowded vacation option is questionable.
Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited National Park in the country with almost 10 million visitors every year. Gatlinburg is a major gateway into the park and attracts even more tourists, many of whom never leave the city limits, clogging streets and filling up hotels. Combined with tourist trap Pigeon Forge up the road this would be an undesirable location for travelers looking for peace and quiet or a less crowded destination.
The Cades Cove area alone garners enough traffic that, were it a separate National Park, it would rank among the most visited National Parks in the country with over 2 million visitors per year. Traffic congestion is a known problem in Cades Cove and the Park is exploring ways to address the issue.
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