Pigeon Forge Cabin Rentals, TN

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Great Smoky Mountain Driving Tour

Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road ) cuts right through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)--the only road to do so--and extends 32 miles from Cherokee, NC to Gatlinburg, TN. The drive encompasses many points of interest along the winding way and can take several hours from beginning to end if you stop and enjoy some of the features along the way. There are no lodging accommodations in the Park except Mt. LeConte Lodge. You will have to arrange for a Smoky Mountain cabin rental in one of the towns that abut the Park—for example, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg TN. Pigeon Forge cabins offer luxury amenities, yet are very convenient to attractions and dining.
The scenic drive is a condensed version of everything the GSMNP has to offer the Smokies traveler--restored settler structures, an old mill, streams, wildlife. The cabins in the Park are not for rent, but nearby Pigeon Forge cabins are available. June through August, plus the colorful month of October, are the busiest months of the year, and you could spend an inordinate amount of time looking at auto tags in front of you—but don't let that possibility discourage you. To avoid the worst traffic in these summer and fall months, you might want to travel just prior or just after the main season. During March to May, wildflowers are in bloom and in November, there are still good pockets of color and mountain vistas are starting to open up. Winter is even a great time to be in the Smokies because with leaves off the trees, the mountain vistas are superb.
Roadside pull-offs provide great views of various mountain peaks in the Smoky Mountains, provide access to nature walkways, views of wildflowers, and occasionally even wildlife. Along this road, you’ll find campgrounds for camping, picnic areas and several trailheads to some of the more popular hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains. For example, the Alum Cave Bluff, Laurel Falls and Chimney Tops trails all originate from Newfound Gap Road, near your Smoky Mountain rental cabin.
The following narrative assumes you start your drive from Gatlinburg TN going towards Cherokee NC. From Gatlinburg or your rental cabin, go approximately 1 mile to the Sugarlands Visitor Center where you can purchase maps, obtain advice and explore the bookstore and exhibits.
Begin by following the signs to Cherokee from Sugarlands Visitor Center. Newfound Gap Road takes its name from a discovery in the 1850s that it was (rather than Indian Gap) the lowest elevation point through the Great Smoky Mountains. Newfound Gap Road runs parallel to the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River with its cool, inviting, sparkling-clear water which should be enjoyed from one of several pullouts next to the Gap road.
We suggest you stop to explore the inviting "quiet walkways" marked by wooden signs by the road. These quiet walkways offer great opportunities to view old-growth forests, wildflowers and perhaps the occasional wildlife. In Fall, a stroll down these paths and you are surrounded by sugar maples and other deciduous trees, resplendent with nature’s brilliant fall colors after the year’s rainfall has been sufficient and temperatures have cooled. Smoky Mountain cabin rentals
At the two-mile point you will arrive at Campbell Overlook, which offers one of the best mountain vistas in the Park. From here you can view Mt. LeConte, which rises almost 6,600 feet and is the third tallest peak in the Park. This overlook is named for Carlos Campbell, the man who wrote Birth of A National Park and one of the individuals responsible for the Park’s establishment.
From Campbell’s Overlook, continue along Newfound Gap Road/US 441, you come to the Chimney Tops picnic area and trailhead at the 4.5 mile point. The Chimney Tops picnic area is home to one of the few remaining stands of mature cove hardwoods in the United States. The Little Pigeon River winds through the picnic grounds-creating a peaceful noise as you eat. The Little Pigeon River is named for the huge flocks of passenger pigeons which once populated the area. Pigeon Forge TN
As you approach the 7-mile point you can view the transition from northern hardwood and cove hardwood trees. In addition, you will see two tunnels here. They demonstrate the magnificent stone work found throughout the Park. This work is attributed to the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide jobs. The second tunnel is a switchback called "the loop", which curves up, around and then back over itself. This feature was not part of the original road and was needed to overcome the extreme slope of the mountain to meet Park Service standards.

Smoky Mountain Cabin Rentals • Pigeon Forge TN