If you want to experience the urban culture of the Southeastern United States, Nashville, Tennessee, is the place to go. It has a lively country music scene, creative Southern food, and cool areas.
There is, however, a short 313 km drive southeast that will take you right into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some of the most stunning natural scenery in the country can be found there, including wide green slopes and the misty mountain views that gave the park its name. Before you walk along the park’s peaceful trails and enjoy its wide views, you should spend a few days in Nashville to get a feel for the Southeast’s current events.
In Nashville, you can get a little country.
Nashville is the country music capital of the United States. Some of the city’s country music bars, called “honky-tonks,” and record labels helped country stars like George Jones and Patsy Cline get their start. Some of the biggest country artists today, like Blake Shelton and the Band Perry, got their start in the business in what is known as “Music City.”
Eat breakfast or brunch before giving tribute to Nashville’s musical greats. In true Southern way, biscuits are a big part of many people’s breakfasts in the city. Biscuit Love is one place to get your fix. They serve delicious breakfast food like the East Nasty, which is fried chicken, cheddar cheese, and sausage gravy on a biscuit.
Walk just over a kilometer to get to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville after a big meal. Historic RCA Studio B is less than 2 km from the museum. It’s where stars like Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers made thousands of hits.
For dinner, go to one of Nashville’s hiptest places. The city’s dining scene has been praised around the world because of the innovative new dining ideas and creative takes on Southern food created by local chefs. At Farm House, you can try this new idea while eating Southern food with a modern twist.
Downtown Nashville, the center of country music, is cut through by the Cumberland River.
Smoky Mountain
Getting to Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Nashville
From Nashville, to get to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, take Interstate Highway 40 east, then Interstate 140 east, and finally U.S. Route 321 north. This will take you to the park’s entrance in Townsend, Tennessee, which is less busy and more peaceful than the entrance farther east in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Along the Townsend route, you’ll see Nashville’s outer suburbs and then reach the park’s highly forested wilderness.
Learn About Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park gets up to 10 million people a year, making it the busiest national park in the US. The more than 211,000-hectare area is on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. It is characterized by steep mountain roads that are often shrouded in a gray-blue haze.
You can see a lot of the park’s main sights in one day, like Cades Cove Valley, but you should really take a few days to really see everything. Forest fans, pay attention: The park has been home to more than 17,000 different kinds of animals, plants, flowers, and trees. You could see black bears, deer, or elk.
A car makes it easy to get around the park. There are more than 600 kilometers of roads that connect to 1,368 kilometers of climbing trails. The easy 6.4-kilometer Porters Creek Trail is a good place to start hiking. You can get away from the people in the park and walk along a stream and through an old-growth forest. Along the way, you’ll find a waterfall and the remains of a barn from the 1800s. Also, keep an eye out for violets and bloodroot.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has many places to stop and enjoy the view. One of them is the Oconaluftee Valley Overlook on Newfound Gap Road.
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Check out the park’s most important sights.
Some of the most beautiful mountain views in the park can be found along the 53-kilometer Newfound Gap Road. There are many pullovers, such as the Oconaluftee Valley Overlook, where you can stop your car and look out at the green hills that seem to go on forever into the distance. Clingmans Dome, which is 2,025 meters high, is the park’s highest point and has other photo-worthy views. Drive almost to the top of the mountain, park your car, and then walk up a steep, 0.8-kilometer path to a lookout point.
Note: The park is most popular in the summer. It might be busy, so get going early to beat some of the crowds.
Where to Sleep and Eat
There are more than a dozen sites spread out in the park. A lot of them have fire rings, camp tables, and flush toilets, but not showers or power outlets. The park is also home to the rustic cabins at the LeConte Lodge. These cabins don’t have power or showers. A steep, almost 9-kilometer track is the fastest way to get to the lodge.
If you’re looking for a nicer place to stay, the town of Gatlinburg, which is only 2.5 kilometers from the park, has everything from hotels to bed-and-breakfasts.
Breakfast at the Pancake Pantry is a must. There are 24 kinds of pancakes to choose from, such as sweet potato and banana pineapple. One of the many steak houses in town, like the Peddler, is a great place to get nutrition for lunch or dinner.
If you want to get back to Nashville from Gatlinburg, take II-40 west.