“We felt for the most part of the night at the Little River Trail that nature is having its own airport runway lights moment with the fireflies. On and Off they went along the trail and inside the bushes, carrying the synchronous blinks flashing in unison. Male fireflies are typically in flight while searching for females and males time their flashes to attract females which is interesting. It was magical and profound for us!"

                                     Elkmont Synchronous Fireflies, Photo by Ryan Atkins (Flickr)

Synchronous Fireflies are a phenomenon - a rare species in the world known to synchronize their flashing light patterns. They are found in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the Little River Trail. We were fortunate to be staying at Elkmont Campground as the Little River Trail starts from the entrance of the campground on the right.”.



So many of you might already know, that Synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus) are the only species in America where individual fireflies can synchronize their flashing light patterns. Every year to limit the number of people watching this phenomenon at its peak, the National Park Service runs a lottery for a day for a viewing period of 1-2 weeks. This year that window was from May 30th - June 6th.

“A drive along the blue ridge parkway can be best summed up as a bundle of soft mist floating, rolling lush hills, scenic vista points and tunnels after tunnels. Known for its ideal sunrises and sunsets, is the Waterrock Knob, the Parkway's highest visitor center. Just beyond the southernmost end of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the states of North Carolina and Tennessee is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “ We drove from the Smokies to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a transition so seamless, that one may think perhaps they all are the same."

                          We loved the fog and the smoke on our drive! It was like poetry.

The route that we took was: Sugarlands Visitor Center -> Smokemont Campground -> Clingsman Dome -> Oconaluftee Visitor Center -> Newfound Gap -> Waterrock Knob Visitor Center.

                                        View from Newfound Gap on a clear weather!

Even though the route from Sugarlands Visitor Center to Waterrock Knob visitor center is 1 hour 20 minutes straight on Google maps, it takes almost 3/4 of a day to cover this part to - fro Sugarlands. Since there are many vista points for us to enjoy and driving is generally slow on the mountain roads, the estimated time is always more than the time taken.

Where should you stay? | Smokemont Campground

        What would be Smokies without the Smoke? At Bradley Fork River, Smokemont Campground

The best way to enjoy both Smokies and Blue Ridge Parkway in one day would be to stay on the southernmost campground of the Smokies - i.e Smokemont Campground. We did not stay at this campground, although we did enjoy taking a quick detour in the campground. We also liked how the river adjacent to the campground - Bradley Fork River, had smoke emanating from it. We also found out that in comparison with Cades Cove and Elkmont Campground, this had more vacancies.

                                                      Smokies can be dramatic at times.

Clingmans Dome | A half a mile hike to the Observation Tower

                               From Bottom to Top - The Wind multiplies multiple folds

At the end of twisting roads and roads covered in smoke we found ourselves at the parking lot of Clingmans Dome, which could have a great overlook if it was a clear day.

At 6643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The trailhead is pretty steep paved road, with benches on the trails to rest. I loved watching the snails on the log heads along the trails - I found them in brown but another visitor found them in Green.


    Meanwhile, a snail rests on the resting log along the trail. I wonder if he has camouflaged himself?

There is restroom near the parking lot and a small visitor center for information at the start of trailhead. As soon as we start climbing up the Observation tower even though the elevation does not seem to be much from the bottom, the wind multiplies itself multiple fold. My hubby enjoyed his airy misty windy encounter at the tower and so did I. We had to literally hold our feet to stop ourselves from flying - yes it was that windy. On a clear day, we could have seen 360 degrees panoramic views of the smokies. But sadly, Clingsman Dome was also zoned out in thick white smoke during our travels.


Newfound Gap | Mountain pass of North Carolina, Tennessee

One way to get a good idea on where we are geographically located, is by standing at Newfound Gap (a mountain pass) that is located on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee (Everyone gets a selfie here). Twice I have been there, and every time it has smoked out making the mountains and the valley disappear into a thick white smoke. I am not complaining because rains and fog seem to be usual in this area. The two times I have been taken this road, it has always rained or drizzled, especially as we come closer to Newfound Gap possibly due to elevation.

Tip: When in this area, carry an umbrella & drive slow.





Waterrock Knob Visitor Center

Waterrock Knob Visitor Center has the parkway's highest Visitor Center. It is a very small visitor center that has small store on one side and a ranger who can help you with information and maps. There is also a restroom near to the Visitor Center. There is also a short and steep hiking trail to the lookout at 0.5 miles.

Tip: Please do carry drinking water with you!

As soon as we reached at the top, the surrounding mountains were covered in fog. I recently read a blog and google reviews on Waterrock Knob, that there is a plane crash site if you hike further from the lookout towards Browning Knob (2.5 miles roundtrip from Visitor Center). Since we did not know and the weather wasn't as nice, we couldn't go there. But if you wish to do it, here's a blog that tells us that in detail. I was surprised to hear that there are close to 54 plane crash sites in the Smokies.










Oconaluftee Visitor Center

The Mountain Farm Museum and Oconaluftee Visitor Center are located at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park if you are driving from Cherokee, North Carolina. For us, it was an exit. We did stop at the center and walked by the river. However, since we were getting late, we skipped the Farm Museum.

"If it wasn’t for the loud sound of the screeching car stopping in front of the Black bear, we could have seen the Bear with its cute cubs’ streets crossing the street. Humans I tell you! Luckily Black Bear are plenty in Cades Cove area."



Even though, the forest ranger segregated us into two groups on each side of the Black Bear and the Black Bear was slowly gaining confidence to cross the street, it took just one halt by an onlooker’s car to scare him away into the forests in-spite of rangers telling him not to stop the car.

                                       Bear and the two cubs wanting to cross the road, but could not!

This is the area surrounding Cades Cove (drive a little from Cades Cove towards Sugarland Visitor Center), where Black Bear sightings are common. In the course of our one-night stay + 1/2 day we saw two wild Black Bear sightings at different locations. We were enthralled because they were not in the Zoo’s and in their homes. Our stay at Cades Cove and the scenic loop drive was a pleasant experience too.

You would be surprised at how these human interventions & negligence disturbs wildlife. A black bear can be euthanized because of improper storage of food in the campgrounds (store inside the vehicle or bear cans only), stacking river rocks or cairns made by people does serious damages to river ecosystem as many fishes lay their eggs under these rocks etc.


Stopping at Walmart, Knoxville | Driving via Townsend 

We always stop at Walmart to shop for the food we may need to cook in the campground. We loved stocking up on Cream Cheese + Bread (for our breakfasts), Canned Beans + Microwave Rice (for our lunch & Dinner), Butter etc. We could have stocked meat but Smokies had rain prediction for the entire 3 days, so we did not. We couldn’t have grilled anything on an immediate basis in the camp that day, due to rain. We drove to Cades Cove via Townsend.

Along the way, we saw people tubing in the river at Townsend. I am not really sure how good and bad that is. The reviews are pretty good, and I was tempted to try them too, but we did not had time to stop at Townsend. I also read in the newsletter of Smoky Mountains, that water-based activities that have ended tragically include swimming and tubing because of the swollen mountain streams, intact drowning is one of the leading causes of death in Smokies.

Entering the Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains welcomes you to lush unperturbed forests and no light tunnels. It’s amazing to drive inside the park and admire the trees which has leaves on their bottom barks and roots and streams that flows alongside the road. Since the forests are dense and the road cuts through it, we were always in the shade of trees when driving.

                         Tunnels are plenty in the Smokies and Blue Ridge Parkway

Cades Cove Campground 

The Cades Cove campground is a decent campground. We have a grocery store in the campus where we get ice-creams. Since, Bikes are the best way to explore the Cades Cove Scenic Loop one can also rent a bike from there (Its expensive though!). There are toilets, but no showers. There is also water filling tap in the campground. There is a picnic area next to the river.

                               



                                            Cades Cove Campground Cafe has ice cream.
            One of the best ways to enjoy the ice cream is by having it in the picnic area by the river.

The Cades Cove Scenic Loop Photo-essay

The name 'Cades Cove' was given by European settlers and has come from Kate’s Cove in honor of Chief Abraham of the Chilhowee tribe’s wife, Kate. Do not forget to check out some pretty interesting facts from VisitMySmokies.

The Cades Cove scenic loop is a 11-mile one-way loop road that has the view of mist moving in the Smokies from far, wildlife, historic structures like Cable Mills, primitive churches and log homes. Staying overnight at the Cades Cove Campground ($25) was an added bonus. So, here’s how we began from Knoxville.

Let’s take you through this loop with a Photo-essay. It starts right next to Cades Cove Campground. As soon as you exit the campground, there is an entry to the loop. The loop takes about 2-4 hours to cover. There was traffic on the loop when we went, and the traffic was running pretty slow as there was Black Bear sightings.

It’s a one - way loop that takes time, so if you wish to cut it through in between as a short cut, there is Sparks Lane and Hyatt Lane that cuts through the scenic mile loop. We did drove through both of these routes and on ones of these route we passed through a narrow stream on which water was flowing on the road. We also saw some wildlife.


                                     Notice the bark of the trees that had leaves.



There are also two branching roads - Rich mountain road and Parson branch road. We never took those exit roads, however one of the visitors who is common to the area said on one of these roads, they have many streams on the road, and it’s beautiful to drive through them. We really didn’t know which one.


                                                             Playing with horses...

                                            Admiring the beautiful scenary

                                  It's a great biking loop. Bikes can be rented at the campground.






                  I was rather curious on why people have dropped coins in them.


                                  A stream flows by on one of the shortcut roads.
                                                            Primitive Baptist Church

“Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee to me has always been too far to fathom. If it wasn’t for the cheap Allegiant Air that we flew for the very first time to Knoxville, our trip would have never been possible. If you have ever been in a complex frame of mind like me debating Smokies in your head, you must go there to see it for yourself. “




I still vividly remember that every time when I would think of going there, either I wouldn’t find enough places to motivate me into going there or I simply would discard it as any other park. I would often ask myself, is there any difference between this one and the mountains in upstate New York. And if not, then why would I burden myself into going there. After all its a long drive. And most hills are the same everywhere. Except that it’s not.

We were there in the Smokies for 2.5 days (3 nights) and we had a great time! Our day wise itinerary was:

Day 1: Knoxville airport -> Drive to Cades Cove and overnight stay at Cades Cove Campground.

Day 2: Drive to Sugarland Visitor Center for information / maps and then drive all the way to Blue Ridge Parkway. Overnight stay in Elkmont Campground for synchronous firefly viewing.

Day 3:  Drive to Newfound Gap & Clingmans Dome and Gatlinburg. Overnight stay in Elkmont Campground for synchronous firefly viewing.

So, here are my favorite reasons on why you must head to Smokies in Late May - June!

1. The World-Famous Synchronous Fireflies are a phenomenon in the Smokies.

2. Allegiant has the cheapest flights to Knoxville from Newark (We got two tickets + 1 checked bag round trip for $230, costing us just $115 per person round trip)

3. The Elkmont and the Smokemont campground is by the river. The Cades Cove has picnic area by the river.

4. The rivers and the mountains and even the ground has the smoke! And it’s for real.

5. There are many sightings of Black Bear. We saw two sightings of Black Bear in the Cades Cove area.

6. The Smokies are the southern Gateway to the Blue Ridge Parkway - one of the scenic road trips in the USA.

7. Who can miss the Dolly Parton show in Gatlinburg and pork chops!

8. 3 hours’ drive from Smokies is Nashville (best known as the capital of country music) and Lynchburg (Jack Daniel’s Distillery anyone?). If you are adventurous enough, head to The Blues Highway - Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans.

9. Cades Cove Loop has a great scenic drive too. You get to see the Log Homes, Primitive Churches and the Old Mills from the 80’s in the Cades Cove area.

10. The forests here is pretty dense. 95% of the park is forested. There is no entrance fees to the park.