Cades Cove

[High Road Travelers]

Originally Posted by DaFish

wog099, I am not familiar with the Smokey Bear Campground. While their mailing address is Cosby TN, their physical address is closer to Gatlinburg, which is one of the entrances to GSMNP. From their website, it appears very nice. The whole Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area are very busy with commercial activity. When we are there, we spend almost every day either hiking in the Park or biking in or out of the Park and avoid the hustle and bustle of the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge areas - they are very nice, just not what we are there for.
Let me know if you have any additional questions - be more than happy to help however I can. As you can tell, this is a favorite area of ours.

Thanks DaFish. We have been to the GSMNP before, but have stayed in NC. This time we will see it from a TN perspective and check out that area of TN with some day trips. We will be at Smoky Bear Campground late July. Appreciate your info and hope you have a nice trip.

[tinkerreknit]

OP here. We'll stay at Townsend KOA and make a daytrip to Cades Cove. Trip Wizard has me going on Old Cades Cove Rd. and Rich Mountain Rd., and returning via Laurel Creek Rd. Any suggestions about this? We'll be driving an F350 dually, not towing.

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by tinkerreknit

OP here. We'll stay at Townsend KOA and make a daytrip to Cades Cove. Trip Wizard has me going on Old Cades Cove Rd. and Rich Mountain Rd., and returning via Laurel Creek Rd. Any suggestions about this? We'll be driving an F350 dually, not towing.

Leaving the KOA you are going to turn LEFT and follow the Townsend Entrance road in a SSE direction (away from town) to the Townsend Wye where you will go RIGHT on the Laurel Creek Rd and follow it till you get to the Cades Cove Campground, which is where the scenic loop begins. Stay right/straight and follow the loop CCW. The information Kiosk is just past the campground entrance. The loop comes all the way back around to the campground entrance again. You will have traveled about 11 miles around the loop. Stop at the kiosk on the way in and buy the $5 information packet that has a booklet on the Cades Cove loop and what you will see, and also a booklet on the Roaring Fork Auto Tour, and Clingmans dome.

Once done with that, follow Laurel Creek road back to the Wye, (same way you came in) and go straight onto Little River Gorge Road and follow it, with pull offs, up the river to Elkmont Campground and past there to the Sugarlands visitor center, which will be on your left. Quite a bit to see inside of there.

Little River Gorge Rd begins at the Wye at mp 12.5 and if you don't want to drive the whole thing, the winding part mostly ends about mp 5.0 at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and there you can cross the creek (left turn) and follow Little Greenbrier Rd, and, where it turns off to the right, stay straight and the road becomes Wear Cove Gap Rd, which eventually becomes Line Springs Rd as you get into Wears Valley community. At Wears Valley you can either turn left on US 321 which takes you back to downtown Townsend, or you can turn right and go about a half mile and get onto the Foothills Parkway and follow it back to US 321 west of Townsend or continue on the parkway. On the parkway at Look Rock there is a observation tower you can walk up (easy) and get a good view of the surrounding area.

When we got into Wears Valley we turned right and went past the Foothills parkway and got fuel and on the left we ate at Bigfoot Philly Cheesteaks, which was pretty good. Then we went back to the Foothills Parkway as we needed to get back to our campground at Look Rock which is right off the parkway.

Charles

[DaFish]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

Leaving the KOA you are going to turn LEFT and follow the Townsend Entrance road in a SSE direction (away from town) to the Townsend Wye where you will go RIGHT on the Laurel Creek Rd and follow it till you get to the Cades Cove Campground, which is where the scenic loop begins. Stay right/straight and follow the loop CCW. The information Kiosk is just past the campground entrance. The loop comes all the way back around to the campground entrance again. You will have traveled about 11 miles around the loop. Stop at the kiosk on the way in and buy the $5 information packet that has a booklet on the Cades Cove loop and what you will see, and also a booklet on the Roaring Fork Auto Tour, and Clingmans dome.

Once done with that, follow Laurel Creek road back to the Wye, (same way you came in) and go straight onto Little River Gorge Road and follow it, with pull offs, up the river to Elkmont Campground and past there to the Sugarlands visitor center, which will be on your left. Quite a bit to see inside of there.

Little River Gorge Rd begins at the Wye at mp 12.5 and if you don't want to drive the whole thing, the winding part mostly ends about mp 5.0 at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and there you can cross the creek (left turn) and follow Little Greenbrier Rd, and, where it turns off to the right, stay straight and the road becomes Wear Cove Gap Rd, which eventually becomes Line Springs Rd as you get into Wears Valley community. At Wears Valley you can either turn left on US 321 which takes you back to downtown Townsend, or you can turn right and go about a half mile and get onto the Foothills Parkway and follow it back to US 321 west of Townsend or continue on the parkway. On the parkway at Look Rock there is a observation tower you can walk up (easy) and get a good view of the surrounding area.

When we got into Wears Valley we turned right and went past the Foothills parkway and got fuel and on the left we ate at Bigfoot Philly Cheesteaks, which was pretty good. Then we went back to the Foothills Parkway as we needed to get back to our campground at Look Rock which is right off the parkway.

Charles

Perfect directions!

While Cades Cove is as directed by Charles, take time to explore Townsend.
A favorite restaurant of ours is Trailhead Steak and Trout on the north side of Hwy 321 as well as the Apple valley restaurant for breakfast a bit further west on 321 in Townsend. The art gallery next to the Steak and Trout is worth checking out as well as the shops associated with Apple Valley.

Enjoy

[tinkerreknit]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

Leaving the KOA you are going to turn LEFT and follow the Townsend Entrance road in a SSE direction (away from town) to the Townsend Wye where you will go RIGHT on the Laurel Creek Rd and follow it till you get to the Cades Cove Campground, which is where the scenic loop begins. Stay right/straight and follow the loop CCW. The information Kiosk is just past the campground entrance. The loop comes all the way back around to the campground entrance again. You will have traveled about 11 miles around the loop. Stop at the kiosk on the way in and buy the $5 information packet that has a booklet on the Cades Cove loop and what you will see, and also a booklet on the Roaring Fork Auto Tour, and Clingmans dome.

Once done with that, follow Laurel Creek road back to the Wye, (same way you came in) and go straight onto Little River Gorge Road and follow it, with pull offs, up the river to Elkmont Campground and past there to the Sugarlands visitor center, which will be on your left. Quite a bit to see inside of there.

Little River Gorge Rd begins at the Wye at mp 12.5 and if you don't want to drive the whole thing, the winding part mostly ends about mp 5.0 at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and there you can cross the creek (left turn) and follow Little Greenbrier Rd, and, where it turns off to the right, stay straight and the road becomes Wear Cove Gap Rd, which eventually becomes Line Springs Rd as you get into Wears Valley community. At Wears Valley you can either turn left on US 321 which takes you back to downtown Townsend, or you can turn right and go about a half mile and get onto the Foothills Parkway and follow it back to US 321 west of Townsend or continue on the parkway. On the parkway at Look Rock there is a observation tower you can walk up (easy) and get a good view of the surrounding area.

When we got into Wears Valley we turned right and went past the Foothills parkway and got fuel and on the left we ate at Bigfoot Philly Cheesteaks, which was pretty good. Then we went back to the Foothills Parkway as we needed to get back to our campground at Look Rock which is right off the parkway.

Charles

There is so much good info here, and I want to thank you for all the details. This is a tremendous help. I'll plan accordingly and then work on the last legs of the trip.

[tinkerreknit]

Originally Posted by DaFish

Perfect directions!

While Cades Cove is as directed by Charles, take time to explore Townsend.
A favorite restaurant of ours is Trailhead Steak and Trout on the north side of Hwy 321 as well as the Apple valley restaurant for breakfast a bit further west on 321 in Townsend. The art gallery next to the Steak and Trout is worth checking out as well as the shops associated with Apple Valley.

Enjoy

Thank you so much for the advise - will do! I look forward to looking around the area. We will have 3 days there.

[Planeteer]

Originally Posted by tinkerreknit

Thank you so much for the advise - will do! I look forward to looking around the area. We will have 3 days there.

Townsend KOA is a great choice and easy access to Cades Cove.
This is our favorite KOA so far. We have been there 2-3 times in the last year and a half and it is really a nice, clean place to stay. We just booked a spot there for 2 more weeks coming up soon! As others have said, explore Townsend too. It's a cool little community.

[tinkerreknit]

Originally Posted by Planeteer

Townsend KOA is a great choice and easy access to Cades Cove.
This is our favorite KOA so far. We have been there 2-3 times in the last year and a half and it is really a nice, clean place to stay. We just booked a spot there for 2 more weeks coming up soon! As others have said, explore Townsend too. It's a cool little community.

That's good to know! I've been riding an eBike a lot for a few years, and I read that there is a bike trail there and in Townsend.

[MRichaud]

If you're in Townsend on a Sunday, check out the Abbey Pub, a wedding chapel turned pub. (Still operates as a wedding venue as well.). Great craft ales and very good food to go with it. They are in the process of enlarging, and when that opens (soon, hopefully), it's going to be quite nice. Sunday afternoons a group of us play old time tunes from 4-6. Dulcimers, guitars, banjos, and sometimes fiddle and hammered dulcimer. When the weather warms up, we'll be playing outside on the riverfront - lots of seating out there as well.

Others have hit the high points of Townsend; you'll have a great time!

Oh, yeah, the bike trail is a great one. I walk our dog there at least 3-4 times a week.