A recent social media post from Great Smoky Mountain National Park offered advice to beat the crowds. The park is a massive destination for fall foliage as the Appalachian Mountains turn a rainbow of colors ahead of the winter. However, as officials with the park phrased it, “Did you know that it’s not fall just in the Smokies?”
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Let’s be honest: sitting in traffic in a national park is no fun. While everyone is always welcome at the nation’s most popular national park, GSMNP’s advice to beat the crowds is for a good reason. There are plenty of great places within a short drive.
Here’s a more in-depth look at GSMNP’s recommendations:
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
Big South Fork is northwest of GSMNP and sits on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky. The National Park Service land is known for multiple gorges and the pristine streams that cut through the land, eventually dumping into the Cumberland River. The area also has numerous sandstone cliffs providing great overlooks.
Obed Wild and Scenic River
A short drive just east of Knoxville, TN, is the Obed Wild and Scenic River. Like the Big South Fork, the park encompasses the Cumberland Plateau. Visitors will find towering rock cliffs and multiple gorges. Plus, the park is designated as an International Dark Sky Park, meaning once the sun goes down and you can’t see the leaves, you’ll get a beautiful view of the nighttime sky.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Also nearby to other destinations, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park straddles the borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. The park is named for the Cumberland Gap, a pass in the mountains that pioneers would use to head west.
If you choose to visit Great Smoky Mountains or any other park, be sure to follow the rules and park only in designated areas to protect the park.
