Reviews for activities and dining....
I posted a few reviews from our long weekend the in Gatlinburg and the Smokies. Most of the information is contained in the journal, but I included the reviews here along with links to the reviews on Trip Advisor just for completeness (and ease of reference for other travelers). Here's the list:
Dining:
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Activities and Attractions:
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Smoky Mountain Brewery: Great burger but the beer was just average.
Visited May 23, 2014; reviewed July 5, 2014. See this review on Trip Advisor.
As I always do, I did some scouting on-line for dining options and found a few interesting places, the highest on the list being the Smoky Mountain Brewery...I’m always looking for new brews to try. We (my wife, my mom and me) visited on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. We finally found the brewery at the far southern end of the main drag through Gatlinburg. Good news is that there is parking available within the little shopping complex that includes the brewery. As packed as town was, we were seated immediately when we arrive at 8:00 PM; but the place is pretty huge with two levels of dining. The restaurant was open and inviting with sort of a log cabin feel.
The short story is that the service was marvelous, the food was outstanding but the beer was disappointing. I went with a sampler that included the pale ale, IPA and the porter. They were all drinkable, but none were memorable. Hey, it was worth a shot. Out server was very helpful with answering questions about the menu and making suggestions. I ended up having a burger (I forgot which one) and it was outstanding. While the beer was not as good as I had hoped, the atmosphere, service and food made up for it. Plus, with Gatlinburg being overrun with chain restaurants, Smoky Mountain Brewery did provide an opportunity to eat someplace different (someplace you can’t eat “at home”). While it won’t be at the top of my list, I would certainly eat at the Smoky Mountain Brewery again.
As I always do, I did some scouting on-line for dining options and found a few interesting places, the highest on the list being the Smoky Mountain Brewery...I’m always looking for new brews to try. We (my wife, my mom and me) visited on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. We finally found the brewery at the far southern end of the main drag through Gatlinburg. Good news is that there is parking available within the little shopping complex that includes the brewery. As packed as town was, we were seated immediately when we arrive at 8:00 PM; but the place is pretty huge with two levels of dining. The restaurant was open and inviting with sort of a log cabin feel.
The short story is that the service was marvelous, the food was outstanding but the beer was disappointing. I went with a sampler that included the pale ale, IPA and the porter. They were all drinkable, but none were memorable. Hey, it was worth a shot. Out server was very helpful with answering questions about the menu and making suggestions. I ended up having a burger (I forgot which one) and it was outstanding. While the beer was not as good as I had hoped, the atmosphere, service and food made up for it. Plus, with Gatlinburg being overrun with chain restaurants, Smoky Mountain Brewery did provide an opportunity to eat someplace different (someplace you can’t eat “at home”). While it won’t be at the top of my list, I would certainly eat at the Smoky Mountain Brewery again.
Big Daddy's Pizza: I was surprised that the place was so empty...but the pizza was pretty darn good.
Visited May 24, 2014; reviewed July 5, 2014 See this review on Trip Advisor.
After a day of exploring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we returned to Gatlinburg for dinner. The previous evening we had spotted Big Daddy’s has we were scouting places to eat and my Mom mentioned that my sister had eaten there in the past and really enjoyed the food. OK, that’s a good enough recommendation to give it a go.
We were visiting the area over Memorial Day weekend and went to Big Daddy’s on Saturday evening, arriving about 7:00. I figured the place would be mobbed, but surprisingly it was practically empty. Hmmm Saturday night on a holiday weekend, that is not a good sign. But it did work to our advantage in a number of ways. First off, Big Daddy’s is located at the south end of town just off the main drag. There is parking available right behind the building, which was a bonus, so no problem getting a spot in the lot. Since there was no crowd, we were seated right away and had wonderful service. We opted for pizza and side salads for dinner. The salad was fresh and crisp. The pizza was very good. I’ve had better, but I have also had a lot worse. Still, it hit the spot. There was an OK selection of beer available. I was able to find an acceptable pale ale from a local brewery (I think it was from Saw Works). Pizza and beer…a good end to a great day.
After a day of exploring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we returned to Gatlinburg for dinner. The previous evening we had spotted Big Daddy’s has we were scouting places to eat and my Mom mentioned that my sister had eaten there in the past and really enjoyed the food. OK, that’s a good enough recommendation to give it a go.
We were visiting the area over Memorial Day weekend and went to Big Daddy’s on Saturday evening, arriving about 7:00. I figured the place would be mobbed, but surprisingly it was practically empty. Hmmm Saturday night on a holiday weekend, that is not a good sign. But it did work to our advantage in a number of ways. First off, Big Daddy’s is located at the south end of town just off the main drag. There is parking available right behind the building, which was a bonus, so no problem getting a spot in the lot. Since there was no crowd, we were seated right away and had wonderful service. We opted for pizza and side salads for dinner. The salad was fresh and crisp. The pizza was very good. I’ve had better, but I have also had a lot worse. Still, it hit the spot. There was an OK selection of beer available. I was able to find an acceptable pale ale from a local brewery (I think it was from Saw Works). Pizza and beer…a good end to a great day.
Alamo Steakhouse: Excellent service and great food, but a bit on the expensive side.
Visited May 25, 2014; reviewed July 5, 2014. See this review on Trip Advisor.
My wife, my mom and I spent the Memorial Day weekend in Gatlinburg primarily to explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Gatlinburg did provide us with a variety of dining options each evening after a day of hiking. On our last night in the area, Sunday, we decided on the Alamo Steakhouse and Saloon as it looked like an interesting place. We drove past it each day as we were coming and going from the park and for whatever reason it piqued my wife’s interest, so I knew we would give it a go sometime during out stay.
We arrived at the Alamo at 5:20. No waiting for a table; I reckon we beat the dinner rush. The service was excellent. Our server did a fine job of running through the specials and going over the menu. The menu has an outstanding variety of dishes so it does take some time to study. The food was very good; we all enjoyed our dishes. My wife and I each had the Filet Oscar. Talk about melt in your mouth! Just simply tremendous! I believe that Mom had a salmon dish and she seemed to enjoy it. The only disappointment was the beer selection; it was pretty basic except for the Saw Works Pale Ale which was just OK.
I thought the cost was a little high, so overall the value was just average. But again the food and the service were outstanding so, maybe it was worth it. I will eat here the next time I visit the Smokies.
My wife, my mom and I spent the Memorial Day weekend in Gatlinburg primarily to explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Gatlinburg did provide us with a variety of dining options each evening after a day of hiking. On our last night in the area, Sunday, we decided on the Alamo Steakhouse and Saloon as it looked like an interesting place. We drove past it each day as we were coming and going from the park and for whatever reason it piqued my wife’s interest, so I knew we would give it a go sometime during out stay.
We arrived at the Alamo at 5:20. No waiting for a table; I reckon we beat the dinner rush. The service was excellent. Our server did a fine job of running through the specials and going over the menu. The menu has an outstanding variety of dishes so it does take some time to study. The food was very good; we all enjoyed our dishes. My wife and I each had the Filet Oscar. Talk about melt in your mouth! Just simply tremendous! I believe that Mom had a salmon dish and she seemed to enjoy it. The only disappointment was the beer selection; it was pretty basic except for the Saw Works Pale Ale which was just OK.
I thought the cost was a little high, so overall the value was just average. But again the food and the service were outstanding so, maybe it was worth it. I will eat here the next time I visit the Smokies.
Cades Cove: Hike the Loop...but get an earlier start.
Visited May 24, 2014; reviewed July xx, 2014 See the review on Trip Advisor.
We (my wife, my mom and me) arrived at Cades Cove right around 8:15. The Ranger at the entrance explained that the loop road was closed to vehicles, only bikers and walkers allowed (this is standard on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 10:00). No worries as we wanted to walk anyway. He directed us to the parking area adjacent to the horse stable, which was packed with cars and folks heading out to walk or bike the loop.
We hit the facilities located near the stables, then got “tacked-up.” I took a few shots of the horses in the pasture, along with a big Percheron waiting to pull a carriage around the loop. We also got our first wildlife shots, as there were a few deer grazing next to the stable as well as a couple turkeys out in the pasture with the horses. We chatted briefly with another Ranger on traffic duty. She gave us the run down on the walking options around the loop; my wife is the navigator, so I left her to sort it out, but I did hear that there are three loop options, but that the shortest one would include water to negotiate, so I bet that one is out. I reckon we were on the trail about 8:30.
So this is really a walk in the park, as the trail was the paved driving loop around Cades Cove. It was a perfect day for a walk. Sunny with some high, white clouds, not overly warm and a bit of a breeze. There were a lot of folks walking but many more on bikes. Biking the loop is apparently a very popular activity, particularly on these “car-free” days, as there were scores of folks out on two-wheelers. But there were a lot of us on foot as well.
We tended to stay to the left side of the lane, so that we had better views into the meadows in the center of the cove. That left the majority of the road for the bicyclists. There was a mix of “hardcore” cyclists, who seemed more intent on getting somewhere, rather than enjoying the day (in all fairness, perhaps that is how they enjoy the day) and “tourists” of all descriptions on rental bikes. There were a couple of near catastrophes when the hardcore and tourist bikers nearly met at times of highly one-sided momentum events…the slower moving tourists would sometimes stop in the middle of the lane to take in the natural wonders while the speedy hardcore riders whizzed by, sometimes with some words of, well, let’s just say “encouragement” for the tourists.
So we kept marching along, enjoying the day and the views along each side of the road. I was hanging back taking photos while my wife was in “mission from God” mode with Mom in tow. They probably got a half mile ahead of me, but would wait at each decision point (where the roads crossed Cades Cove to make the short loops). Each time I caught up with them at one of those intersections, they decided to keep moving along the main loop. Fine my me…I need to pay more attention to what they are getting us into.
Not a lot in terms of wildlife. There were the deer and a few turkeys in the horse pasture, then another little herd of bucks early in the hike. I noticed when reviewing the photos after the trip that one of the bucks was missing an eye. There were songbirds all about, but they were hiding in the foliage for the most part. I did see a few interesting bugs and some butterflies, but they were flitting about too much for good photos. There were plenty of wildflowers along parts of the trail and a variety of nice views, especially over the meadows. Further into the hike we starting passing the historic buildings, starting with a couple old whitewashed churches.
I guess we were approaching the spur out to Abrams Falls at about 10:00 AM when the road was reopened to vehicular traffic, but it took a while for the tourists to catch us. There were a few park and volunteer trucks that passed us, but I bet is was getting closer to 10:30 before the heavy traffic picked up, so we were about half-way around the loop. In hindsight, we should have gotten moving much earlier, and been on the trail about 0700, so that we finished walking the loop before any traffic was out.
We (my wife, my mom and me) arrived at Cades Cove right around 8:15. The Ranger at the entrance explained that the loop road was closed to vehicles, only bikers and walkers allowed (this is standard on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 10:00). No worries as we wanted to walk anyway. He directed us to the parking area adjacent to the horse stable, which was packed with cars and folks heading out to walk or bike the loop.
We hit the facilities located near the stables, then got “tacked-up.” I took a few shots of the horses in the pasture, along with a big Percheron waiting to pull a carriage around the loop. We also got our first wildlife shots, as there were a few deer grazing next to the stable as well as a couple turkeys out in the pasture with the horses. We chatted briefly with another Ranger on traffic duty. She gave us the run down on the walking options around the loop; my wife is the navigator, so I left her to sort it out, but I did hear that there are three loop options, but that the shortest one would include water to negotiate, so I bet that one is out. I reckon we were on the trail about 8:30.
So this is really a walk in the park, as the trail was the paved driving loop around Cades Cove. It was a perfect day for a walk. Sunny with some high, white clouds, not overly warm and a bit of a breeze. There were a lot of folks walking but many more on bikes. Biking the loop is apparently a very popular activity, particularly on these “car-free” days, as there were scores of folks out on two-wheelers. But there were a lot of us on foot as well.
We tended to stay to the left side of the lane, so that we had better views into the meadows in the center of the cove. That left the majority of the road for the bicyclists. There was a mix of “hardcore” cyclists, who seemed more intent on getting somewhere, rather than enjoying the day (in all fairness, perhaps that is how they enjoy the day) and “tourists” of all descriptions on rental bikes. There were a couple of near catastrophes when the hardcore and tourist bikers nearly met at times of highly one-sided momentum events…the slower moving tourists would sometimes stop in the middle of the lane to take in the natural wonders while the speedy hardcore riders whizzed by, sometimes with some words of, well, let’s just say “encouragement” for the tourists.
So we kept marching along, enjoying the day and the views along each side of the road. I was hanging back taking photos while my wife was in “mission from God” mode with Mom in tow. They probably got a half mile ahead of me, but would wait at each decision point (where the roads crossed Cades Cove to make the short loops). Each time I caught up with them at one of those intersections, they decided to keep moving along the main loop. Fine my me…I need to pay more attention to what they are getting us into.
Not a lot in terms of wildlife. There were the deer and a few turkeys in the horse pasture, then another little herd of bucks early in the hike. I noticed when reviewing the photos after the trip that one of the bucks was missing an eye. There were songbirds all about, but they were hiding in the foliage for the most part. I did see a few interesting bugs and some butterflies, but they were flitting about too much for good photos. There were plenty of wildflowers along parts of the trail and a variety of nice views, especially over the meadows. Further into the hike we starting passing the historic buildings, starting with a couple old whitewashed churches.
I guess we were approaching the spur out to Abrams Falls at about 10:00 AM when the road was reopened to vehicular traffic, but it took a while for the tourists to catch us. There were a few park and volunteer trucks that passed us, but I bet is was getting closer to 10:30 before the heavy traffic picked up, so we were about half-way around the loop. In hindsight, we should have gotten moving much earlier, and been on the trail about 0700, so that we finished walking the loop before any traffic was out.
The visitor center is about halfway around the loop; we opted not to stop, figuring we would drive back after we hiked our lap around the cove. On the back side of the loop we encountered more vistas and a little more elevation change along the road, but also more interesting old structures, including an old cantilever barn that I remembered from the last trip.
Now the good news about the traffic starting to pick up was the opportunity for people watching, and there were plenty. The most interesting were the folks riding in the back of pick-ups, many with camp chairs and coolers. There were a few motorcycles and still some bicycles on the road as well. The traffic would come in spurts. Six or eight cars would pass by (all going slow) then there would be a gap of many minutes before the next set. But the motorists were all polite and gave us and the cyclists plenty of space.
We chatted with a couple of park volunteers who were riding bikes on the southern part of the loop. Apparently there had been a two or three bear sightings earlier this morning, but we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We did see bear scat at a couple locations around the loop. The one volunteer pointed out a blackberry thicket, stating that this will be a prime bear area shortly. She said the bear focus on blackberries in June, cherries in July and acorns in August.
Now the good news about the traffic starting to pick up was the opportunity for people watching, and there were plenty. The most interesting were the folks riding in the back of pick-ups, many with camp chairs and coolers. There were a few motorcycles and still some bicycles on the road as well. The traffic would come in spurts. Six or eight cars would pass by (all going slow) then there would be a gap of many minutes before the next set. But the motorists were all polite and gave us and the cyclists plenty of space.
We chatted with a couple of park volunteers who were riding bikes on the southern part of the loop. Apparently there had been a two or three bear sightings earlier this morning, but we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We did see bear scat at a couple locations around the loop. The one volunteer pointed out a blackberry thicket, stating that this will be a prime bear area shortly. She said the bear focus on blackberries in June, cherries in July and acorns in August.
The hike took us four hours to cover the 11-mile loop. We were off the trail about 12:30. By the time we reached the overflow lot where we parked this morning there were only a couple of cars remaining, where this morning it was packed.
Overall this is a very easy walk, with many shady stretches, particularly on the return (south side of the loop road). The views all along the road are very nice and there are plenty of historical sites to visit. If we had started the hike at 7:00 we would have been off the road by around 11:00, so before the vehicular traffic would have been any issue, not that there were any problems today. Plus an earlier start might have been better for animal sightings. Something to consider for the next visit.
After our hike, we drove over to the camp store to grab some cold drinks (it was packed) then retraced our route around Cades Cove in the comfort of the car. It was a slow go with the traffic. We came to a dead stop a couple times; not sure why as there did not seem to be anything of particular note in the area, but I reckon it could have been an animal jam.
The main goal was to check out the visitor center and old buildings in that area. Talk about a traffic jam in the parking lot! We slowly inched our way along the access road, hoping that a parking slot would open up on at the proper time. We did get lucky and snagged a spot. But there was a bad vibe in the parking lot. Looks like all the guys in one family jumped out of thier car that was back in the queue and camped in an open parking spot to save the spot until their car made it to the opening. There were some unhappy folks with that maneuver. I did not think it particularly fair either, but I just let Karma take care of it. Interestingly, they were still standing in the parking spot waiting for their car to come around after we had crawled past them, found our spot and were walking toward the visitor center. We did see a Ranger heading in their direction and she was wearing a stern expression. Maybe her name was “Karma”?
Overall this is a very easy walk, with many shady stretches, particularly on the return (south side of the loop road). The views all along the road are very nice and there are plenty of historical sites to visit. If we had started the hike at 7:00 we would have been off the road by around 11:00, so before the vehicular traffic would have been any issue, not that there were any problems today. Plus an earlier start might have been better for animal sightings. Something to consider for the next visit.
After our hike, we drove over to the camp store to grab some cold drinks (it was packed) then retraced our route around Cades Cove in the comfort of the car. It was a slow go with the traffic. We came to a dead stop a couple times; not sure why as there did not seem to be anything of particular note in the area, but I reckon it could have been an animal jam.
The main goal was to check out the visitor center and old buildings in that area. Talk about a traffic jam in the parking lot! We slowly inched our way along the access road, hoping that a parking slot would open up on at the proper time. We did get lucky and snagged a spot. But there was a bad vibe in the parking lot. Looks like all the guys in one family jumped out of thier car that was back in the queue and camped in an open parking spot to save the spot until their car made it to the opening. There were some unhappy folks with that maneuver. I did not think it particularly fair either, but I just let Karma take care of it. Interestingly, they were still standing in the parking spot waiting for their car to come around after we had crawled past them, found our spot and were walking toward the visitor center. We did see a Ranger heading in their direction and she was wearing a stern expression. Maybe her name was “Karma”?
By the time we fought through the throngs at the camp store and around loop road, it was about 1:30 when we walked into the Cades Cove Visitor Center. We spent a few minutes looking around, bought a trail map, then headed out to explore the old homestead buildings (houses, barns, old mill). Lynn caught a glimpse of a copperhead in one of the barns, and we got a nice photo of a Five-lined Skink. As crowded as the parking lot was, the area around the historic buildings was not too bad. Sure there were plenty of folks milling about, but it was fairly easy to get photos of the buildings without other tourists in the frame. The Cable Mill is the highlight of the area, but the other old buildings, particularly the barns are interesting as well.
We only stayed about 30 minutes; figured we should not linger and let someone else take a turn in the parking spot, and there was still a long line of cars coming. We slowly made our way back through the park, just flowing with the traffic through the park and back through Gatlinburg. The park traffic was really only bad around Cades Cove and at the junction by Sugarloaf Visitor Center, but the traffic pattern there was pretty efficient so the cars kept moving. We did notice that the parking at the trailheads along the way was all jam packed; at some, cars lined the road for probably a quarter-mile in either direction. |
Laurel Falls Trail: A short, but uphill hike with a wonderful payoff at the falls.
Visited May 25, 2014; reviewed July 12, 2014 See this review on Trip Advisor.
For our second day in the Smokies, we planned on doing a couple of short hikes, first to Laurel Falls and later to Clingman’s Dome. The day was overcast and damp, so conducive for photos at the falls, but the views at Clingman’s Dome were the best. But that is for later today; now it is off to Laurel Falls.
Wow, what a zoo at the trailhead parking! It was packed when we arrived at 9:30 (much later that I would have liked). We were lucky to get a spot for the car on the wide shoulder just across from the main parking lot. We were quickly geared –up and heading across the road to the Laurel Falls trail.
It is not a long hike; only a little over a mile from the trailhead to the falls, but it is a pretty steady climb most of the way to the falls. The trail is paved, well, sort of. The trail surface is broken along the edges for most of the route so you have to pay attention as there are plenty of places to twist an ankle or take a tumble due to tripping. Plus the rough edges make the effective trail a little narrower, so single-file is called for in order to not clog the trail. Even with the choppy trail surface (which really was not that bad, just something to be aware of) and the high volume of folks, it was a very nice hike along the wooded hillside. There were still a few wildflowers in bloom, although the rhododendron was well past prime. No critters along the trail.
For our second day in the Smokies, we planned on doing a couple of short hikes, first to Laurel Falls and later to Clingman’s Dome. The day was overcast and damp, so conducive for photos at the falls, but the views at Clingman’s Dome were the best. But that is for later today; now it is off to Laurel Falls.
Wow, what a zoo at the trailhead parking! It was packed when we arrived at 9:30 (much later that I would have liked). We were lucky to get a spot for the car on the wide shoulder just across from the main parking lot. We were quickly geared –up and heading across the road to the Laurel Falls trail.
It is not a long hike; only a little over a mile from the trailhead to the falls, but it is a pretty steady climb most of the way to the falls. The trail is paved, well, sort of. The trail surface is broken along the edges for most of the route so you have to pay attention as there are plenty of places to twist an ankle or take a tumble due to tripping. Plus the rough edges make the effective trail a little narrower, so single-file is called for in order to not clog the trail. Even with the choppy trail surface (which really was not that bad, just something to be aware of) and the high volume of folks, it was a very nice hike along the wooded hillside. There were still a few wildflowers in bloom, although the rhododendron was well past prime. No critters along the trail.
The trail leveled out a bit as we got nearer to the falls, which made to easier going. The paved trail ends at the falls. Fortunately there is ample viewing area just below the falls to accommodate the folks milling about and taking photos. We enjoyed the falls for a few minutes and snapped several photos of the cascade above and below the trail. As I expected, the overcast allowed me to adjust my camera settings and get a decent capture of the falls (these Canon superzoom cameras make for a very versatile device in a pretty small package).
The trail was really packed on the return hike. There were several families pushing strollers up the trail; that was going to be a hard slog! Tons of people of all shapes, sizes, ages and apparently from all over the planet. The Smokies seem to be just as popular with folks from Europe and Asia as the western US National Parks. |
I snapped a few more shots of the flowers and plants along the trail, but otherwise we just kept on descending to the trailhead. The hike only took about an hour; we were off the trail about 10:45. Well worth the effort.
Clingman's Dome: Great views but a steep hike to get to the top.
Visited May 25, 2014; reviewed July 12, 2014 See this review on Trip Advisor.
For our second short hike on this day, we went to a long-time family favorite, Clingman’s Dome. The drive from the Laurel Falls parking to Clingman’s Dome trailhead area took about an hour. The traffic was not bad, but there were a LOT of folks out in the park. We noted that the parking areas for Alum Cave and Chimney Tops were both full to overflowing, with cars lining the roads at both trailheads for probably a quarter-mile or more in each direction. That was not a good omen for us.
It was another pretty drive through the park, but the skies were becoming more ominous as we approached our destination. And the temperature was dropping as we increased our elevation. I had hopes that the weather and the lack of traffic might mean that it would not be too crowded at Clingman’s Dome, but that was just wishful thinking. When we pulled into the parking area, which is pretty large, we found a line of cars waiting and a full lot. It was late morning when we arrived (about 11:45 AM), so I was not shocked. So I just followed the queue through the lot and since I found nowhere to park in the official area, I just did what others had done at the trailheads we had passed on the way here and found a nice wide spot along the road beyond the parking lot. By the time we had our hiking packs ready there were already several cars that had followed our lead.
The overcast was increasing and rain was on the way. The vistas from along the trail were muted by the clouds, fog and mist, but were still pretty (tough to get a good photo; post-processing to bring out the highlights was definitely needed).
We headed directly to the trail head, but we did snap a few photos from the walkway along the parking area. The trail to the observation tower at the top of the mountain starts at the upper end of the parking area. From that point it is a 1-mile, uphill trek to the top along a wide, paved trail which was in great shape. But it is a constant climb and fairly steep. According to the GPS on my phone which I used to track the hike, the elevation change is about 400 feet over the mile distance, starting at about 6300 feet above sea level and ending at almost 6700 by the time we made the walk up to the top of the concrete observation deck. Just as we reached the top, a light drizzle started, but did not last too long. A grey day up on Clingman’s Dome but that did not seem to stop anyone from making the hike as the observation deck was completely filled with folks getting a glimpse of Smoky Mountains.
Not a lot in the way of critters along the trial, just a few songbirds: Robins, Juncos and a Least Flycatcher. There were a few patches of wildflowers as well. But plenty of people to watch and again from all corners of the globe it seemed. There was a Boy Scout Troop on an outing. There was a lady bemoaning the lack of cell service. There were hikers and there were a few folks in flip flops and other nonsensical shoes. Hey, it takes all kinds.
We stopped at the small Visitor Center on the return trip, but did not linger long before heading back to the car. There was still a line of cars waiting in the parking lot and more cars larked along the road beyond our car. It seems the less than ideal weather has not deterred the crowds. But even with the overcast and the crowds this is still a nice walk with wonderful views. Still, it would be better on a sunny day.
For our second short hike on this day, we went to a long-time family favorite, Clingman’s Dome. The drive from the Laurel Falls parking to Clingman’s Dome trailhead area took about an hour. The traffic was not bad, but there were a LOT of folks out in the park. We noted that the parking areas for Alum Cave and Chimney Tops were both full to overflowing, with cars lining the roads at both trailheads for probably a quarter-mile or more in each direction. That was not a good omen for us.
It was another pretty drive through the park, but the skies were becoming more ominous as we approached our destination. And the temperature was dropping as we increased our elevation. I had hopes that the weather and the lack of traffic might mean that it would not be too crowded at Clingman’s Dome, but that was just wishful thinking. When we pulled into the parking area, which is pretty large, we found a line of cars waiting and a full lot. It was late morning when we arrived (about 11:45 AM), so I was not shocked. So I just followed the queue through the lot and since I found nowhere to park in the official area, I just did what others had done at the trailheads we had passed on the way here and found a nice wide spot along the road beyond the parking lot. By the time we had our hiking packs ready there were already several cars that had followed our lead.
The overcast was increasing and rain was on the way. The vistas from along the trail were muted by the clouds, fog and mist, but were still pretty (tough to get a good photo; post-processing to bring out the highlights was definitely needed).
We headed directly to the trail head, but we did snap a few photos from the walkway along the parking area. The trail to the observation tower at the top of the mountain starts at the upper end of the parking area. From that point it is a 1-mile, uphill trek to the top along a wide, paved trail which was in great shape. But it is a constant climb and fairly steep. According to the GPS on my phone which I used to track the hike, the elevation change is about 400 feet over the mile distance, starting at about 6300 feet above sea level and ending at almost 6700 by the time we made the walk up to the top of the concrete observation deck. Just as we reached the top, a light drizzle started, but did not last too long. A grey day up on Clingman’s Dome but that did not seem to stop anyone from making the hike as the observation deck was completely filled with folks getting a glimpse of Smoky Mountains.
Not a lot in the way of critters along the trial, just a few songbirds: Robins, Juncos and a Least Flycatcher. There were a few patches of wildflowers as well. But plenty of people to watch and again from all corners of the globe it seemed. There was a Boy Scout Troop on an outing. There was a lady bemoaning the lack of cell service. There were hikers and there were a few folks in flip flops and other nonsensical shoes. Hey, it takes all kinds.
We stopped at the small Visitor Center on the return trip, but did not linger long before heading back to the car. There was still a line of cars waiting in the parking lot and more cars larked along the road beyond our car. It seems the less than ideal weather has not deterred the crowds. But even with the overcast and the crowds this is still a nice walk with wonderful views. Still, it would be better on a sunny day.