Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the cabin
The park boundary is 15 minutes from Cozy Bear Escape and Sugarlands Visitor Center is 33. No entrance fee. You do need a parking tag.
Aerial of the hills near Sevierville. The cabin itself looks out on woods.
$5 a day
Parking tag for any car parked over 15 minutes. $15 for a week or $40 for a year. Buy one online or at a visitor center.
$0
Entrance fee. The park has never charged one.
Plan offline
Cell service is patchy or gone in much of the park. Download or screenshot your maps before you leave the cabin.
Ways into the park
Drive times from the cabin, measured without traffic. The Gatlinburg side is busiest from late morning on. Start early in summer and October.
Park boundary, Gatlinburg Spur
The park road at the south end of Pigeon Forge.
Sugarlands Visitor Center
Main Tennessee visitor center. Parking tags, maps and rangers.
Metcalf Bottoms
Picnic area on the Little River, through Wears Valley.
Newfound Gap
The Tennessee and North Carolina line, where the Appalachian Trail crosses.
Cades Cove Loop Road
An 11-mile one-way loop through a historic valley.
Kuwohi, formerly Clingmans Dome
The highest point in the park. The road is closed December 1 to March 31.
Open
Open
Open
Seasonal road
Open
Open
Mid-April to late Nov
Closed until 2027
Spring
The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage runs April 7 to 10, 2027. Kuwohi Road reopens April 1 and Roaring Fork in mid-April.
Summer
Synchronous fireflies light up Elkmont in late May or June, by Recreation.gov lottery. Cades Cove is closed to cars on Wednesdays, typically May to September.
Fall
Color peaks early to mid-October above 4,000 feet and mid-October to early November lower down. It is the busiest month on the roads.
Winter
Kuwohi Road closes December 1 and Roaring Fork after late November. Newfound Gap Road can close for snow and ice.
89.6°F
Average July high in Sevierville
65.6°F
Average July high on Mt. LeConte
76.8 in
Average yearly snow on Mt. LeConte, against 3.6 inches in Sevierville
Yes, there are bears
Black bears live all through the Smokies, including the hills around the cabin. One guest got a video from Nate of a bear beside their car the night before.
Lock your car
Bears can open car doors. Keep doors locked and no food inside.
Use the bear-proof bin
Trash cans live inside the bin by the driveway. Put every bag inside it.
Never feed or approach
Watch from a distance and let them move on. In the park it is illegal to go within 50 yards of a bear.
Keep doors closed
It keeps out insects and other small visitors too.
Back at the fire pit by dark
The cabin is 15 minutes from the park boundary. Check your dates.