Cades cove waterfall9/25/2023 ![]() By the time we would get up to where the bears might have been, they were gone and people were heading back to their cars which they had left idling in the middle of the road. Although there were certainly bears, we didn’t see any because there were so many cars blocking the road and not pulled off. It took us at least 3 hours to get through the loop. Since they are not opening the gates at this time until 8:00 a.m., we got there about 8:30 thinking it wouldn’t be too congested. ![]() However, our experience there last Thursday morning was absolutely terrible. We expected to have to take our time going around the loop, and we usually enjoy that experience despite slow traffic. I have photographs in my home of Cades Cove. I am an extremely patient person (I am a photographer and teacher), and am a deep lover of nature and of the natural world. I love the scenery, the cabins, the animals, and the solitude of this precious place. I have visited many, many times throughout my fifty years. Could have been a sign saying "hey buddy, you are about to get back in the loop."īut it was all great and the kids loved it as much as the adults.įirst, I need to point out that I LOVE Cades Cove, and have always said that, to me, it is the most beautiful place on Earth. OMG, we were stuck back in the loop, this time in prime time traffic for an hour because there is no other option. Didn't realize that it took us back to the very beginning of the loop. One caution! We took one of the off shoot 2 way paths towards the end. The shop at the visitors center was also great. I would have loved to know what I was looking at besides, "old log building." Why not have signs explaining all of the different buildings that were around? It seems like a missed opportunity. We saw 3 bears, deer, wild turkeys and people watching was almost just as fun. So we had to wait over an hour to get in.īut once we were driving it was magical. But the park web site says that they open at dawn and the park doesn't actually open until 8am. We were told to come early so that we had the best chance to see bears. Pull to side to let others pass if you start to get car jam behind you.īeautiful drive in the Great Smokey Mountains! Please do not get out of car to approach the wildlife. We usually circle all the way around to the second entrance to Sparks lane and cut back across and make more loops.īe aware that if a bear is spotted you can be in a traffic jam for sometime. ![]() Just take is slow and easy and you will be fine.Ģ lanes cross the cove and are 2 way. One you come out of the park the road is paved but narrow with bling curves for a few miles. Very quite and peaceful drive up a gravel mountain road. Suggest for adventure taking Rich Mountain Road out of the cove. Just the most peaceful beautiful serene place. There are at times ranger led events throughout the park. The grounds are nice to walk Several barns, a working grist mill and the Becky Cable house. They were limiting entrance and masks are required due to Covid. There are also nice bathrooms at the backend of the loop and a souvenir store. There are glorified porta potty’s at the Abrams Falls trailhead. This is 2.5 miles and is pretty hard walk if you are not fit. There are several nice trails off the cove. Watch for lots of wild life such as deer, turkey, coyotes, wild hogs, and bears. Picnic grounds very nice but usually crowded. There are paid horseback rides on trail, carriage rides and hayride. ![]() We found the ice cream to be a very happy surprise after a hilly 90 minute ride! On the plus side, you pay for the rental bikes for 2 hours, and if you finish early they either refund some of your money or give you free ice cream. I would not recommend biking the loop on other days because it is very narrow and would be difficult to share the space with cars. Moral of the story - if you are renting bikes on a Wednesday, be there by 7am. The worker admitted that the system is new and they were still working out the kinks. Then again, it seemed some people in line had reserved online yet still showed up to find out their bikes weren’t there. This was not readily obvious on the website. We learned that just last week they began a new procedure where you can reserve bikes online a week in advance. When we arrived at 7:45am, they were already gone and we had to wait for others to return before we could begin the ride. We had also been led to believe that the rental bikes tend to sell out by 8:30am. When we arrived we found it is now closed the entire day. We showed up early because the website said the road was only closed to cars from 7am-10am. It was a beautiful ride, though those of who had done it 15 years ago had forgotten how hilly it was! We enjoyed the ride greatly, HOWEVER we found that the info on the website is not up to date. My family biked the loop on a Wednesday in July 2021 when the road was closed to traffic.
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