Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tennessee, North Carolina
Dark sky
Dark skies
Bortle 4 · SQM ~20.39 (est.)
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
7 h fully dark
Hikes
Easy–Strenuous
🟢 🟡 🔴
Crowds
very high
Open today
Open
Entrance
Free entry
Park Headquarters Road is closed
Park Headquarters Road is closed due to rehabilitation work on the Sugarlands water and wastewater systems.
Cades Cove Loop Road is closed to motor vehicles every Wednesday
Cades Cove Loop Road is closed to motor vehicles every Wednesday through September 30. This allows pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy the cove without the presence of vehicles on the roadway.
Official NPS alert →Straight Fork and the one-way section of Balsam Mountain Road closed.
Straight Fork and the one-way section of Balsam Mountain Road (Heintooga Round-Bottom Road) are closed.
Official NPS alert →Most visitors need a parking tag
All vehicles parking for longer than 15 minutes require a parking tag. Three tag durations are available for purchase for all vehicle sizes and types: Daily ($5), Weekly ($15), or Annual ($40).
Official NPS alert →Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park. Plan your visit today!
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
Primary roads are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round, weather permitting. This includes Newfound Gap Road (US-441), Little River Road, and Laurel Creek Road. Secondary roads are closed seasonally.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 (865)436-1200
✉ GRSM_Smokies_Information@nps.govConditions
Dark skies (Bortle 4)
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb
Typical crowds: very high
Weather now: ☁️ Overcast, 68°F
🌦️ 73°/62°
🌦️ 73°/64°
🌧️ 73°/63°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
24%
Feb
29%
Mar
54%
Apr
62%
May
76%
Jun
89%
Jul
93%
Aug
72%
Sep
69%
Oct
100%
Nov
60%
Dec
47%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Live conditions
Purchase Knob Webcam ↗active
Look Rock Webcam ↗active
Twin Creek Webcam ↗inactive
Newfound Gap Webcam ↗active
Newfound Gap Webcam ↗active
Kuwohi Webcam ↗inactive
Things to do
🔴 Hike Bradley Fork Trail · 4 mi
🟢 Hike Little River Trail · 12.4 mi
Hike the Gatlinburg Trail · 4 mi
Drive Foothills Parkway (Chilhowee to Walland) · 16.6 mi
Drive Foothills Parkway (Walland to Wears Valley) · 14.75 mi · 2500 ft gain
Drive Foothills Parkway (Cosby to I-40) · 5.6 mi · 1000 ft gain
Hike to the Little Greenbrier School and Walker Homesite · 3.4 mi
Walk Cable Mill Area Trails · 5.5 mi
Campgrounds
Abrams Creek Campground ↗ · 16 sites
Balsam Mountain Campground · 43 sites
Big Creek Campground ↗ · 12 sites
Cades Cove Campground ↗ · 161 sites · dump station
Cades Cove Group Campground ↗ · 3 sites · dump station
Cataloochee Campground ↗ · 27 sites
Cosby Campground ↗ · 157 sites · dump station
Deep Creek Campground ↗ · 92 sites · dump station
Elkmont Campground ↗ · 211 sites
Elkmont Group Campground ↗ · 4 sites · dump station
Look Rock Campground ↗ · 68 sites · hookups · dump station
Smokemont Campground ↗ · 142 sites · dump station
Smokemont Group Campground ↗ · 3 sites · dump station
Visitor centers
Cades Cove Visitor Center
Kuwohi Visitor Center
Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Sugarlands Visitor Center
Accessibility
11 accessible campground(s)
64 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Parking
Alum Cave Trailhead Parking Area · 69 accessible spaces
Chimney Tops Trailhead · 34 accessible spaces
Laurel Falls Trailhead Parking Area · 39 accessible spaces
Rainbow Falls Trailhead Parking Lot
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Great Smoky Mountains National Park — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Dark sky
How dark the night sky is — darker (lower Bortle) fills the dial.
Bortle 4
★★★☆☆
SQM ~20.39
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
Trail profile
Each dot is a trail — distance vs. elevation gain, by difficulty.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Great Smoky Mountains National Park — each spans a cross-park journey.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
— Philanthropy, Founders, Founding AcadiaLaurance Rockefeller
— Rockefeller, Mabi, Marsh Billings RockefellerPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Cades Cove Visitor Center
🎫 Kuwohi Visitor Center
🎫 Oconaluftee Visitor Center
🎫 Sugarlands Visitor Center
Places to see
Abrams Falls
audio
Albright Grove
audio
Alum Cave Bluffs
audio
Andrews Bald
audio
Appalachian Clubhouse
audio
Arch Rock
audio
Beech Grove School
audio
Big Creek Picnic Area
audio
CCC Stone Bridge
audio
Cabins and Daily Life
audio
Cable Mill Historic Area
audio
Cades Cove Overlook
audioAudio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
Every year, the National Park Service benefits from the extraordinary contributions of dedicated volunteers. Meet the six recipients of the 2012 Hartzog Awards honoring that service.
Discover the inspirational stories and amazing dedication of volunteers honored with the 2014 Hartzog Award.
Six people and programs received the 2015 Harzog Award for their exceptional volunteer service. Check out their amazing contributions!
In 2021, the National Park Service Aviation Program awarded the Excellence in Mentorship Aviation Award, the Tom Clausing Aviation All Risk (Hazard) Program Award, Aviator of the Year Award, and the Wright Brothers Aviation Safety Award.
View 2022 recipients of the National Park Service Excellence in Education Awards, which recognize expertise within the field of education.
The National Park Service is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2022 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
View the recipients of the 2023 National Park Service Excellence in Cooperating Association Partnership awards, which celebrate the contributions of partnerships and cooperating associations.
View the 2023 recipients of the National Park Service Excellence in Education Awards, which recognize expertise within the field of education.
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
How Great Smoky Mountains National Park connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
Park
Activity
State
ThingToDo
Alert
Campground
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
ParkingLot
Trail
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