Safest way to drive from Knoxville to Cherokee, NC

[mbmouse]

Glad you enjoyed the trip and thank you for coming back to the forum and let us know how it went.
I personaly love driving through the park.

[rkpace]

Thanks everyone for your comments. My husband and I are going over to Cherokee from Knoxville but have always taken the I-40. Now that there is a closure at the NC line we need to have a new route, and this is the one Mapquest gave. We are Californians from San Gabriel Valley and new to the "mountains" of TN and their safety. I feel better now.

[creeksitter]

I'm afraid with the interstate closure 441 will be much busier than the usual leaf season. The only way I'd cross would be by getting up early and entering the park just before daybreak.

[mbmouse]

Or just plan for more travel time and enjoy the beauty of it all. The getting there can be just as good, if not better, than being there, kwim?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Or just plan for more travel time and enjoy the beauty of it all. The getting there can be just as good, if not better, than being there, kwim?

You are so right! Driving through the Smoky Mountains is so beautiful, it should be taken slowly anyway.

My parents have a cabin in the NC mountains not too far from Cherokee. When they heard about the rockslide on I-40 they just groaned. But then my mom said something like "Well this will give us the opportunity to take that beautiful drive between Gatlinburg and Cherokee again."

And maybe I can talk them in to stopping at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg on our way...