Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My daughter and I are going for our yearly road trip to the Gatlinburg area October 10th-18th. Are the leaves already turning? I'm worried they will be brown or gone by then.
Usually they seem best around the 20th, but the trees here (Northern Kentucky) are already turning and falling! I wish someone would post some recent pics from eastern Tennessee.
My daughter and I are going for our yearly road trip to the Gatlinburg area October 10th-18th. Are the leaves already turning? I'm worried they will be brown or gone by then.
Usually they seem best around the 20th, but the trees here (Northern Kentucky) are already turning and falling! I wish someone would post some recent pics from eastern Tennessee.
In Knoxville, a few leaves are starting to turn. And I mean a few leaves. Not trees. We had a cool summer but it was warmer this past month. We've only had cooler night the past week or two and it is actually going to be 86 the next few days.
Gatlinburg is a bit cooler and the leaves turn sooner but not by that much. You'll be fine!
In Knoxville, a few leaves are starting to turn. And I mean a few leaves. Not trees. We had a cool summer but it was warmer this past month. We've only had cooler night the past week or two and it is actually going to be 86 the next few days.
Gatlinburg is a bit cooler and the leaves turn sooner but not by that much. You'll be fine!
I have no pictures yet, but I just got back from this area (actually, the much quieter Townsend and Wear's Cove) yesterday. I'd estimate the leaf-peak is about two weeks away down in the valleys, but a week to ten days away atop the Smokies.
There was a fair amount of yellow and a little red here and there, especially at the higher elevations. I drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway from Balsam Gap to Cherokee and on across the mountains on Monday and did not visit Clingman's Dome this trip, so can't report about that. Asters, snakeroot, and goldenrod were adding their colors to the landscapes, and some of the ferns had turned bright yellow. The creeks and rivers were running fuller than is usually the case in fall (not in flood stage at all - just enough to be scenic). There was heavy morning fog in the valleys on both Monday and Tuesday - it burned off by late morning. Temperatures were pleasantly seasonal, with a jacket being welcome around 6,000 feet.
Of course, right now only the bears and their other animal pals can go up on Top of Old Smoky...the rangers were conducting a sort of rolling closure yesterday morning, allowing people to still enjoy the Y and Tremont while campers were driving out of Cade's Cove to Townsend (the Little River Road was closed from the Y to Sugarlands). To my surprise, I made it to Tremont (a beautiful environmental education center within the park) briefly - the nice ranger there (who was shutting down activities and trying to figure out how to handle incoming mail) said I was free to go anywhere until told to leave - but when I returned to the "Y", the road to Cade's Cove was closed to inbound traffic - I joined the long line of camper vans in exiting the park. Several Knoxville news teams were filming and interviewing the scene...
I should probably note that in the GSMNP, the "Y" is where a good-sized tributary enters the Little River near Townsend, forming a locally popular spot for swimming, wading float trips, and plein-air artwork. A good many artists were hastily painting away yesterday morning, trying to get the basics down before being asked to leave. Like the waterways, the roads which follow them also form a Y here. The only branch of the road-Y remaining open yesterday was the exit to Townsend.
So - if your trip to Gatlinburg is mainly for shopping and a drive across to Cherokee (the transmontane road will remain open, as it's funded by Tennessee and North Carolina), you can certainly do that. But if you want to picnic, attend ranger-led programs, visit Cade's Cove, visitors' centers, water fountains, restrooms, gift shops, watermills, hiking trails, the Motor Nature Trail, etc. - in short, anything in the national park other than driving the road (US 441) across the mountains - you may be out of luck if the shutdown is still on when you travel. Rangers said they'd been told to discourage those driving from Gatlinburg to Cherokee (and vice versa) from even stopping at overlooks, but that seemed impossible...
Meanwhile, through hikers on the Appalachian Trail have not been "removed" - but are pretty much on their own in case of emergency. Other than those driving across, they've about the only people in the park right now.
I hope the shutdown is over by the time you and your daughter plan to travel, but do keep an eye on things. This might be the year to visit the many other area attractions - the Craftsmen's Loop just outside of Gatlinburg is well-worth visiting and includes a lot of quiet beauty, while you at least can see the mountains in the distance from much of the scenic Wear Valley road - US 321/TN 73 between Townsend and Pigeon Forge. There's also a large, newish mountain life museum in Townsend that is very comprehensive.
Last edited by CraigCreek; 10-02-2013 at 03:27 PM..
I have no pictures yet, but I just got back from this area (actually, the much quieter Townsend and Wear's Cove) yesterday. I'd estimate the leaf-peak is about two weeks away down in the valleys, but a week to ten days away atop the Smokies.
There was a fair amount of yellow and a little red here and there, especially at the higher elevations. I drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway from Balsam Gap to Cherokee and on across the mountains on Monday and did not visit Clingman's Dome this trip, so can't report about that. Asters, snakeroot, and goldenrod were adding their colors to the landscapes, and some of the ferns had turned bright yellow. The creeks and rivers were running fuller than is usually the case in fall (not in flood stage at all - just enough to be scenic). There was heavy morning fog in the valleys on both Monday and Tuesday - it burned off by late morning. Temperatures were pleasantly seasonal, with a jacket being welcome around 6,000 feet.
Of course, right now only the bears and their other animal pals can go up on Top of Old Smoky...the rangers were conducting a sort of rolling closure yesterday morning, allowing people to still enjoy the Y and Tremont while campers were driving out of Cade's Cove to Townsend (the Little River Road was closed from the Y to Sugarlands). To my surprise, I made it to Tremont (a beautiful environmental education center within the park) briefly - the nice ranger there (who was shutting down activities and trying to figure out how to handle incoming mail) said I was free to go anywhere until told to leave - but when I returned to the "Y", the road to Cade's Cove was closed to inbound traffic - I joined the long line of camper vans in exiting the park. Several Knoxville news teams were filming and interviewing the scene...
I should probably note that in the GSMNP, the "Y" is where a good-sized tributary enters the Little River near Townsend, forming a locally popular spot for swimming, wading float trips, and plein-air artwork. A good many artists were hastily painting away yesterday morning, trying to get the basics down before being asked to leave. Like the waterways, the roads which follow them also form a Y here. The only branch of the road-Y remaining open yesterday was the exit to Townsend.
So - if your trip to Gatlinburg is mainly for shopping and a drive across to Cherokee (the transmontane road will remain open, as it's funded by Tennessee and North Carolina), you can certainly do that. But if you want to picnic, attend ranger-led programs, visit Cade's Cove, visitors' centers, water fountains, restrooms, gift shops, watermills, hiking trails, the Motor Nature Trail, etc. - in short, anything in the national park other than driving the road (US 441) across the mountains - you may be out of luck if the shutdown is still on when you travel. Rangers said they'd been told to discourage those driving from Gatlinburg to Cherokee (and vice versa) from even stopping at overlooks, but that seemed impossible...
Meanwhile, through hikers on the Appalachian Trail have not been "removed" - but are pretty much on their own in case of emergency. Other than those driving across, they've about the only people in the park right now.
I hope the shutdown is over by the time you and your daughter plan to travel, but do keep an eye on things. This might be the year to visit the many other area attractions - the Craftsmen's Loop just outside of Gatlinburg is well-worth visiting and includes a lot of quiet beauty, while you at least can see the mountains in the distance from much of the scenic Wear Valley road - US 321/TN 73 between Townsend and Pigeon Forge. There's also a large, newish mountain life museum in Townsend that is very comprehensive.
Thanks for all that information. You certainly know the area well! We love it there and get a very cozy/lush hotel suite and live it up for a few days.
When we go, we just do a lot of sight seeing, driving down little roads here and there. We go to "get away" from the rat race. Especially for my daughter, who is in her senior year of pre-med and doing all her "work" for medical schools she's applied to. She has been swamped, non-stop, for months and months.
I DO NOT recall ever "entering" SMNP via a booth like there is at the Rocky Mtn Nat'l park. Since that is the case, I did not have any idea the "shut down" would impact our little trip. UGH!
They can do what they want I guess, but they can't "hide" the trees!
Most roads are closed and the ones that are open are only for through-traffic. Parking in the park is closed as well. So I guess you would have to find a place to park and walk in, if they let you. Law enforcement is stil patrolling and the gates are closed. People that had planned to marry in the park - 28 wedding in the first two weeks of October, alone - will have to scramble to find an alternative. The park is also closed for educational and event activities.
Most roads are closed and the ones that are open are only for through-traffic. Parking in the park is closed as well. So I guess you would have to find a place to park and walk in, if they let you. Law enforcement is stil patrolling and the gates are closed. People that had planned to marry in the park - 28 wedding in the first two weeks of October, alone - will have to scramble to find an alternative. The park is also closed for educational and event activities.
Maybe I should cancel the trip - or drive in another direction for the fall foliage. This is awful.
Yes, locals who own or run hotels, restaurants, craft shops, service stations, and other businesses catering to tourists were already noticing a difference as of last Tuesday morning, with lots of calls coming in to cancel reservations and a noticeable downtick in business (other than for gas station owners, who saw a brief - and temporary - upswing with campers and others leaving the park tanking up before heading home).
Not sure where you'd be driving from, but Roan Mountain State Park in east TN near Johnson City should have spectacular fall color. Grandfather Mountain is not far away, and is accessible via the Blue Ridge Parkway, which as of last night was open to drivers but had closed picnic grounds, campgrounds, most overnight facilities, restrooms, and visitor centers.
Roan Mountain State Park has very nice fully furnished cabins, but no lodge - they may be filled up by now, of course. Mount Mitchell State Park in NC is accessed via the BRP and is open. Again, I expect state park lodging of all kinds is at a premium now.
The owners of the privately run Pisgah Inn, just north of Asheville on the BRP, are keeping it open, despite the shutdown! Interesting statement on their website - bet they fill up and are very popular!
The owners of the privately run Pisgah Inn, just north of Asheville on the BRP, are keeping it open, despite the shutdown! Interesting statement on their website - bet they fill up and are very popular!
She isn't getting in there, there's an article in USA Today regarding them staying open. Besides that, there is now a deadline for him to close by Thursday evening.
I have to chuckle a bit. The owner is spinning keeping the inn open as if he is doing a service.
"We just decided that it is in the visitors' best interest that we remain open," he said.
But the next paragraph explains why the guy is freaking out - and I really understand that.
Early to mid-October is peak season for fall foliage at the 5,000-foot elevation Pisgah Inn about 25 miles southwest of Asheville, and the inn is normally open April 1 to Oct. 31.
I really do feel for the business owners that are taking a hit during their biggest weeks of the year.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We had a cool summer but it was warmer this past month. We've only had cooler night the past week or two and it is actually going to be 86 the next few days.
