Great smokey mountains

Old Sep 12th, 2013, 06:21 PM
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Great smokey mountains

I want to fly into Atlanta Georgia and join my son there and drive to the smokey mountains to see the fall foliage, you can't see much of that in Southern California. I have the weekend of oct 19 to do that. Where would you base yourself to see the foliage I am looking up gatlinburg tn but lots of reviews says traffic and crowds where els is an option I would prefer closer to the south side of the mountains coming up from Atlanta. Any ideas?
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 03:26 AM
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Your most likely going to have to drive through Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge anyway, so you might as well join them. Get up early to avoid the Traffic. It is a little crazy during peak times at Gatlinburg, but never has really bothered me.

You might even consider driving over the Mountain(it's a fantastic drive anyway) and to Ashville where you could see The Biltmore.

Abram Falls, Grotto Falls, Laurell Falls, Clingmon's Dome--These are all nice short hikes.
A Drive Through Cades Cove would be a must. There is another serious traffic spot issue. Again, go early as possible(crack of dawn)
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 03:43 AM
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Use Rabun county in Georgia as your base. It's the far NE corner of the state and a great base for heading north for the national park - if you decide to. There is plenty to see and do in the area without going all the way to Cherokee or further north into the park.

http://explorerabun.com/

Here's a hint of the color you will see on their Facebook page -
https://www.facebook.com/explorerabun

Here's a B&B in the area -
http://www.beechwoodinn.ws/

A lovely rustic hotel that has been very nicely updated in the last few years -
http://www.lakerabunhotel.com/

There are other hotels in the area and rental condos, cabins and lake homes.
http://kingwoodresort.com/
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...ns/lake-burton

You can go to GSMNP is you want but you can enjoy the gorgeous fall color in the mountains without dealing with national park traffic.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 04:14 AM
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Another way to relax and see the foliage - an afternoon train ride -
http://www.gsmr.com/ride-us/about-fa...ing/western-NC
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 06:57 AM
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Thank you for this information; I knew I'd get it eventually
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 07:07 AM
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Another option a short detour off the route from Atlanta to Gatlinburg is Highlands, NC. It's a cute little town with posh shopping and nice places to stay. Here's one option -
http://www.oldedwardsinn.com/

Cashiers is a little bit further up the road.

Either would be a nice base to use but not if you plan to continue on up to the GSMNP.

On the way back to Atlanta, be sure to take the road from Highlands to Franklin. Very curvy but a gorgeous drive with waterfalls along the way.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 01:06 PM
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Rabun county ga is half way to smokey mountains is the foliage and scenery just as good if so I can save on the driving. I'm clueless about the south
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 01:34 PM
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It is.
Great Smokey Mountain National Park is the most visited NP because of its size and its location. But it can get VERY crowded with leaf peepers all converging during a few peak weekends. Rabun county IS halfway along the route and you will see gorgeous mountains, gorgeous leaf color with little traffic.

The route from Atlanta is 4 lane highway all the way.
Interstate 85N from Atlanta.
Bear left at the split and head towards Gainesville on 985/365 which becomes 441.
If you continue north past Dillard GA into NC you can continue on to Cherokee NC, then the park and Gatlinburg.
But if you want to see mountains and gorgeous fall color you don't have to go further north.

Two state parks are in the county -
Tallulah Gorge state park - has an easy rim trail with views of the gorge and waterfalls.
http://www.gastateparks.org/TallulahGorge

Black Rock Mountain State Park - Georgia's highest state park - beautiful views of layered mountains in fall foliage
http://www.gastateparks.org/BlackRockMountain

There are trails at Black Rock near the summit, but there's a very easy walk around a mountain lake that is absolutely gorgeous walk in every season - but especially the fall
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...a.html#REVIEWS

There's a lot more to see and do in the area, including very good restaurants, wineries and a friendly area without the crowds. The towns are Tallulah Falls, Lakemont, Clayton, Rabun Gap and Dillard (going from south to north) if you are looking for VRBO.com rentals.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 02:50 PM
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Cosby in the north is much less crowded, but also much less "to do" unless you just want to hike and drive - then there's plenty and it's more peacful than the Gatlinburg area. Also, Townsend in the south end of the park, a little south of Pigeon Forge, is not so crowded, but a little more so than Cosby, if I remember.
Cosby also has some nice little cabins for rent, some that border the park. We rented on of these, several years ago. 15 minute drive to Gatlinburg area if you really miss crowds.

I only stayed in Townsend once, but it seemed a lot more quiet and peaceful than Gatlinburg (I actually kinda like Gatlinburg, too, but it is crazy-busy in fall). Townsend is down by Abrams Falls.
http://www.gardenofedencabins.com/

The hiking from the Cosby campground are is really nice and you can hike up to the Appalachain trail from there, just to say you've hiked a half-mile or so on it, .

There's a really fun Mexican restaurant (and the food is actually very good, too) in Cosby called The Front Porch where they have live bluegrass on Friday nights. BYOB. Sometimes, locals will get up and start clogging.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 02:52 PM
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Ok that link is for the cabins in Cosby - was not meant to be under the sentecne about Townsend. Sorry for the confusion!

I know you said more south, but Cosby is really nice - it's my favorite town/area around the Smokies.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 02:56 PM
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I think starrs has a very good idea there about staying in Georgia - the scenery and fall colors will be very, very similar - if not prettier, actually, without the hordes of people on the roads.
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Old Sep 19th, 2013, 10:08 AM
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I've been to Cade's Cove many times at different times of the year. However, I've not done so the week before Christmas. Does anyone have any idea whether that area would be crowded at that time (by crowded I mean, as much as during leaf-peeping season), please? I've been in the general area during two or three weeks prior to Christmas and it is busy, but not the days leading up to it.
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