We want to go to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in October. We will be landing at TYS airport-Tyson at around noon and then want to explore part of the park. Then overnight in a hotel somewhere close to the middle of the park-- we need suggestions and then the next day drive the rest of the park. and either fly home that night or the next morning. The question is which town we should look into for hotel? We don't want to have to backtrack to Gatlinburg- because that's pretty close to the beginning of the park, and we want to continue the next day with the rest of the park. Any suggestions?

Also, which were your favorite short (under one hour rountdrip) hikes in the park?

thanks

or would there be a better place to fly into and stay in?

October will be prime leaf peeping season so reservations may be difficult this late.
You might fly into Asheville which could be closer than Knox.
I'd suggest you look at a map of the area and park--there aren't hotels in the Park, of course. You can go to the edges and find lodging.

It sounds like you already have flights purchased? Are you flying in *and* out of Knoxville?

You'll be doing lots of driving no matter what. I wouldn't move hotels for a two-night trip, and as Gretchen notes there aren't hotels in the middle of the park anyway - or restaurants, etc. (Mt LeConte has a hikers' lodge, but that's only accessible by hiking.)

Assuming you're committed to flying in and out of McGhee-Tyson (Knoxville), I'd just get a hotel in either Gatlinburg (if you want to be near more "attractions" in the evenings) or around Townsend, directly en route between TYS and Cades Cove. Townsend is very small but that means less traffic. The Townsend area also has more cabins than hotels, I believe, so you might look for an independent cabin rental vs a Holiday Inn or the like.

As far as one-hour hikes - Laurel Falls is the only one I'm coming up with. Even the more moderate hikes are more like 2-3 hours. This page should get you started.

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

Sorry, just noticed your second post asking about a better place to fly into! I'd edit my post above if I could

We just returned from a week in GSMNP. We stayed near Townsend. We stayed in a cabin in the woods but there are several hotels/motels in the area. We did the Laurel Falls hike which was very crowded but still a nice enough hike. If you do the Cades Cove loop drive there a few nice hikes there and one that is 3.5 miles and takes several hours. We did a couple shorter hikes as we drove through Cades Cove. We also stopped at every "Quiet Walk" we encountered as we drove through various parts of the park. These are short but lovely and no one else was hiking them! The "hike" up to Clingman's Dome (highest point in GSMNP) is a paved walkway with lots of people but we hiked down on part of the Appalachian Trail.

thanks everyone. How long is the park end to end in miles? How long to drive through approx (without hikes)?

Are Gatlinsburg and Townsend at the beginning of the park or middle?

Actually, haven't booked tickets yet, I thought TYS is the closest?

Asheville is probably closer.
I suggest you google and look at a map of the Park. You can drive through the park from Pigeon Forge to Cherokee in a couple of hours--it's a 4 lane highway.
Look at a map of Tennessee and NC and see what airport is closer. The drive from Asheville to the Park is actually prettier than from knoxville, IMO.

Most of the more well-known tourist attractions in GSMNP (Cades Cove, Mt LeConte, Roaring Fork Motor Trail...) are on the Tennessee side; if this is what you're interested in, flying into Knoxville (really Maryville) would be closer. It's a 30-minute straight shot from TYS to Townsend via US 321, for example; Gatilnburg is further, a little over an hour. If you're more interested in hikes on the North Carolina side, or seeing Asheville/the Blue Ridge Parkway in addition to part of GSMNP, flying into Asheville would be better, though with two nights I'd pick either GSMNP or the Asheville area rather than trying to do both.

Gatlinburg and Townsend are not in the park; they are both just outside its borders. As noted - sounds like your first step should be looking at a Google Map of the park and getting your bearings.

thanks will check