The North Carolina Side in One Day
Start early, pack a picnic lunch, and drive to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to pick up orientation maps and brochures. While you’re there, spend an hour or so exploring the Mountain Farm Museum. Drive the half mile to Mingus Mill and see corn being ground into meal in an authentic working gristmill. Head up Newfound Gap Road and Clingmans Dome Road to Clingmans Dome. The 25-mile drive takes you through a dizzying array of plants and trees. Stretch your legs and walk the half-mile paved, but fairly steep, trail to the observation tower on Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Smokies. On a clear day you can see as far as 100 miles, though on most days air pollution limits views to about 20 miles. If you’ve worked up an appetite, head back down the mountain and stop for a leisurely picnic at Collins Creek Picnic Area. If you want a moderate afternoon hike, the four-mile round-trip Kephart Prong Trail is nearby and wanders along a stream to the remains of a Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Alternatively, drive via the Blue Ridge Parkway and Heintooga Ridge Road to the Heintooga Picnic Area at Balsam Springs. At a mile high, this part of the Smokies is usually cool, even in mid-July. If you’re up for it, you can hike all or part of the Flat Creek Trail, which begins near the Heintooga Picnic Area and is one of the hidden jewels of the park.
The North Carolina Side in Three Days
On Day 1, follow the one-day itinerary. On Day 2, drive to Bryson City and then three miles to Deep Creek. If you have children with you, or if you’re a kid at heart, rent inner tubes and spend several hours tubing and swimming in Deep Creek. Have a picnic at Deep Creek Picnic Area, or drive into Bryson City for lunch. In the afternoon, take one of the nearby loop hikes to see waterfalls. If you want to do more driving, you can visit Fontana Lake, which hugs the southwestern border of the park. On Day 3, take I–40 to Cove Creek Road and drive to the Cataloochee Valley. Spend the morning spying elk and exploring the deserted homes, barns, and churches of the Cataloochee community. After a picnic by Cataloochee Creek, continue on Cove Creek Road, an unpaved, narrow park road, toward Big Creek. On the way, stop and hike at least a little of the Mt. Sterling trail—it’s a strenuous, steep 5.4-mile hike to an old fire tower, so you may not have the time or the energy to hike the entire trail. Reconnect with I–40 and return home.