Great Smoky Mountains National Park 3/24-3/28

[jh504]

Me and my wife went to Great Smoky Mountains National Park this week and I thought I would share a few pictures. We camped at Cataloochee and explored some of the unpaved roads on the eastern side of the park. At one point we ventured down some old logging trails in Pisgah National Forest. Nothing real technical but it was some nice scenery. I wish we had 2 or 3 more weeks to explore the maze of trails through Pisgah and GSMNP. I would recommend this area to anyone heading through the East Coast.

 

[kcowyo]

The Smoky Mountains are God's fingerprint.

Believe that.

 

[greenhorn]

Beautiful. My wife and I will be there in a couple of months to celebrate our 10 year anniv. What roads did you take?

 

[WJinTRSC]

Great pics! Looks like a fun trip! I'm not far away. i need to get up there and explore more of that area. Perhaps I'll have some time this summer. I always seem to stay in SC, and NC areas, but I need to get up to the smokies more.

 

[jh504]

Beautiful. My wife and I will be there in a couple of months to celebrate our 10 year anniv. What roads did you take?

We stayed on the Eastern side of the park. If you come from the north you can take 1397 along the Eastern border of the park and just South of the Big Creek campground there is a logging road, I believe it is Harmon Den Rd. You will need a detailed map to see it, but it runs to Pisgah and there are alot of smaller logging trails running off of it. It does not have a road sign but it is the second left after the cross roads at Big Creek. If you continue south on 1397 when you cross into the National Park there is a park road to the left that goes back to Harmon Den Rd. Continuing down 1397 as you reach the peak of the road there is a trail head to the right (cant remember what) and a narrow double track road climbing a ridge to the left. It is not on any maps I have seen. We met a CJ coming from the opposite direction and we climbed a little way up this road, it seemed promising, but we had to turn back due to time. These are the main ones of know of but there was much more we didnt get to explore.

 

[ujoint]

Great pics, cant wait to bring my rig home and do some exploring/biking.If it will fit

 

[Hilldweller]

Sounds like a good Thanksgiving trip...

 

[IllianaXJ]

Is there a map available at the park office/visitor's center that shows these roads?

I would love to explore the GSMNP area more.

 

[jh504]

Didnt realize that someone had posted on here somewhat lately. To answer the question, there are maps available at the ranger stations, and you can also download a map from the NFS website that shows the open and closed roads.

 

[Hilldweller]

We camped in the Cataloochee campground in October, the last weekend it was open for the season. The elk were still bugling and it was a bit chilly.
The campground has cold water and flush toilets; keeps most of the riff-raff away:

And then a little further around to Cosby, TN (Jellystone Campground) for a Thanksgiving trip where we were joined by Nashvillerover, Sandalscout, and Dieselandmud (and some family); the park and surrounding areas are remarkably beautiful:

 

[jh504]

We camped in the Cataloochee campground in October, the last weekend it was open for the season. The elk were still bugling and it was a bit chilly.
The campground has cold water and flush toilets; keeps most of the riff-raff away:

And then a little further around to Cosby, TN (Jellystone Campground) for a Thanksgiving trip where we were joined by Nashvillerover, Sandalscout, and Dieselandmud (and some family); the park and surrounding areas are remarkably beautiful:

Awsome pictures, we were able to get a few pics of an Elk as well, but she was hornless, and it was pretty dark.