(GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, Tenn.) SMOKIES.LIVE – Cades Cove will experience road closure all week as the National Park Service crews work to remove hazardous trees in the scenic valley.
With the closure, guests looking to explore similar areas may find areas they’ve never experienced before.
For a valley experience you might go out of the park and explore in Wears Valley.
Nestled with the National Park on one side, you can see some high areas with open fields. In Wears Valley, you can find some unique places to eat and shop.
Cades Cove closures this week to be aware of – Smokies Live
Filled with home cooking and antique shops, Wears Valley does provide a secret access to the National Park taking you to the Metcalf Bottoms area. You’ll find this area off Wears Valley Road. Turn onto Lyon Springs Road.
The Metcalf Bottoms area offers picnic areas, when open and a scenic view of little river, crossing over on a wooden one lane bridge. The five sisters cove is also located here for a hike to the Walker Sisters Cabin on Little Briar Gap Trail.
With the creation of the National Park, most families left, however, a select few stayed. A select few, including the six unmarried Walker sisters, received a special lifetime lease—a chance to live out the rest of their lives in the log cabin they were raised in. You can explore their life in the area through this journey.
Weather permitting, you can visit the Bud Ogle Cabin just outside of Gatlinburg. If you’ll take Cherokee Orchard Road, you’ll find the remnants of the farm. There you can explore the first family of Gatlinburg and how the Cherokee helped the white settlers to build a cabin and farm in the area.
Closed for the season, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature trail also offers several open areas you can explore life in early Gatlinburg.
Scheduled closure dates for Cades Cove: February 9–13 and February 23-27.
On the North Carolina side of the park, the Cataloochee Valley. Even at peak season, the Cataloochee entrance to the park sees 10 times fewer vehicles than the Cades Cove entrance. Please check to make sure the area is open.
CURRENT CLOSURES IN GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
The following roads are closed due to icy conditions: Greenbrier, Upper Tremont Road, and Cataloochee.
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