11 Mistakes People Make on Their First Trip to the Smoky Mountains
If you’re planning your first trip to the Smoky Mountains, or Gatlinburg, Tennessee, there are a few mistakes you’ll definitely want to avoid on your first visit. It’s the most visited National Park in the entire USA, so we’ve got some tips for avoiding crowds, which areas to see, and how to best enjoy Gatlinburg. Don’t make these mistakes on your first visit to the Smoky Mountains!
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Disclaimer: This blog contains affiliate links which means I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you decide to make a purchase. Thanks for supporting me and helping me to continue to make free content on this platform!
Only Exploring Mid Day
Something you MUST keep in mind is that Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited National Park in the U.S. If you plan on sleeping in and exploring the park mid-day, you’ll have to deal with a LOT of traffic. Parking spots for major attractions will be very difficult to come by.
Driving through the park mid-day will definitely test your patience! Set that alarm for early morning, it’s one of the best ways to avoid the crowds in the Smokies. Capture some amazing sunrise photos/videos before the harsh mid-day lighting takes over.
Driving Cades Cove Without Doing Your Research
On your first trip to the Smoky Mountains, you’ll probably end up at Cades Cove. Driving Cades Cove itself isn’t a mistake. However, you MUST be prepared before going! Unless you go very early in the morning, be warned that your speed limit may be an average of 2 mph (if you’re lucky) around this beautiful, 11 mile loop.
Cades Cove is still a great place to see but you need to make time for a full day of exploring or go really early in the morning (like really early!) And if this sounds stressful to you, there are so many other fun things to do in the Smokies with kids.
Not Dressing Warm at Kuwohi
One of the main attractions (and one of our favorite easy hikes) in the Smokies is Kuwohi, an observation tower with 360 degree views of the park at the highest point in Tennessee. Kuwohi Mountain is the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. It’ll be colder than you think!
Because of the high elevation, the temperature will be significantly lower compared to the valley. Wear warm clothes and be sure to bundle up those little ones. It’s a steep, half mile hike to the tower, but it is paved so you can take a stroller!
Paying for Parking All Over Gatlinburg
If you plan on driving and parking on or near the main strip in Gatlinburg, be prepared to pay up to $20 for a parking space. But you don’t have to pay those prices! Throughout Gatlinburg City is a FREE trolley system.
They have maps of the trolley system at hotels and information kiosks and there’s even an app you can download that tells you what time a trolley will be by for each location.
Not Planning Ahead
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a really big park! I would highly suggest using some trip planning resources ahead of time so you can spend more time exploring and less time figuring out your next move. We have itineraries, things to do, and the ULTIMATE guide to help you plan!
Note: we didn’t find the map of the park to be super helpful for finding hikes and activities. Usually we rely heavily on the park map, but this one wasn’t as detailed as usual and some of the spots aren’t listed on the map.
Only Doing the Scenic Drives and No Hikes
We did enjoy the scenic drives in the Smokies, and you shouldn’t skip those either. BUT, please do not skip the hikes. We were so surprised to see almost no one on the trails in the park. Our hikes were so beautiful and a great way to explore the park!
Wasting Money on the Tourist Traps
Downtown Gatlinburg is really fun and there are a lot of great things to do! However, there are also a lot of tourist traps. Unless you have an unlimited budget, you’ll want to skip out on some of the downtown traps.
Arcade games are overpriced ($10 gave our little ones maybe 3 minutes worth of play time…) and there are lots of other ways to waste money in Gatlinburg. Do your research ahead of time for the activities that you are interested in so you don’t end up wasting money!
Eating at Peak Meal Times
If you plan on eating at any of Gatlinburg’s many incredible restaurants, you may want to consider going earlier than normal meal times. It was common to have up to a two hour wait.
Not Exploring the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community
Getting souvenirs on our trips is one of our favorite ways to remember our vacation. Obviously we always love the National Parks Visitor Centers, but we found downtown Gatlinburg to be lacking in locally made souvenirs.
We only found out AFTER our trip that there is an 8 mile stretch of road that has over 100 arts and craftsmen just outside of Gatlinburg. Grabbing some high quality souvenirs in this community is a great way to shop local and support the art community there!
Spending Time only in the Sugarlands Area
The Sugarlands area is right near Gatlinburg so it’s an easy place to explore near your accommodations. However, that’s where most of the crowds are and there is SO MUCH to see in other areas of the park.
One of the most important things to know before visiting the Smokies is all the areas outside of Sugarlands that are incredible for exploring. We really enjoyed the Oconaluftee area, Cherokee, and the Cosby area for getting some natural beauty and solitude.
And if you’re trying to decide where to stay for your Smoky Mountains trip, we have a guide to choosing – Gatlinburg vs. Pigeon Forge vs. Cherokee!
Only Spending One Day
While you can still enjoy yourself with one day in the Smokies, we would highly recommend spending longer if you can. This park is pretty big and there are so many beautiful things to see and do in the area. If you can spend 2 days – even better and we think that 3 days that would be perfect to see a good amount of the park.
I hope you enjoy your trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. We loved this park and can’t wait to visit again. Let me know in the comments what your favorite part of the Smoky Mountains is!
