Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Kids
As part of our Spring 2014 RV Road Trip, we visited the enjoying some moonshine the night before) and hit the road. It was going to be a long day driving the RV through the Great Smoky Mountains to get to our next RV park in Asheville, NC, where we would be staying for that night. We had never been to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. And since we were there with 2 young-ish kids, we knew that we had to limit our explorations to some shorter hikes. It turned out that Great Smoky Mountains National park is a fantastic place to visit with kids!
We started our journey at the Gatlinburg entrance to the Park and followed Newfound Gap Road through the Park, stopping along the way at various sites & to do some hikes. According to this Gatlinburg tourism website:
Newfound Gap Road
Ready to see the Smokies? Start here.
You’d have to go from Georgia to Maine to see the variety of forest ecosystems you can experience on the Smokies’ most popular drive. Newfound Gap Road begins right in Gatlinburg, crests at 5,000 feet, and descends into Cherokee 30 miles later. Some highlights along the way include
Sugarlands Visitor Center, Chimney Tops, Newfound Gap, Clingman’s Dome Road, Ocanaluftee Valley and Mingus Mill. There are plenty of pulloffs, places to picnic, trailheads and breathtaking views. Every trip to the Smokies begins with a drive on the Newfound Gap Road, so pack a picnic and c’mon up.”
Chimney Tops Trail with Kids
Along our route, we had time to pull over to some of the scenic lookouts and to take 2 longer hikes. The first hike that we did was the Chimney Tops trail. We didn’t have time to do the entire thing, but we walked for a while and stopped to admire the waterfalls and beautiful scenery along the way. I don’t recommend wearing jeans (like I was)…ever (for hiking). Luckily we had our hotel on wheels (the RV) with all of our stuff in it & I could easily change clothes before the next hike.
Chimney Tops Trail Hike
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This trail has some parts that go steeply uphill, but it is easily manageable, even for younger kids. We saw people with toddlers on the trail! There are lots of places to stop and rest and admire the foliage as well.
Clingmans Dome Trail with Kids
The next major stop that we made was to do the Clingmans Dome Trail. This is the spot where you will get all of those gorgeous Smoky Mountain views. These were the views that I was hoping for & that were in my head every time I even thought about Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Clingmans Dome Trail
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
So, while this hike is only a half mile to the ‘dome’, you will feel every inch of it. The trail is a paved surface that is very, very, steep. It can almost feel vertical, depending on what kind of shape you are in. God bless those poor souls who were pushing strollers and carrying small children up this massive incline. You are more powerful than me. My kids complained about three-fourths of the time (and sat at the rest points for the other quarter). But the view from the top was so worth it!
We absolutely loved our visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the kids! We were able to drive our rental RV all through the park with no issues at all. And it really came in handy when we wanted to make lunch (and I wanted to change out of my jeans). It was a fabulous day!