Great Smoky Mountain NP: Our most visited national park

This is the third (first was Mesa Verde, second Joshua Tree) of my Top Ten National Park picks, a difficult choice with so many great parks to choose from. To qualify, they had to be RV friendly, offering camping, road-touring, or optional means of seeing the park. They had to encompass some of the most breathtaking and wild scenery in the country, have abundant wildlife, and offer a variety of recreational opportunities to make it a destination choice, a place you could spend days or weeks. They represent several types of terrain spread over nine states and Canada, from Maine to California.

Already by 1930 two-thirds of the future park area had been cut of its timber. A saving act by Congress established the park in 1934, the mission of which was to preserve this unique mountain area’s features, to rid the park of exotic plant and insect species, and re-establish wildlife, much of which had already been lost.

From the base of the mountains to the tops, the park’s five distinct forests support 130 species of trees, from spruce and firs of the higher elevations to oaks and hardwoods at lower elevations.

Road-touring, wildlife watching, high mountain scenic viewpoints, hiking trails, easy access to population centers, free admission, and the unique history of the mountain people combine to make Great Smokey Mountain our most visited National Park with over nine million annual visitors.

Coyotes, woodchucks, raccoons, opossums, red and gray foxes, and bobcats—65 mammal species--live in the park. Between 400 and 800 deer live in Cades Cove. About 1,500 black bears, about two bears per square mile and one of the country’s highest densities, roam the park. Red wolves, elk, and river otters have also been re-introduced.

Ten campgrounds nestle in the woods and along streams in the park, none with hookups, but three take reservations and six can accomodate rigs over 30 feet.

The park is located between Asheville, NC and Knoxville, TN in western North Carolina on the Tennessee border. Visit the park's Website for more information.