Fall Travel Highlights

Fall Travel Highlights

Summary: Falls changing leaves, with their stunning reds, oranges, and purples, both herald the end of summer and delight the eyes. This fall, treat yourself to a display of color like no other on earth and visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Feast your eyes on the rich hues of billions of leaves on over different species of trees as you breathe in the fresh, crisp autumn air.

Hiking the Smoky Mountains will give you spectacular panoramic views of the great diversit...

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Article Body: Falls changing leaves, with their stunning reds, oranges, and purples, both herald the end of summer and delight the eyes. This fall, treat yourself to a display of color like no other on earth and visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Feast your eyes on the rich hues of billions of leaves on over different species of trees as you breathe in the fresh, crisp autumn air.

Hiking the Smoky Mountains will give you spectacular panoramic views of the great diversity of wildlife the park has to offer. There is no shortage of hiking trails. With over miles of them, you will be able to find the one right for your level of expertise. And plants arent the only type of wildlife youll enjoy. Youre sure to spot many furry critters at home in the natural habitat, including deer, elk, and even the occasional black bear!

For the adventurous at heart, a funan inexpensiveway to enjoy the Smoky Mountains is to campout in the park. Whats better, the campgrounds arent one-size-fits-all. Instead, you have a few options to choose from, so you can select the area of the park thats right for you. Play Lewis and Clark and trek out to the backcountry. You can only get there by foot! For those of us less keen on roughing it, frontcountry offers running water and flush toilets. There are also campgrounds that accommodate groups of and some made for folks who bring along their horses.

Of course, theres more to the Smokies than leaves. The park has the makings of a romantic getaway for two or a trip thats fun for the whole family. Here are just a few of the activities this national park has to offer:

Bicycling Auto tours Wildlife viewing Historical sites Hiking Waterfall walks Picnicking

In fact, theres more to do in Smoky Mountain National Park than you can probably fit into one trip. For history buffs, theres the Mountain Farm Museum. This museum is actually an extensive collection of th century farmhouses. Highlights include a barn, apple house, and working blacksmith shop. Be sure to arrive in time for one of the live gardening demonstrations.

Lesser known than Hoover, the Fontana Dam is also an impressive site. Its actually the tallest concrete dam east of the Rocky Mountains feet to be exact. The dam, with a reservoir size of , acres, forms Fontana Lake, which provides boat access to more remote areas of the park. To learn about how the dam was built, you can check out the visit center operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Dont forget to include Clingmans Dome in your itinerary. The dome is the highest point in the whole park and the highest point in all of Tennessee. Its a half-mile walk to the observation tower, but well worth it. At . feet, the tower offers you an unrivaled view of the Smokies. Typically, you can see for about miles, but if youre lucky enough to be there on a clear day, you can see as far as miles.

If you need a break from nature, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are near by and chock full of family fun. Theres Dollywood, numerous shows and restaurants, miniature golf, go-karts, and the Ripleys Believe it or not Aquarium, just to name a few.