travel tangent: asheville and the great smoky mountains 2023

In April, I visited MAC in Atlanta and we took a five-day road trip with the highlight of seeing Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The park is only ~150 miles / 250 km from Atlanta, but I could check off touching four US states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Day 1: Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC

• We had hotel reservations for the first two nights in the arty foodie city of Asheville, North Carolina.  Since we planned to do some hiking en route, we picked up lunch to take with us as we were leaving Atlanta.  We had researched waterfalls online and decided to check out a small state park called Wildcat Falls on South Carolina’s Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway.  The lower falls is a lovely 30 foot cascade right off the highway where a few families were cooling off in the water.  A short distance further up Wildcat Branch Creek was the middle falls where MAC and I admired the 10 foot drop from above while enjoying our delicious fancy sandwiches in the shade.  We walked the park’s loop trail, criss-crossing the creek, to view the upper falls which is an impressive 100 foot slide.  An old fireplace and chimney near the middle falls are a reminder that the park was built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a wayside stop for motorists almost a hundred years ago.  MAC’s research had shown another falls close by so we walked along the highway for a bit to discover the trail.  After a short walk along a stream, we had a beautiful little cascade all to ourselves.

• Then it was on to Asheville where we stayed at the Cambria, a modern downtown hotel with a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The hotel is next to The Grove Arcade which turned out to be a fascinating historic building to explore.  Built in the 1920’s, this beautiful ornate structure covers an entire city block and was one of the US’s first enclosed shopping malls.  Closed to the public and used by the government since the 1940’s, it was restored and reopened 20 years ago with shops and restaurants on the main level and offices and apartments above. 
• We had dinner reservations that night (made weeks before the trip) at Plant is Food—a popular high-end all-vegan restaurant.  The small dishes we shared of grilled tahini cauliflower, squash ravioli, and mushroom tamale in mole did not disappoint! 

Day 2: Asheville, NC

• On most of our trips together in recent years, MAC and I eat very healthily.  For breakfast on Day 2 though, Bebettes, the nearby New Orleans Coffeehouse with BEIGNETS had caught my attention.  I was all in.  We sat outside the Grove Arcade with paper bags full of hot beignets sprinkled with icing sugar (that icing sugar went everywhere) watching other tourists wander around deciding where to go for breakfast.  No indecisiveness with us—we knew we had made the right choice. 
• After breakfast, we walked Asheville’s Urban Trail, a 1.7 mile / 2.7 km self-guided art and history tour following granite sidewalk markers through 30 stops around the downtown to observe sculptures and architecture.
• The temperature was heating up quickly so we returned to the hotel to change into shorts before walking southwest to the Riverside Arts District.  Before going too far, though, lunch!  Ultra Coffeebar, with a line up to order and a busy patio, was a pleasant find where we enjoyed another great veggie sandwich.  When we first arrived in the area, a woman came out of one of the galleries to direct us (we obviously looked like tourists).  She was very helpful but I found it curious that she (probably also in her 50’s) was trying to dissuade us from walking to the farthest point in the district.  Looking back, her concern was probably more about the heat than our physical ability—the trail along the French Broad River was in direct sunlight.  We enjoyed the walk but, at our turn-around point, we had a leisurely rest and water-break under a patio-table umbrella and then looked into some air-conditioned studios (in converted warehouses) before returning along the river.
• Back in the downtown, we enjoyed seeing the Woolworth Walk—an art gallery in a restored Woolworth’s department store with a grand staircase to the basement and even a soda fountain / lunch counter!  And later for dinner, wow, we hit it out of the ballpark with another amazing meal!  A James Beard award-winner—Chai Pani—where we shared a variety of delicious Indian “street” snacks. 
• Note: Asheville is famous for Biltmore, a MASSIVE French Renaissance style estate built in the late 1880’s by (and still owned by) the Vanderbilt family.  Between the buildings and gardens, it would deserve an entire day to explore (especially with tickets starting at $79USD) and MAC had already seen it so I gave that a pass.

Day 3: Asheville to Cherokee, NC / Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• After checking out of the hotel, we drove to Pulp + Sprout, an all-vegan cafe for a fruit-smoothie bowl. We were so impressed with breakfast there, we took lunch to go for our first day in the park. 
• Then it was on to the thrill for me of driving into a new national park—Great Smoky Mountains.  We stopped at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to pick up maps and a visitor guide.  The park is free to enter but, starting this year, you are required to pay for parking tickets.  So, no longer free.  Our hotel was just outside the park in Cherokee, a charming town that is the capital of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation.  The park is in two states—North Carolina and Tennessee.  It is the most popular US national park and the most biodiverse (it is also a designated UN International Biosphere Reserve).  The name of the park comes from the Cherokee people who described these misty mountains as “blue, like smoke.”*
• We checked in early and then were off for a long drive to the EAST side of the park to Cataloochee Valley specifically to see elk (they were reintroduced to the park here in 2001).  Part of the drive was on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic byway from North Carolina to Virginia.  In this less visited side of the park, the route was hilly, windy, narrow, and gravel in places.  I did not envy the guy I saw towing an RV trailer.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by wild turkeys everywhere.  We did a short hike along a beautiful river and peeked in some historic structures built by European settlers.  We waited to see if elk would show up in the big meadows at the late afternoon magic hour, but eventually gave up and started driving away.  Of course, that’s when we were rewarded with seeing a herd! 
• Sounds strange but, for dinner, our best bet turned out to be the casino in Cherokee—a huge destination casino with a luxury hotel, high end stores, and an assortment of restaurants and food courts.  No, we weren’t tempted to play the slots. 

Day 4: Cherokee, NC / Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• We skipped the free breakfast at the hotel because we wanted to pick up a healthier meal and lunch at a more appealing cafe.  Well, that was a miscalculation because it was Saturday and the café hadn’t opened yet.  We did find a coffee shop where we got overly-sweet smoothies but they had nothing to take for lunch.  Fortunately, we always have a food bag with some nuts, treats, fruit, corn chips, etc.
• First, we went NORTH to Sugarlands Visitor Center then WEST to drive the popular 11 mile / 18 km Cades Cove Loop.  This “cove” is a wide valley that is a popular spot in the park for wildlife viewing.  Towards the end of the loop, there was a traffic jam.  What was it?  We got out of the car to see (from a long safe distance away) a mama bear with three (3!) cubs.  On the way east again, we stopped to view two waterfalls close to the road—Meigs Falls and The Sink—neither were signed so they were easy to miss the first time we drove by.

• Next it was a hike to the very popular Laurel Falls.  I think we got the last spot in the parking lot!  This trail is “paved” but the pavement is very old, buckled and missing in places.  Parents pushing strollers looked like they were struggling.  We enjoyed our time at the 80 foot falls but it was packed, especially with teenagers posturing.

• By now it was mid-afternoon and we were both feeling the missed big healthy breakfast and lunch.  The town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee was closest so we went there—what a zoo!  Sidewalks packed and the main street grid-locked.  It was a mini-Las Vegas or Niagara Falls.  Argh!  This is why MAC had chosen to stay in Cherokee—she had already experienced Gatlinburg as a gateway town just outside the park.  Just about to give up and turn around, we got ourselves out of the downtown and found our way to one of those lovely surprises—a local meat smoking sandwich shop with a delicious roasted tofu sandwich option and some great kombucha.
• Having been sated, we took a less-busy road the hell-outta town for the hike to Clingman’s Dome—this is a very popular hike to the highest point in the park (6643 feet) but it was late afternoon by then and the parking lot and trail were not busy.  After a good workout going uphill (with a full tummy), the destination is a cement ramp to an observation tower with a 360 degree view of the mountains.  On the way, I had the excitement of crossing the famous 2200 mile / 3540 km Appalachian Trail that takes hikers from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.  The long full day made for a great sleep.

Day 5: Cherokee, NC to Atlanta, GA

• We skipped the free breakfast again (having confirmed our restaurant destination was open) and, after checking out, drove to the Everett Street Diner in Bryson City (another gateway town just outside the park).  A very popular place on a Sunday morning!  We sat outside waiting for an available table and had lovely chats with the gregarious host and a young family.  Inside, we sat at the counter and were entertained by the busy waitresses.

• Next, we finished off our exploration of the park at nearby Deep Creek where our hike included three beautiful waterfalls—Juney Whank (90 foot slide), Indian Creek (25 foot cascade), and Toms Branch (60 foot cascade).  I particularly enjoyed seeing wild rhododendrons surrounding Toms Branch falls (growing up in Nova Scotia, I think of rhodies as garden shrubs).  Our trail was also lined with a variety of wildflowers in bloom— Dwarf Crested Iris, Foamflower, Robin’s Plantain, Rue Anemone, Showy Orchid, and Wild Geranium to name a few. 
• We had one more refuel stop for the drive home: the town of Franklin for a coffee (me) and smoothie (MAC).

The trip was a lovely introduction to the park system’s most popular destination and April seemed a great time—busy enough without the summer crowds and hot enough already.  What did surprise me is that I didn’t notice a single biting bug until the last day in the park—and even then it was only a few.  There’s also a connection to my previous trip with MAC in September 2022 to Nova Scotia’s Highlands National Park.  These Great Smoky Mountains are part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  And the Blue Ridge Mountains are a subrange of the Appalachian chain that extends way up into Canada and includes those Cape Breton Highlands.

*From the NPS brochure.

References and related links:

• MAC: mon amie Caroline.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NPS site)
• Deep Creek Waterfalls and Wildflowers (Great Smoky Mountains Association video on YouTube)
• travel tangent: cape breton 2022 (post #186)