Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the only national park near us in Atlanta, Georgia. But that hasn’t stopped me from dunking on it over the years. Is it fair? No. In fact, its probably stopped me from enjoying it as much as I should. Who cares if it isn’t Yellowstone or Olympic. It’s beautiful and it should be treated as such.

The Smokies are a gateway from north to south, as such they can’t legally charge a fee for just driving through. So at the very least this park is a fun and, in the wintertime, occasionally terrifying roadtrip for southerners. There is lovely hiking. Great animal watching, I recall seeing a family of black bears as a kid.

Beyond that, I have not spent as much time camping and hiking in the park as I would like.

Here is my recommendation, spend time camping and hiking. This isn’t a look and see national park, this is a much more experiential national park.