Page Updated: September 12, 2023
Great Smoky Mountains
National Park
2022 JAN
Ben Horton Overlook - GSMNP
We’ve visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park a couple of times over the past couple of decades. In our early days as a couple we weren’t as appreciative of the experience as we are now, but we do have a unique adventure every time we visit the park. Since our rental for this leg was close to GSMNP, we were in and out of the park at our leisure.
It was fantastic!
Swain County Heritage Museum
The Swain County Heritage Museum in Bryson City does double duty as a Visitor Center for the town and Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We dropped in on our visit to Bryson City and learned a little about the history of the park and the immediate area.
The Road to Nowhere is an unfinished promise.
For the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Fontana Dam, federal and local governments took over thousands of acres of land. In the flooding for Fontana Lake, a local community was displaced. As partial recompense, there was a promise to reroute the highway allowing displaced families access to their ancestral cemeteries.
It was never completed.
The Road to Nowhere
Today, the Road to Nowhere disappears on the other side of the tunnel and Lake Shore Trail begins. Locals and park-goers can hike 35-miles to the dam, or take a number of shorter trails off-shooting the main trail. Word has it some trails have remnants of old homesteads
In retrospect, we should’ve done a little hiking, but we kept our exploring to the 1/4 mile long tunnel. Bring a flashlight so you can see what you’re stepping on!
Our plan to hike Alum Cave Trail to Mount Le Conte went the way of the wind when a snowstorm blew threw causing icy roads and road closures. So, we pivoted to Deep Creek Loop. It was a much easier trail, but one that got us out in nature for the day!
Deep Creek Loop
After the first snowstorm in the area, the road through the park closed. And though the lower elevation of the rental allowed snow to clear, Highway 441 over the pass remained closed. Finally, it cleared enough and the park opened the road. We enjoyed the winter drive up to Newfound Gap. Ice still covered the Rockefeller Memorial and more snow began to fall, and it didn’t take long for the roads to close a second time.
Newfound Gap
Mingus Mill & Mountain Farm Museum
At the southern entrance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Cherokee, NC sits a collection of historic buildings that have been gathered from throughout the Smokies and assembled in a large field in an attempt to recreate a 19th century mountain farmstead.
We’d visited Mingus Mill 20+ years ago and decided to visit it again, but this was the first in-depth look we’ve had of the Mountain Farm Museum. The structures are in great chape and well laid out. Enjoyed seeing the chickens roaming the yard!
scenes from Great Smoky Mountain National Park
-b&b
Van Gogh Alive
Mingus Mill and Mountain Farm Museum
