What's on in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Smoky Mountains), United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Parking tag required

  1 Jan – 31 Dec

  There is no entrance fee, but parking anywhere in the park for more than fifteen minutes needs a tag, sold by the day, week or year. Displaying it is on you, and rangers do check the popular trailheads. Source ↗

Still on: Winter road closures (1 Dec – 31 Mar)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter road closures (1 Dec – 31 Mar)

Busy — Spring break in United States

• Nature

  Spring wildflowers

  25 Mar – 10 May · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Trilliums, lady's slippers and phacelia work up the mountain through April, low trails first and the high ridges weeks later. The park calls itself the wildflower national park and April is why.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter road closures (1 Dec – 31 Mar)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring wildflowers (25 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Rule

  Cades Cove vehicle-free Wednesdays

  6 May – 30 Sep · usuallyClosures

  The eleven-mile loop closes to cars every Wednesday through the summer and belongs to walkers and cyclists instead. It is the only way to do the cove without sitting in a queue behind a bear jam. Source ↗

• Nature

  Synchronous fireflies

  18 May – 12 Jun · usuallyBook early

  For about a fortnight in late May and early June the fireflies at Elkmont flash in unison. Access is by lottery, applications open in April, and the park announces the exact viewing dates only weeks ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring wildflowers (25 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Peak summer season, Summer break in United States

• Season

  Peak summer season

  10 Jun – 15 AugSchool holidaysCrowded

  This is the most visited national park in the country and summer is when it shows, most of it funnelled through Gatlinburg on a two-lane road. Start before seven or accept the queue at Newfound Gap.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cades Cove vehicle-free Wednesdays (6 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Synchronous fireflies (18 May – 12 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Peak summer season, Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cades Cove vehicle-free Wednesdays (6 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Peak summer season (10 Jun – 15 Aug)

Peak crowds — Peak summer season, Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cades Cove vehicle-free Wednesdays (6 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Peak summer season (10 Jun – 15 Aug)

Busy — Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cades Cove vehicle-free Wednesdays (6 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Fall colour

• Nature

  Fall colour

  1 Oct – 5 Nov · usuallyAutumn colourCrowded

  Colour starts above 1,200 metres in early October and works down to the foothills by the first week of November, so there is nearly a month of it somewhere in the park. October weekends are the busiest days of the year.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Fall colour, Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Fall colour (1 Oct – 5 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Closure

  Winter road closures

  1 Dec – 31 Mar

  The Kuwohi road, Clingmans Dome's, closes for the winter along with Balsam Mountain and Roaring Fork, and Newfound Gap shuts on short notice in ice. The low valleys stay open and stay empty. Source ↗

Still on: Parking tag required (1 Jan – 31 Dec)