Fall Color Report for the Smoky Mountains

The Smoky Mountains have just entered the 2008 fall peak season for leaf color and what can only be described as perfect weather. While the higher elevations in Tennessee and North Carolina have been have been getting more and more colorful for the past 2 weeks, stunning fall colors have now started all around the Smokies.

To enjoy fall colors you just need to step outside or look at of any window in the Smoky Mountains. The depth of the peak autumn leaves can be found in the higher elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains national park along the Appalachian Trail and Mount Le Conte but to see these beautiful fall colors you only need to look up from anywhere in the Smokies.

To see these beautiful colors you can take a drive along Newfound Gap Road (441), the Foothills parkway off I-40, the Foothills Parkway west of Townsend, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and all of the major roads within the national park.

In Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville the views are already wonderful and the views from Bluff Mountain and Wears Valley are also breathtaking.

Hiking in the trails of the Great Smoky Mountains national park offer fantastic fall colors on every twist and turn. Brilliant reds, oranges and yellows glow in the sunlight with a backdrop of light and dark greens.

This picture is of the Bushy Mountain trail yesterday just above the Grotto Falls in the Roaring Fork section of the national park right outside the city of Gatlinburg. While the views of the trees with wonderful fall colors are great, look at the bight colors along the side of the hiking trails as well!

Other great places to see the vistas of the beautiful fall colors of 2008 is at Clingmans Dome at the end of Clingmans Dome Road of Newfound Gap Road and the Newfound Gap parking lot and the various pull offs on Newfound Gap Road.

Less traveled and also a great place to see fall colors in the Smoky Mountains is the Look Rock Tower which is only a short hike from the parking area on the Foothills Parkway west of Townsend.

Did we mention the Cades Cove valley in the Great Smoky Mountains national park? Stunning! The valley has fields that still have some wild flowers blooming and the fall colors are moving up the mountainsides.

The wildlife in Cades Cove is very active right now so you can get some great pictures of the deer frolicking around and maybe even a good picture or two of our local black bear.

For a very special treat in the Great Smoky Mountains the National park service is opening up a section of the Foothills Parkway that is normally closed this Saturday October 18th. To get there go to the Foothills Parkway interchange off U.S. 321 about 11 miles south of Maryville and you will directed by volunteers for this wonderful fall colors auto tour.

People looking to see the best fall colors in the Smoky Mountains can still rent a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville as there are still a few vacancies left. Rent a cabin within 7 days of check in and get a 10% discount for last minute cabin rentals for the fall color season!