The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is an annual five-day event in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that has attracted nature and history lovers, photographers, artists and tourists to the Smokies every spring since 1951.

This annual gathering had humble beginnings starting with 400 attendees from 20 different states which has grown to thousands who come for the formal programs or informally on their own.

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage programs include close to 150 professionally guided walks and hikes along with indoor presentations exploring the Great Smoky Mountains region's rich abundance of wildflowers, wildlife, biodiverse environment along with the Smokies own rich cultural and natural history.

Virtually all of the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage programs held outside such as the guided hikes take place in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Indoor programs take place in the Sugarlands Visitor Center, the W. L. Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg and a host of other locations all throughout Gatlinburg Tennessee.

What started as a 2 day event has now grown to a 5 day event with most visitors attending the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage staying a week or more in the Great Smoky Mountains as there is just too much to take in such a short period and through there may be a few April showers - great for May wildflowers, the weather is generally extremely comfortable.

Timing for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage can be difficult especially given the significant weather variations in the past decade. For example, last year January and February were both more than 9 degrees above normal and everything in the Great Smoky Mountains came to life and then bloomed about 3 weeks early than normal.

The good news is that even if everything blooms real early and you miss the emergence of some plants, and animals for that matter, it's OK as there are blooming plants and trees into October! The timing of wildflowers emergence and then blooming also depends on elevation and exposure which varies greatly throughout the park so "peak bloom" of any plant in the Smokies can stretch for weeks of you know where to go.

The heavy flowering in the Great Smoky Mountains normally starts in late March and peaks from April through May with some of the best mass flowering displays such as that from the Mountain Laurels, Rhododendrons and Azaleas peaking in May and June in the best locations, and some will still flower into July.

With more than 1,700 flowing vascular plants in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, some of which are so rare they are only found in isolated tiny locations, the advantage of exploring the park with local experts is priceless. Many of the attendees of the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage are local experts as well so it is not uncommon on a hike with a dozen attendees to have more than a century of combined wildflower, photography and wildlife experience on the trail with you!

Especially if you are not from the area I would highly recommend getting at least 1 wildflower identification book from one of the visitor centers. I personally recommend 2 such books: the small pocket guide "Wildflowers of the Smokies" and the larger spiral bound "Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers". You may want to also purchase a Wildflower Checklist for $2.95 at one of the National Park Visitor centers. All purchases help the park.

Speaking of helping the park, the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is a non-profit event made possible by individuals with local organizations who donate their time and resources and if you would like to volunteer your time or make a contribution, please contact Holly at Friends of the Smokies.

There is another way that you can help the park and that is by become a member of Friends of the Smokies. Doing so not only help fund educational programs, restorations efforts, scientific research, hiking trail maintenance and repairs and so much more, it also means that you can save 10% off of any regular rate on a cabin rental in the Great Smoky Mountains managed by American Mountain Rentals (not valid on Holidays).

What could possibly be better than hiking around the nation's most beloved national park and enjoying great weather, beautiful vistas, the sounds of creeks and streams and waterfalls and the sight of a carpet of wildflowers in the peaceful woods? Coming back home to a cabin with a great view, lots of privacy and after a home cooked meal climbing into a hot tub to watch the shooting stars and the flickering fireflies - all at a discounted price!

Can't make the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage but still want to visit the best wildflower locations in the Great Smoky Mountains? There are far too many to list all of them, but the cream of the crop are Porters Creek and Old Settlers rail in Greenbrier outside the Gatlinburg City limits in Pitman Center, the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail and Nature Trail in Cosby neat Gatlinburg, Old Sugarlands Trail near park headquarters in Gatlinburg, Cucumber Gap Trail in Elkmont, White Oak Sinks and Finley Cane hiking trail between Townsend and Cades Cove, Mingus Creek Trail and Kanati Fork Trail off Newfound Gap Road in North Carolina along with some areas in Lakeshore.

So where should you stay if you are attending the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies? Certainly on the Tennessee side as though even though there are great wildflower hikes on the North Carolina side, most of the programs are taking place in Tennessee.

The vast majority of the hikes and programs in the Smokies Wildflower Pilgrimage are taking place in Gatlinburg so that should be your first choice. The south end of Pigeon Forge and along Wears Valley is also very convenient is it will also give you the opportunity to bypass some of the traffic and go right on through to the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Of course the last thing you will want to do after a day of being surrounded by the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains national park is to be crammed into a hotel room along the parkway so you should take advantage of the Friends of the Smokies members discount on cabin rentals during this and all future Spring Wildflower Pilgrimages in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Help the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Get a Discount on a Cabin Rental!

Everyone wants a cheap price on vacation accommodations and why not? What's even better is when you can find low cabin rental prices in a popular place such as the Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg in the Smoky Mountains and it's even better when you can get a special discount on a cabin rental!

The Great Smoky Mountains national park is the most popular national park in the United States hosting almost 10,000,000 visitors a year and never charging anyone a cent to enter the park. The park is very under funded and the best cabin rental company in the Great Smoky Mountains: America Mountain Rentals wants to help the park and save tourists who stay in the Smokies money - all at the same time!

Times are tough for most everyone and it's even tougher for people to help contribute to the national park so America Mountain Rentals in Pigeon Forge Tennessee in the heart of the Smoky Mountains is giving a 10% discount off the price of a cabin or chalet rental to anyone who is or becomes a member of the Great Smoky Mountains most important organizations that help the National Park: The Friends of the Smokies or the Great Smoky Mountains Association.*

Membership to either organization is tax deductible and as low as $25 a year and for such as low price you will earn a 10% discount off of the already low cabin rental prices on more than 150 beautiful feature packed vacation rentals in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville Tennessee.

All of these cabins and chalets rentals in the Smoky Mountains feature the three things: location, location, location, all being only minutes away from the Great Smoky Mountains national park, Dollywood theme park, Dolly's Splash Country, the Glades artist community in Gatlinburg, tons of outlet stores along the Parkway in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, Douglas Lake and so much more.

When you rent a cabin in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg from American Mountain Rentals you can expect clean well maintained vacation rental accommodations most with stunning mountain or wooded views with the amenities you expect from a luxury cabin rental company such as private secluded locations, hot tubs, game rooms and pool tables, fireplaces, Jacuzzi's, spacious living areas, fully equipped modern kitchens, TVs with DVD players along cable or Satellite service so every vacation in the Smokies will bring back fond memories.

When you drive, hike or bike in the Great Smoky Mountains national park you expect to see stunning vistas of the Great Smoky Mountains and beautiful waterfalls in rivers teeming with local brook trout.

You also expect the hiking and horse trails to be clean and well maintained so they are not only enjoyable but they are safe as well. Of course you also want to see our majestic eastern hemlock trees reaching high up into the sky and the elk that have been extinct for centuries in the Smokies roaming freely again.

Thanks to Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association who fund all of these projects to keep the GSM National Park as nice as it is as well funding scientific programs, educational materials and many of the seasonal personnel throughout the park.

Now you can help fund these projects and more with a tax deductible membership for as little as $25 and get a 10% discount on the best cabins for rent in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville. Help the Great Smoky Mountains national park and get a fantastic discount on a cabin rental in the Great Smoky Mountains, what are you waiting for?

* All new rentals on any of the more than 150 cabins or chalets American Mountain Rentals rents qualify for this special discount which cannot be combined with any other discounts or used on holidays.