Autumn Memories in the Great Smoky Mountains

During the fall break of 2023, after pulling an all-nighter to finish a project and getting just over an hour of sleep, I hit the road before dawn. Picked up two friends, and we drove off toward the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are the only national park in the U.S. that doesn’t charge an entrance fee—all you need is a parking pass, which costs $5 per day. At the North Carolina entrance, a herd of elk 🦌 can often be spotted, and most visitors stop to take photos. These elk were reintroduced to the area—the original population had gone extinct around 1900 due to hunting and habitat destruction. True to its name, the Great Smoky Mountains are often shrouded in mist. During our visit, the sky was overcast with occasional drizzles ☁️🌧️, but the thick clouds couldn’t hide the beauty of the autumn foliage. That said, unusual weather that year had caused many leaves to fall before turning yellow or red. The park has one main road, stretching from Cherokee, North Carolina, westward and north through the Appalachian Mountains all the way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Most attractions are located along this route. On our first afternoon, we stopped at Newfound Gap to see the marker dividing Tennessee and North Carolina 🪙—a rare sight, since state lines are usually crossed on highways with little more than a “Welcome to…” sign that flashes by in seconds. Short on time, we skipped setting up camp and headed straight to Cades Cove to look for bears 🐻. Black bears are the symbol and soul of the Smokies—many visitors come just to catch a glimpse of them. Cades Cove is the most famous spot for bear watching, a one-hour scenic loop drive from the main park area where wildlife is often spotted. At dusk in autumn, many bears come out to forage and fatten up for winter. We were lucky—we saw around ten bears, including mama bears with cubs and solitary adults. They seemed relatively small, which made us a bit worried about their chances of surviving the winter. In the soft glow of the autumn twilight, one bear slowly climbed over a fence, circled a tree, and eyed us “two-legged creatures” hiding behind our car from just five meters away 🐾😮. By the time we left Cades Cove, it was completely dark and raining. We arrived at Elkmont Campground, set up our tent 🏕️ in the rain using the car’s high beams, and soon faced a bigger challenge: the charcoal we bought in Cherokee was almost impossible to light in the damp weather. Hungry and cold, we resorted to spraying cooking oil and fanning the flames wildly. Amid the flickering light and the sound of rain falling through autumn leaves, we finally got our meal cooked—though by then, it was already the next day. It was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever had. 🍲💫 #GreatSmokyMountainsNationalPark #SmokyMountainsGuide #TravelDiary #RoadTrip