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Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Hikes Abound in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Both Short and Long

If national parks have their specialties, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a hiker’s park. The scenery is diverse: mountain views, old-growth trees, waterfalls, streams, and more shades of green than a paint chart. Trails are well-marked, wide, and easy to follow. Comfortable backcountry campsites and spacious front-country campgrounds make the park an excellent first-time, family camping destination.

With Some Quick Flourishes Of the Pen, Great Smoky Mountains National Park's "Road to Nowhere" Saga Ends

It promised to be the biggest event in Western North Carolina in 67 years – bigger certainly than when Eric Rudolph was caught dumpster diving in Murphy. The North Shore Road controversy in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was over. Swain County was going to get its $52 million over 10 years -- an amount calculated as the present value of the road that was flooded in 1943 to create Fontana Lake and Fontana Dam.

Just Exactly What Is A National Park "Cooperating Association"? Here's the Answer

The next time you go into a national park visitor center to buy a map, look at the person at the register. She or he won't be wearing the green and gray of a national park uniform; rather an employee of a cooperating association will be taking your money. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains Association, a membership organization, runs the visitor center bookstores and does a lot more.

Were You One of the Almost 9.5 Million Who Visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2009?

Perhaps it was the sour economy that kept folks close to home on their vacations, or maybe it was the lure of Great Smoky Mountains National Park's 75th anniversary. Whatever the reason, Great Smoky saw nearly 9.5 million visitors in 2009, which is the greatest turnout in nearly a decade in the park.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.