Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Top Things to Do | Cades Cove, Clingmans Dome, Wildlife 🐻
Officially dedicated in 1940 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Great Smoky Mountains National Park consists of over 522,000 acres, 2,115 streams and 12 waterfalls, and is home to over 2,000 black bears, countless elk, and other wildlife. During our time exploring the park, we saw black bear, elk, possums, turkeys, a groundhog, salamanders, birds and raptors, and a coyote! Not only is the park known for its breathtaking vistas and varied hiking (there are 16 mountains with peaks greater than 6,000' within park bounds), but it is also home to a number of historical areas and communities such as Cades Cove. Cades Cove was a thriving mountain community before the land was incorporated into the Park. There is an 11-mile driving loop with horse, bike, and hiking trails past historic buildings. Its a great way to learn about what life in the smokies was really like for people in the 1800s and early 1900s. Another iconic and must-do site at GSMNP is Clingmans Dome. Sitting at 6,643, Clingmans Dome has a number of recognitions - highest peak in the park, highest point along the 2,178 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and the highest point in Tennessee! A trip to the Smokies isn’t complete without checking out the observation deck at Clingmans Dome. From the deck, you can see seven states and the highest peak east of the Mississippi - Mount Mitchell. The weather wasn’t cooperating while we were there and out pre-dawn sunrise hike to Clingmans Dome and the surrounding balds was dashed by thick fog and pouring rain. Come with us as we make the most in the country's most popular national park! More information: ▫️ Great Smoky Mountains National Park: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm ▫️ Parking passes: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisi... _________ ❤️Subscribe to join our adventures: https://www.youtube.com/channel/@UCX2... 📷Follow us on Instagram: / jlewtravels _________ #greatsmokymountains #greatsmokymountainsnationalpark #summertravel #nationalparkservice #hiking #waterfalls #waterfallhike #gsmnp #cadescove #clingmansdome #sugarlands #oconaluftee #mountmitchell #tennessee #northcarolina #westernnorthcarolina #smokymountains #museum #bear #historicalplaces #thingstodo #traveltips #history #historyfacts #smokies _________ ⏱️Timestamps 0:00 Coming Up! 0:42 Starting at Oconaluftee Visitor Center 2:13 Mountain Farm Museum 5:55 Elk! 6:44 Cades Cove | Bear!, Oliver Homestead, Baptist Primitive Church 9:28 Bear Jam! (Cades Cove) 10:40 Cades Cover Visitor Center | Historic Grist Mill 11:43 Bear Facts + Safety 12:21 Swimming Holes | Staying Cool in the Summer 13:42 Laurel Falls Trail 14:59 Sunrise at Clingmans Dome 18:21 Newfound Gap | How do the smokies get their name? 19:30 Deep Creek Tubing + Waterfalls | Hidden Gem in the Park 21:52 GSMNP Final Thoughts 22:30 Bloopers! _________ 🎵 Music ▫️ Down With Your Getup - Mini Vandals ▫️ Searching In The Mountains - Au.Ra ▫️ _________ 🎞️Top Playlists ▫️ Summer Videos: • Mount Rainier National Park | Skyline Trai... ▫️ US National Parks + Sites: • New River Gorge National Park | Rafting, H... _________ Hello, fellow adventure seekers! We’re Jon and Andrea—part-time travelers and full-time adventurers. 🌎 Join us as we explore interesting places around the world. We are balancing full-time jobs so many of our adventures are East Coast based, but we’re always looking to get out of our backyard! We love: ▪️ Travel tips: we love sharing the do’s and don'ts of travel so our mistakes aren’t yours! ▪️ New experiences: follow us if you ever thought “I wonder what _____ is like” because our goal is find out and share it with you! ▪️ Finding wonder and awe in the world: Cheesy? Absolutely! But no less true in how we visit and experience new places. We look forward to exploring the world with you!tsi