Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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Panoramas, waterfalls, and other natural wonders await you on these quick, rewarding routes chosen by our national-parks expert
This beautiful 469-mile route connects Great Smoky Mountain and Shenandoah National Parks. Our local writer knows just where to stop for hikes, camping, and the best views.
Our parks expert found the coolest small towns to stay in next door to U.S. national parks. You’re welcome.
Ditch the crowds as you hike, camp, and revel in the most stunning backcountry landscapes in the U.S. They don't call one circuit Wonderland for nothing.
Love ’em or hate ’em, timed-entry reservations will be required at some of our favorite national parks. Here’s how to make sure you get in.
There was nothing to do, I didn’t see a bear, and that snake harassed me
A searching mother, a headless gunslinger, a mysterious light to show you the way: these national parks are home to hair-raising tales
The Swag, a beloved southern hideaway, borders Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cozy up in down-home cabins, hike to balds with views across Appalachia, and explore the least-crowded corners of the park.
There’s been a series of encounters in recent weeks. Research suggests that killing bruins isn’t the best way to prevent attacks.
From a severed hand in Yosemite to missing honeymooners in the Grand Canyon, our national parks are home to some curious and strange tales
Reservations are hard to come by but this hundred-year-old lodge is worth the wait. In the meantime, you can hike five miles to see it.
We’ve done the impossible and made a list of best hikes in our national parks. Now’s a perfect time to start checking them off, from Acadia to Yosemite.
ϳԹs in national parks don’t end at sundown. We’ve found the best ways to explore after dark, from seeing the Northern Lights to Yooperlite hunting.
As you’re visiting national parks this summer, don’t miss out on these spectacular outlooks, mountain summits, and lake vistas. We’ve got the intel on how to reach them all.
Eager to visit one of America’s national parks this year? Start planning now. Here’s all the information you need to book hard-to-get reservations.
This bruin’s journey across four states is a reminder that hikers and campers should be extra careful with food and trash
Despite being one of the most popular destinations in the U.S., the Smokies make it easy to plan a last-minute trip and avoid crowds year-round. Here’s our definitive guide on what to know before you go, how to make the most of all the park has to offer, and can’t-miss experiences in every season.
Great Smoky Mountains is a mecca for millions of outdoor visitors each year. But as our 63 Parks columnist explains, that doesn’t mean you can’t find solitude and peace. Often all it takes is a walk in the woods.
You can still find a slice of solitude in the country's most visited parks
The colder months are the perfect time to visit national parks, with fewer crowds and endless adventure. Stay at one of these dreamy base camps.
You can visit parks for free right now, but you still need to take precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus
Over 300 million people visited national parks in 2019, the third-highest total in over a century
Together, Joy and her grandson Brad have driven more than 25,000 miles through 38 states—and they're not done yet
Olde Virden's Red Hot pepper flakes turn even the rankest dehydrated meal into mouthwatering fare
A group of hired caretakers, called ridgerunners, are working to protect America’s favorite wilderness footpath from the hordes of people who walk it each year
You may be in the middle of the wilderness, but a local IPA isn’t that far away
We pulled records from January 2006 to September 2016 on where, how, and why park visitors are dying. Here’s what we found.
Get out and explore the country’s weirdest sites with help from Atlas Obscura’s co-founder
Fit in a last-minute camping trip at one of these iconic parks before summer ends
We've cut the fat (and circumnavigated the crowds) so you can enjoy any of these thrilling parks in just one day
Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia have the biggest mountains among the 14 states on the Appalachian Trail. The southern portion of the Appalachian Trail. Although the promise of southern temps might draw spring break hikers to Georgia, sleet and snow are common here in March. Georgia is better hiked in…
Love Acadia, the Tetons, and the Grand Canyon? Wait until you meet their crazy little cousins.
From fresh, tropical milkshakes to buffalo steaks the size of your head, we dug up the best chow near America’s national parks.
To find the emptiest hideouts in seven iconic parks, we called on the guys with the keys to the back door: the rangers and staff.
Combine your next visit to a national park with a bonus raid on a great state park or national forest—and get twice the escape
32 YEARS AGO this summer, my pal, the crime novelist Jim Crumley, his overeducated farmer friend from Arkansas, Harold McDuffy, and yours truly hiked six miles to Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park. For someone who had spent most of his life in the desert country of southeastern Oregon, this…