September 14, 2020
Foothills Parkway is an Area Treasure
Have you travelled along the Foothills Parkway yet? This is a national parkway that traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains. The completed parkway will be more than 72 miles long and will connect U.S. Route 129 with Interstate 40. Today the parkway is 38.6 miles long with the remainder to be completed in the future.
The views from the Foothills Parkway are magnificent.
Portions of the parkway run through parts of Blount, Sevier, and Cocke Counties in Tennessee. Sections cross a series of high ridges running parallel to the Tennessee boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road offers unobstructed views of the Smokies to the south and the Tennessee Valley to the north.
Many of our guests like to drive the section known as the “missing link”. This 16-mile drive features magnificent views with many overlooks from which you can take photos and enjoy the scenery.
History of the Foothills Parkway
Congress authorized the parkway in 1944 as a scenic road that would provide magnificent views. http://www.nps.gov/articles/foothillsparkway The first few sections of the parkway were finished in the late 1960s. The 5.6 mile section between I-40 and Cosby was the first to be completed. Crews worked for several decades on a 16-mile segment from Walland to Wears Valley. They nearly finished it. But the construction hit rugged peaks and valleys. The walls they built crumbled and the soil was filled with minerals with the potential for environmental damage. Because of these issues, the project was placed on the backburner in 1989. The 16.5 mile gap in the road left behind became known as the “missing link”.
In 2009 federal stimulus money got construction started again. The Missing Link of the Foothills Parkway opened to the public in November 2018.
The parkway entrance is off of Wears Valley Road.
As always when you are visiting the mountains, be sure your brakes and tires are in good shape. Be sure to have a plenty of fuel as gas is not available in the park. Using a lower gear on steep downhill terrain can avoid hot brakes. And be extra careful if the conditions include precipitation or low visibility.
October 16, 2017
Fall Color in the Great Smoky Mountains
Guests often ask us when is the best time to see the beautiful fall color in the Great Smoky Mountains. Our honest answer: “It depends”! Fall color timing depends on a wide variety of variables, making peak times impossible to predict.
Many guests plan their trips hoping to see the fall color.
We do know, however, that the autumnal hues light up the landscape for as long as seven weeks each year. The colors begin first in the higher elevations, then gradually move downward. Adding to this extended show is the fact that the Smokies are home to more than 100 varieties of native trees, most of them deciduous.
Most years the displays in the very highest elevations may be seen as early as mid-September, with colors visible from Clingman’s Dome Road. The colors in the middle and lower elevations can peak anywhere from mid-October through mid-November. According to http://www.gatlinburg.com/event/autumn-color-in-the-smokies, visitors can expect to enjoy beautiful colors from sugar maples, scarlet oak, sweet gum trees, red maples, and the hickories.
What Causes the Fall Color Change?
Cooler temperatures and longer nights cause the green pigment in the leaves to deteriorate. Carotenoids, the pigments that makes the leaves yellow (and carrots orange!) become more prominent. Red and purple colors come from anthocyanins. This pigments are formed when leaf sugars break down in bright sunlight.
We recommend the Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway as being especially scenic drives this time of year. The National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fall-suggestions recommends the following fall hikes: Appalachian Trail, Inspiration Point on Alum Cave Trail, Oconaluftee River Trail, Look Rock Tower, and Sutton Ridge Overlook.
Whether you have made your Great Smoky Mountain trip plans for this year, or are looking forward to 2018, remember that the fall color season typically lasts from mid-September through early November. This is a busy time of year, so we advise making your travel plans far in advance. Feel free to check with us at the Buckhorn Inn periodically–we sometimes have cancellations and then you can book accommodation with short lead times. Our dining room fills up quickly this time of year, so we encourage you to make your dinner reservations early. And don’t forget that Buckhorn Inn guests can pre-order hearty sack lunches to enjoy on a scenic drive or beautiful hike.
Happy fall!
Gatlinburg Weather
Click for weather forecast