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Hailed as the most visited park in the USA, the Great Smoky Mountains are one of the must visit destinations. Holidaymakers, who are booking tickets on flights to USA, are guaranteed to be delighted with the experience they will have here.
Gorgeous waterfalls, breathtaking valleys, and fascinating ancient architecture – the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is true paradise for nature lovers. A large number of tourists book tickets on flights to the USA every year to visit this place. The area of the park is so massive that there are still a number of plants and animal species being discovered here!! The wildlife is incredible. For an instance, the park shelters more than 1500 bears. For those who have booked their flights tickets to visit this park and are wondering what they might find there, here is quick guide.
A Bit of History
The rich cultural tapestry of Southern Appalachian history tells its numerous tales at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The mighty mountains that create this park have a long history of human existence. The area is so well preserved that the thousands of years of history seems like a timeline of Facebook in the park! From the prehistoric Paleo Indians to early European settlement in the 1800s to loggers and Civilian Conservation Corps enrolees in the 20th century, the park has all the tales preserved in its historic structures and artefacts.
Weather
Great Smoky Mountains National Park enjoys four seasons – spring (March-May), summer (June-August), fall (September-November), and winter (November-February). Usually, after the second week of November, winter starts knocking on the doors. Spring and summer months are considered to be the ones with mood swings. Snowfall, strong winds and even hails can occur. As these are the mountains, the base can be up to twenty degrees warmer than the temperature at higher elevations. The best time to visit the park is anytime of the year. The months between March and May see a heavy tourist flow. A number of visitors also book flight tickets to the USA to visit the park in fall; the area looks quite exotic in those months.
Flora and Fauna
Covered more than 90 percent in lush forest, a significant percentage of which are covered by old trees, the Smoky Mountains are one of the best places to explore the wildlife. A major number of nature lovers who book their flights to visit this park never miss to catch the sight of one of the black bears as the park has about 1500 of them. More than seventeen thousand species have been discovered here and scientists are still searching for more. There are about hundred different types of native trees, more than fourteen hundred flowering plant species and about four thousand non-flowering plants that inhabit this park.
The wildlife is as incredible as the flora. Hundreds of various bird species, about fifty types of native fish, sixty six types of mammals, and not to mention the numerous reptiles and amphibians – there is a lot to explore here.
Popular Activities at the Park
With so much to see, the park also has so much to do. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a number of activities to its visitors. One of the most popular activities here is auto touring; the auto tour is one of the best ways to enjoy sightseeing. Those who wish to camp here have a variety of spots to camp at. Hiking lovers who are booking tickets to visit this park can choose from quiet walkways to multi-day backpacking treks in the trails that are over eight hundred miles stretched. Apart from that, bicycling, fishing, and horseback riding are some other popular activities.
How to Get Here
Flights: Asheville (60 miles East) and Knoxville (45 miles West) are the nearest airport.
Train: Clemson in South Carolina is the closest railway station
Car: The major entrances into the park by car are through Gatlinburg (Tennessee) from the North.
Cherokee, Maggie Valley, and Bryson City (all in North Carolina) are the popular entrances from the South.