{"id":180893,"date":"2022-07-31T18:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T01:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=180893"},"modified":"2022-08-19T11:13:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T18:13:52","slug":"great-smoky-mountains-national-park-hiking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/travel\/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-hiking","title":{"rendered":"Best Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an outdoor lover’s dream! It\u2019s filled with wildlife, waterfalls, sweeping mountain views and beautiful wildflowers. It\u2019s no wonder the Smokies are the most visited National Park <\/a>in the U.S.\u2014this place is a natural showoff. (Not to mention the park is free to enter!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great Smoky Mountains cover more than 500,000 acres and are full of trails that offer abundant adventures. The park sees more than 14 million visitors per year, and it’s beautiful year-round. So, it\u2019s no surprise that hiking in the Smokies is an extremely popular activity for locals and visitors alike. Waterfall hikes are a crowd favorite, especially in early spring or after a rainy period. While many opt to experience the park through visitor centers, viewpoints and car windshields<\/a>, you\u2019ll get a more intimate\u2014and possibly more rewarding\u2014experience through hiking the trails and immersing yourself in nature. (For more information about day hiking, read Day Hiking Essentials<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re sharing some of the best Smoky Mountain hiking trails and what you can expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The park offers more than 800 miles of trails, including a section of the Appalachian Trail that runs the length of the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, park trails are both well-maintained and well-signed, making navigation relatively easy. Be aware, though, that the park has numerous ancient way-trails called \u201cmanways\u201d that can lead you astray. They can be easily avoided if you stick to the obvious main trails, especially when approaching switchbacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s get to the good stuff, so you can experience this amazing part of the Southeast for yourself! For more information on planning day hikes, visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park<\/a> hiking page.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an outdoor lover’s dream! It\u2019s filled with wildlife, waterfalls, sweeping mountain views and beautiful wildflowers. It\u2019s no wonder the Smokies are the most visited National Park in the U.S.\u2014this place is a natural showoff. (Not to mention the park is free to enter!) The Great Smoky Mountains cover more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32151,"featured_media":9991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-map-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,387,388],"tags":[1518,8,707,1542,1927,12,1470],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-180893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climb","category-hike","category-travel","tag-great-smoky-mountains-national-park","tag-hike","tag-hiking","tag-south","tag-southeast","tag-travel","tag-where-to-go"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/travel\/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-hiking","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Best Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/travel\/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-hiking","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/travel\/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-hiking"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/09\/Forney-Creek-Great-Smoky-Mountains-National-Park-N.C.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/09\/Forney-Creek-Great-Smoky-Mountains-National-Park-N.C.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Climb","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tawanah Reeves-Ligon"}],"creator":["Tawanah Reeves-Ligon"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["great smoky mountains national park","hike","hiking","south","southeast","travel","where to go"],"dateCreated":"2022-08-01T01:33:00Z","datePublished":"2022-08-01T01:33:00Z","dateModified":"2022-08-19T18:13:52Z"},"rendered":"