Natural Wander: Every season – including winter – offers beauty in the Smokies
They call the part of the Smokies centered on the towns of Townsend and Maryville the “Quiet Side.”
The area, located on the northwest side of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, is in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle, the traffic jams, and the seemingly endless array of entertainment attractions and restaurants to be found in nearby Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
It’s more like Gatlinburg used to be 50 years ago.
Oh, it’s got everything you need. Good, even great restaurants. Good, even great, accommodations. But it’s largely devoid of the attractions many families seek. No amusement parks, no aquariums, no wild west shows.
What it has is quiet. A real connection and a truer sense of the real Smoky Mountains and its people. That heritage, which is so hard to find in Gatlinburg, is front and center at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. Plan your visit time and let living history interpreters immerse you in Appalachian village life featuring handcrafting demonstrations.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is just a few minutes away. The scenery focuses immediately on mountain streams – the various prongs of the Little River – that cascade along a roadside that’s dotted with pull-offs to enjoy the scenery. Cades Cove, a very scenic pastoral anomaly in an otherwise mountainous park, is a premier destination in the park that’s an easy drive from Townsend.
Even closer is a side road to Tremont that follows the very scenic Middle Prong of the Little River up the mountainside to a trailhead offering a variety of options to continue exploring on foot.
Head east from Townsend and the road connects to other park features including The Sinks and Metcalf Bottoms, then climbs to Elkmont Area and nearby Laurel Falls, before dropping to Sugarlands Visitor Center. There you can choose to head into Gatlinburg or climb to Newfound Gap to enjoy the beautiful overlooks, perhaps continuing to North Carolina and the town of Cherokee.
Home to some of the nation’s most beautiful mountain streams, abundant wildlife – Cades Cove is an excellent place to expect sightings, magnificent vistas, rugged trails to scenic waterfalls, and one of the nation’s finest wilderness forests that is especially impressive in fall color.
But every season has its beauty in the Smokies. Even in winter, even without a blanket of snow, the scenery is stunning. The advantage is that the crowds of the warmer seasons are absent, making the “Quiet Side” even quieter for those who seek solace.
Still, even in these COVID times, there are restaurants open year-round that take care to protect customers and serve excellent food. Highest on the list is the Walnut Kitchen in Maryville, which specializes in dry-aged steaks and an extraordinary array of made-from-scratch options. The Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro and Trailhead Trout and Steak in Townsend are also good choices. Most restaurants offer carryout as options.
Cade Cove Cellars in Townsend offers a nice selection of excellent wines. Stop in and sample several at no charge. Blackberry Farms Brewery in Maryville features excellent brewed-on-site beers, including the best porter we’ve tasted.
Accommodations range from fully equipped campsites to tiny houses and cabins. Great places to start investigating are Little Arrow Resort, located next to the national park, and Dancing Bear Lodge.
Wherever you go, make sure you understand the destination’s COVID practices. We experienced a generally high level of protections, but there were notable and concerning exceptions. It’s worth asking in advance or dropping in to scout a location before committing.
Visit SmokyMountains.org to start your trip planning.