Have Kids Will Travel

Considered one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokey Mountains, Cades Cove is one of my family’s favorite weekend getaways. Due to the efforts of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park Service the cove’s numerous pioneer homes, churches, businesses and barns remain as they were in the 1800’s.

Drive the 11 mile Cades Cove Loop Road in the early morning or at dusk, and you are sure to be greeted by an abundance of wildlife including skunks, raccoons, black bears and deer that are known to venture out of woods and jump over idling cars to get to their feeding grounds in the coves numerous fields and meadows.

With gas prices climbing by the minute, why not park the car and enjoy the coves beauty on horseback? The Cades Cove Riding Stables are located at the entrance of the loop road and are open April through late October. The guided tours are $15 an hour and, in my opinion, well worth the cost as you will be able to experience parts of Cades Cove inaccessible to motor vehicles. Have Family members that are too young for horseback riding? Why not take a motorized hayride around the loop for $8.00 a person? Bicycles can also be rented at the Cades Cove Campground Store for $3.25 an hour.