The days are getting shorter and the nights are growing longer and cooler. This means Mother Nature is getting ready to paint our beautiful mountains colors of reds, yellows and oranges. We couldn’t be more excited about the changing of the season but we were also very excited to see the Smoky Mountains pop up in two Huffington Post articles this Monday morning!
The first article was a list TripAdvisor put together of their favorite destinations to spot fall foliage. The Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee came in number four on their list behind, Stowe, Vermont (3), Berkshires, Massachusetts (2) and White Mountains, New Hampshire (1).
Check out some of our favorite fall foliage photos from the Smoky Mountains!
The next article was from Sherman’s Travel who listed 5 Unforgettable Fall Foliage Drives. The Great Smoky Mountains came in the number two spot on this list and they had a couple suggestions on where and when to choose the best drives. The article notes that our elevation differences make the peak foliage season lengthy but hard to pinpoint. Lots of trees in the higher elevations have already started to turn but we might not see peak changes in the lower elevations until as late as the beginning of November. The suggested drives are Clingmans Dome Road in early fall to catch the high elevation changes and you can reach Tennessee’s highest peak at 6,643 feet! Then toward the end of October try the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail where you will pass waterfalls and hiking trails.
We also have a great list of other scenic drives in the Smokies for other great ideas!
DID YOU KNOW? The Great Smoky Mountains have over 100 varieties of deciduous trees? Of these tress that will blanket our mountains in fall foliage are sugar maples, scarlet oaks, sweetgums, red maples, and hickories.