Travel doesn’t always have to be about going on big glamorous overseas trips. Of course, they are fabulous, but we all don’t have that luxury all the time, am I right? Sometimes you still desperately need to get away from it all, and can’t spend a ton of time and money. And if you’re anything like me, and sit at a desk all day in your “real” life – you crave some time with Mother Nature…

Here’s where the weekend escape comes charging in on a white horse to save the day!

Since we live in Nashville, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is less than 4 hours away, and makes for an easy weekend trip. In fact, the Smokys are within a days drive to most anybody who lives in the eastern-most third of the country. The hubs and I try to escape here a couple times a year to reset and recharge our soul batteries. Which I think is oh-so important to any busy person’s sanity. The second you enter the park, your cell phone registers “no service,” and it is glorious.

The park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of my favorites. Probably because it is the national park I’m able to visit most often – along with everyone else. This half-million acre park straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina and is the most visited national park in the US. For good reason of course, the Smokys are beautiful! Those endless layers of blue mountains fading into the mist are a sight to see for sure. The GSMNP is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and hosts 71 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail, as it makes its way from Georgia to Maine.

In addition to the Appalachian Trail, the GSMNP has over 800 miles of hiking trails, 10 developed campgrounds, and over 100 backcountry campsites and shelters. The park is home to countless species of plants and animals, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, rocky summits, and sweeping vistas. There are also many historic sites in the park, cabins, churches, barns and graveyards left over from mountain folks who settled on this land over a hundred years ago.

In a park that receives over 11 million visitors a year, it would seem like daunting task to find a little corner of peace and quiet for yourselves. Fortunately this is not always true, there’s plenty of Smokys to go around! That, and many people only do a drive thru on the main road without venturing further.

On this particular trip in mid-August, we decided to head to the Cosby area on the east side of the park (an area not as frequently visited) to do a little camping and hiking – and avoid the summer crowds.

Where to stay

On this “quieter” side of the park, we camped at Cosby Campground. This campground is open from the end of March thru the end of October – and apparently is almost never full. Cosby has tent sites, RV sites (with electrical hookups), clean restroom facilities and fresh water spigots – all sprawled out underneath a canopy of tall trees. Several trails leave directly from the campground or the nearby picnic area. So there’s no need to drive and park at a trailhead.

When we went in mid-August (a normally very busy time at GSMNP) this campground was only maybe a third full. It was super peaceful among the trees with a creek running nearby. There are 26 campsites that are available for advanced reservations through Recreation.gov. The remaining sites (over 100) are available on a first-come first serve basis. The best part? Sites are just $17.50 a night! We reserved tent site B90 for two nights, which was conveniently located right near the trail we intended to hike.

What to do

Besides camping, the biggest draw in this part of the park is hiking. There are several destinations to hike to from the Cosby area. Hen Wallow Falls is a 90 foot tall waterfall, and is just a moderate 4.4 mile (R/T) hike from the Cosby picnic area. Another destination is the Sutton Ridge Overlook, a quick 1.4 mile hike to some mountain vistas from the Cosby picnic area.

We decided to hike a fairly strenuous 10.4 mile (R/T) route up to the fire tower at Mt Cammerer and back. We started the hike with the Low Gap Trail. This trail left from the campground and climbed steadily uphill for 2.5 miles until reaching the Appalachian Trail at Low Gap. Although straight uphill the whole way, it was still a pretty hike up to the gap. The trail crossed Cosby Creek on a pretty log bridge and then meandered through huge tall trees. From Low Gap, we continued along the ridge line on the AT for 2.1 miles until we reached the .6 mile spur trail up to the summit of Mt Cammerer at 4,928 ft. The total climb up from the campground to the summit took us about 2.5 hours.

At the summit is a historic lookout tower, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 to scan the horizon for fires. The tower was manned by a park ranger until the 1960s, when it was eventually replaced by modern fire detection methods. Eventually, it fell into disrepair until some local park supporters restored it to its former glory in 1996. The tower has 360 degree views of the Smokys from its balcony. They were definitely stunning! You could see why this was a great place for a lookout.

We did some additional exploring however, and found some even better views by climbing a little further down from the summit on the rocks. This required a little bit of bushwhacking, as the very narrow trail there was very overgrown. But it was soooo worth it! We ended up spending three hours on the summit, relaxing on the rocks, eating lunch, drinking wine and enjoying the gorgeous views. Definitely worth the steep hike up!

Going back down to the campsite was a bit quicker, we made it back in just 2 hours. After such a good workout we were hungry and ready for some relaxing! We brought our portable propane grill (which I can’t recommend enough if you go camping often) and grilled up some steaks and veggies. Then we made a fire, drank some wine and chilled in our hammocks for a little bit. The Cosby campground was very peaceful, allowing us to eventually drift off to sleep to the sound of just crickets, and the nearby creek.  Ahhhhhhh…. Soul batteries recharged! Weekend getaway success!

Wanna see more? Check out our YouTube video of the weekend for more in depth coverage of the campground, the hike, and the views!

Peeps Pointers

Firewood

There is no camp store at the Cosby Campground, therefore you must buy firewood elsewhere or use what is found around your campsite. Keep in mind, you can only use what is dead and already on the ground. No chopping down trees for firewood! If you opt to bring your own firewood, you cannot just bring any old wood from your backyard. The wood you bring must be heat treated. Why? Because tree-killing insects may be in that firewood and threaten the trees in the Smokys. You can buy heat-treated firewood at Lowes, at many gas stations and stores near the GSMNP or use this link to find a vendor near you.

Weather in the Smokys

Weather is unpredictable in the GSMNP. Due to the elevation changes, temperatures fluctuate depending on how high up you are. And you can almost expect it to rain at some point nearly every day, regardless of the forecast. Dress in layers, always bring a rain jacket, and avoid wearing cotton if you can. Cotton doesn’t wick away moisture and can leave you wet for longer, upping the risk for hypothermia. Check out this link for more hiking safety tips in the Smokys.

Additional resources

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Website – The best way to get more information about the park in general is to go to the source.
• Hiking Trails of the Smokies – This book has detailed trail descriptions of all 150 established trails in the GSMNP. It’s a great resource to have on hand.
• Hiking in the Smokys.com – This is an amazing website! It has detailed descriptions for 80 different trail routes in the GSMNP.  The site also sorts them by location, features, difficulty as well as just an alphabetical listing.