‘Slow down and enjoy it’
The Smoky Mountains National Park and Newfound Gap Road were established in 1934 with the help of a donation of $5million by the John D. Rockefeller Foundation. It was paved by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and officially opened by F.D. Roosevelt in 1940. The National Park lies between Gatlinburg in Tennessee and Cherokee in North Carolina.
Newfound Gap is open yearround, but the best season to enjoy it is autumn, as summer can be hot, humid as well as extremely busy, and winter can see the road closed by snow. Clingmans Dome Road is closed from Dec to April.
Newfound Gap is 33 miles long and well paved, although with a blanket speed limit of 35mph across the Park its sweeping bends are to be enjoyed sedately. The best access point is from Gatlinburg in the North on US321 or from Cherokee in the South on US441.
There is no entrance free for the park, but you need a parking permit which can be obtained from the visitor centres or at Newfound Gap ticket machines and costs about $5 per day.
The detour to Cades Cove on Little River Gorge Road is best avoided midday, as the traffic can be very heavy. The Cades Cove Loop Road is a single carriageway road (no overtaking) and can be bumper to bumper. Ride it either in the early morning or late evening. Also, on Wednesdays it is closed to motorists – only open for cyclists and pedestrians.
There aren’t any food outlets within the park, apart from soft drinks and water and a few bags of nuts at the Sugarland Visitor Center, so take your own provisions.