Carolinas, Georgia & South Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Alex Leviton [39]
But several sights transcend the kitsch and stereotypes, and actually teach a thing or two about Cherokee culture and history. The cool, earth-colored halls of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian have displays filled with artifacts such as pots, deerskins, woven skirts, eerie life-sized dioramas and a new animated exhibit on Cherokee myths.
In the summer, catch Unto These Hills, an outdoor play dramatizing the Trail of Tears. Performed at the Mountainside Theater since 1950, it’s the second longest–running outdoor drama in America (the oldest is The Lost Colony, in the North Carolina coastal town of Manteo).
Pick up any last minute supplies at the mini-mart and head into the vast, cool wilderness of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Established in 1934, the park attracts as many as 10 million travelers a year, making it the most-visited national park in America. To beat high-season crowds, merely wander off the main trails to find yourself deep in the damp, earth-scented wilderness.
Newfoundland Gap Rd/Hwy 441 is the only thoroughfare crossing the entire 521,000-acre park. And what a drive it is, traversing 33 miles of deep oak and pine forest, and wildflower meadows. Stop first at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, with interactive exhibits on the park’s history and ecosystems. Pick up a map and stroll the Oconaluftee River Trail, which leaves from the center and follows the river for 1.5 miles to the boundary of the Cherokee reservation. Don’t forget to pick up a free backcountry camping permit if you plan to go off-trail.
Also near the park entrance is the Mountain Farm Museum and Mingus Mill. The museum, located next to the visitor center, is a 19th-century farmstead assembled from buildings from various locations around the park. The worn, wooden structures, including a barn, a blacksmith shop and a smokehouse, give you a peek into the hardscrabble existence of early Appalachian settlers. A half-mile north, the 1886 Mingus Mill still grinds corn and wheat.
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THE TRAIL OF TEARS
In the late 1830s, President Andrew Jackson ordered more than 16,000 Native Americans removed from their southeastern homelands and resettled in what’s now Oklahoma. Thousands died of disease, exposure and exhaustion on the forced march west, now known as the “Trail of Tears.” In Gatlinburg, see a monument to Tsali, the Cherokee hero who, according to legend, was executed for his part in an anti-relocation rebellion.
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Further down the road, 6643ft Clingmans Dome is the third-highest mountain east of the Mississippi. You can drive almost all the way to the top via Clingmans Dome Rd, then walk the rest of the way to the Jetsons-like concrete observation tower. From here you can see over the spruce- and pine-covered mountaintops for miles around.
Climbing 6593ft Mt LeConte is probably the park’s most popular challenge, sure to give some serious hamstring burn. The Alum Cave Trail, one of five routes to the peak, starts out from the Alum Cave parking area on the main road. Follow a creek, pass under a stone arch and wind your way steadily upward past thickets of rhododendron, myrtle and mountain laurel. LeConte Lodge, a collection of rough-hewn log cabins near the summit, is the park’s only non-camping accommodation. There’s no electricity, no real showers and all the food – beef and gravy for dinner, grits and ham for breakfast – is packed in by llamas three times a week. But you’ll be amply rewarded by glowing purple sunrises from the eastern-facing cliffs at Myrtle Point.
Continuing on Newfound Gap Rd, turn left on Little River Rd, which becomes Laurel Creek Rd, running right into the 11-mile loop around Cades Cove. This secluded (except for the glut of cars in summer) valley contains the remnants of a 19th-century settlement. Park your car to see the old churches and farmhouses up close, and to hike trails through postcard-perfect