Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Here’s why you need to visit Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains

A natural wonder inside a national treasure.

South of Top of the World, Tennessee, the stunning Cades Cove area sits nestled within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While many of the park’s sights appeal to visitors, Cades Cove is especially deserving of attention.

Perfect to explore on both warm spring days and rainy fall afternoons, this region features lush valleys surrounded by the iconic Great Smokies. The land here thrums with activity. Wildlife roams the area, hikers explore the trails, and historic landmarks welcome visitors. See some of Cades Cove’s best sights in this gallery. And if you’re planning a trip to the area, check out this roundup of cool places to explore at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Ranking the 10 most visited national parks

Popular parks face off.

Every national park is special. Every national park is beautiful. But not all parks made it onto the National Park Service’s (NPS) list of 2022’s most visited national parks.

In 2022, NPS sites tallied over 311 million recreation visits. While many beloved locations contributed to that number, not all of them were national parks. Historic sites, national battlefields, scenic trails, and more also factor into NPS statistics. In fact, the most visited NPS site in 2022 was the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, which received over 15 million visits.

All of these areas are worth visiting, but today’s rankings focus solely on national parks. In descending order, the most visited national parks in 2022 were: 1. Great Smoky Mountains, 2. Grand Canyon, 3. Zion, 4. Rocky Mountain, 5. Acadia, 6. Yosemite, 7. Yellowstone, 8. Joshua Tree, 9. Cuyahoga Valley, and 10. Glacier. These bustling sites hosted the most recreation visits out of all 63 national parks.

Does “most visited” mean “best,” though? Not always. Find out which of these 10 highly visited parks Outdoors Wire ranks as its favorites in the list below.

Sights you need to see at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Appreciate the beauty of Southern Appalachia.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park welcomes millions of visitors a year. An expansive collection of spellbinding natural wonders and captivating historical landmarks make the park a beloved destination for people from all walks of life. While Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers many things to do and sights to see, a few popular spots stand out above the rest. If you’re planning a trip to this neck of the woods, make sure you don’t miss out on the area’s most exciting attractions. With this helpful gallery of five places to visit in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you can get a taste of what it’s like to adventure into one of the gems of Appalachia.

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