Smoky Mountains National Park - First Visit - Clingmans Dome

I left late for my first trip to the Smokies.  I did not leave my house until 12 noon and drove the 63 miles to the park, only stopping for gas in Cherokee.  I would advise people to leave early in the morning, because the park is huge.  So I only made it as far as Clingmans dome till I decided to start driving back home.  Clingmans Dome is the “Top of Old Smoky”  It reaches 6,643 feet above sea level and is the highest point in the Smokies, although the highest point on the East Coast is Mount Mitchell (and I’ve been there, but reserving for a later post).
Clingmans Dome is only a .5 mile hike to the top and the same back from the parking lot to the observation tower.  The day I went there was an Irishman with a dog hiking the Appalachian Trail and this was one of his stops along the way.  It was also cloudy at that elevation.  I also met a couple from Lexington, KY where I also want to visit and tour the horse farms.
The observation tower, is constructed out of concrete and is a spiral.


The Observation Tower.
There are four possible views from the Observation Tower, which are:  Northern View, Western View, Eastern View, and Southern View.  While walking up you will be hit with a gut of fresh air.  When I was there, it was cloudy so the clouds did not permit me a good view.

The Smokies are a Spruce-fir forest.  I took several pictures of what I presumed to be potential Christmas Trees.  It almost looked like a tree nursery looking out over the expanse of the forest.

The mountain views driving around the Smokies are spectacular.  Different elevations will give you different atmospheric conditions.  You may see the sun at a higher level, only to descend into a layer of clouds, to descend even further to sunny skies.


I guess that’s how they got their name, because sometimes the clouds look like pillars of smoke amidst the backdrop of mountains.