Some trails accommodate horses. A trolley service from downtown Gatlinburg stops at the Sugarlands Visitor Center, Laurel Falls trailhead and Elkmont campground. Great Smoky Mountains receives a million-plus visitors each month from June through October, but the park really sparkles in autumn. The dark green firs on the higher slopes set them off perfectly. For the fall-leaf pilgrims, this is a serious destination.
Days are cool and nights are cooler.
But this is bracing chill, not the bone-cracking kind. Spring in the Smokies has its fans, because wild flowers splash the meadows. Summer, of course, brings the largest crowds. This is the South, so winters are mild. New vistas open up through the bare branches, and a blessed peace falls over the land.