Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This one of a kind treasure is the most visited National Park in the entire U.S. park system. That's right. As a matter of fact the GSMNP gets twice the number of visitors as the next most visited park, THE GRAND CANYON.
Over NINE million people a year visit the Smokies. Even more, an estimated 12 to 13 million, visit Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, or one of the other towns that border the Smokies such as Wears Valley, Cherokee, Townsend, Sevierville, Cosby and others.
The GSMNP is one of the only major National Parks that does not charge an admission fee.
The higher elevations of the park recieve an average of 85 inches of rain anually, which classifies it as a temperate rain forest.
There are over 100 species of native trees in the park, more than all of Northern Europe. The park also includes one of the largest blocks of "old growth" deciduous forests in North America