Latest / Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival / #019 - Great Smoky Mountains, Part 3: Where to Stay | LeConte Lodge, Campgrounds & the Gateway Towns

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#019 - Great Smoky Mountains, Part 3: Where to Stay | LeConte Lodge, Campgrounds & the Gateway Towns · Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival

• 0:11
  There is exactly one place to sleep inside this
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  entire park that is not a tent or an Appalachian
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  Trail shelter, and you cannot drive to it. You
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  cannot even take a shuttle. LeConte Lodge sits
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  at 6 ,594 feet near the summit of Mount LeConte.
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  and the only way to reach it is by walking there
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  yourself on one of five trails ranging from five
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  and a half to eight miles, gaining thousands
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  of feet along the way. No electricity in the
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  rooms, just propane lanterns and the sound of
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  wind on a ridge most people only experience for
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  an hour at a scenic overlook. Llamas carry in
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  the supplies on one of the routes, because it
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  is genuinely too steep and remote for a standard
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  vehicle, and people plan entire trips. and in
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  some cases entire years of waiting around getting
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  a bed there. That is the flavor of this whole
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  episode. Unlike Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon,
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  this park never had a grand historic railroad
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  hotel built on the rim of anything. What it has
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  instead is something stranger and, in its own
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  way, better suited to what this mountain range
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  actually is. This is Wildlands. I'm Sean. Know
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  the land before you reach it. Great Smoky Mountains,
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  Part 3, Where to Stay. And before I get into
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  any specific numbers or booking windows, reservation
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  systems at national parks change constantly,
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  and this park is no exception. Everything I tell
• 1:46
  you today is accurate, as of when I researched
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  it. Verify current policy directly with the park
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  or the lodge before you build a trip around any
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  of it. That habit will serve you at every park
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  in this series, and it matters here as much as
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  anywhere. Start with La Conte Lodge, because
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  it is genuinely unlike anything else in this
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  show. Mount La Conte is the third highest peak
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  in the park, and the lodge near its summit is
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  the only true lodging inside the park boundary.
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  No campground amenities, no roads, nothing else
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  like it anywhere in these mountains. Seven rustic
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  cabins and three lodge rooms, no electricity,
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  propane heat and lantern light, and meals, breakfast,
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  and dinner served family style in the main lodge,
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  included in the overnight rate. The five approach
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  trails vary considerably in character. Alum Cave
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  Trail, at about 5 .5 miles with roughly 2 ,800
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  feet of elevation gain, is the shortest and most
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  popular, passing beneath the dramatic overhanging
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  bluff the trail is named for. Trillium Gap. at
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  around six and seven -tenths miles, is gentler
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  in grade and happens to be the route the lodge's
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  supply llamas use to pack in food and linens
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  genuinely. Llamas hauling gear up a national
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  park trail on a regular schedule. Rainbow Falls
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  adds a waterfall to a similar distance. Bullhead
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  is the longest and quietest of the standard routes.
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  And the Boulevard Trail, at eight miles from
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  Newfound Gap, is the most demanding, typically
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  requiring a car shuttle to make work logistically.
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  Booking this lodge requires real advanced planning.
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  The reservation system has historically run as
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  an annual lottery opening around October 1st
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  for the following calendar year, with the whole
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  year's worth of dates frequently filling within
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  that lottery window alone. Any dates that go
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  unclaimed become available afterward on a call
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  -in basis, and a waitlist opens later in the
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  year for cancellations. If you want a summer
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  date at Le Conte Lodge, the honest answer is...
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  you should have entered the lottery roughly a
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  year ahead of your trip. This is not a lodge
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  you casually book a month out. Check the lodge's
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  own site directly for the current year's lottery
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  window and process, since exactly how this runs
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  can shift. One important note, the lodge itself
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  is direct about. Their cancellation policy is
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  strict, with no exceptions for weather, trail
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  conditions, or family emergencies. and they explicitly
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  tell guests to research the park's parking situation
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  at the trailheads in advance, since a parking
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  problem on the day of your hike is not grounds
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  for a refund. Given everything we covered about
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  the parking tag system last episode, plan your
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  trailhead parking before you show up expecting
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  a spot. For nearly everyone else, camping is
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  the realistic way to actually sleep inside this
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  park, and the front country campground system
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  here is more extensive than at most parks in
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  this series. The National Park Service operates
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  roughly 10 developed front country campgrounds
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  throughout the park, and as of recent seasons,
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  reservations are required at all of them. This
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  shifted from a partial first -come system in
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  past years, which is exactly the kind of change
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  I want you to verify directly rather than assume.
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  Reservations open six months in advance through
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  recreation .gov, and the busiest campgrounds
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  fill quickly once that window opens for peak
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  season. Elkmont is the largest campground in
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  the park, over 200 sites set in a forest of maple
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  and poplar, and it is also the campground nearest
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  the synchronous Firefly viewing area. We covered
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  last episode worth knowing if a Firefly trip
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  and a camping trip might overlap on your calendar.
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  Cades Cove Campground sits inside the valley
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  itself, open year -round. putting you in position
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  for an early morning loop drive before the day's
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  traffic builds. Exactly the strategy we talked
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  about in the last episode. Smokemont, on the
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  North Carolina side near Cherokee, is also open
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  year -round and offers a quieter, less trafficked
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  base if your plan focuses more on that side of
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  the park. Cataloochee, more remote and harder
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  to reach by road. The approach itself is a slow,
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  winding gravel stretch that keeps casual day
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  trippers away. is the campground closest to consistent
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  elk sightings, and mornings and evenings here,
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  with mist in the valley and elk moving through
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  open meadows, are among the quieter, more atmospheric
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  experiences this whole park offers. Cosby, in
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  the park's northeast corner, connects directly
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  to several good, comparatively uncrowded hiking
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  trails, and tends to draw a smaller, more hiking
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  -focused crowd than the marquee campgrounds closer
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  to Gatlinburg. None of these front country campgrounds
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  have showers or hookups. This is genuine. No
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  frills, camping, picnic tables, and fire grates,
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  and not much else. Which is honestly consistent
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  with a park that has always prioritized keeping
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  the experience simple and free of charge. Bring
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  what you need. Nearby gateway towns handle the
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  showers and the resupply. Beyond the front country
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  campgrounds, this park has one of the more extensive
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  backcountry systems in the east. including direct
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  access to the Appalachian Trail Shelter Network.
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  Roughly 15 shelters sit along the AT's stretch
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  through the park, alongside a considerably larger
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  number of backcountry campsites reached by side
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  trails throughout the interior. Every overnight
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  backcountry stay, shelter, or campsite requires
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  an advance permit and reservation, generally
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  bookable up to 30 days ahead, with a modest nightly
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  per -person fee on top of a small permit charge.
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  A .T. through -hikers moving through on a long
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  -distance attempt are handled somewhat differently
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  from day -to -day backcountry campers, with their
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  own permit provisions recognizing the nature
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  of a multi -month hike passing through a single
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  park for only a few days. If backcountry travel
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  is part of your plan, the permit system is non
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  -negotiable. Check current fees and the reservation
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  process directly before you go, since these figures
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  do shift. Now the Gateway Towns. because this
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  park has a genuinely wide range of them, each
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  with a distinct personality, and picking the
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  right one shapes the whole trip. Gatlinburg sits
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  closest to the Tennessee side entrance, and it
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  is the busiest, most developed gateway by a wide
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  margin, walkable downtown. The most restaurants
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  and lodging options of any town near the park,
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  and attractions, like an aerial sky lift and
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  sky bridge, that have nothing to do with the
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  park itself. but plenty to do with a classic
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  mountain town vacation. If this is your first
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  visit and you want maximum convenience trailheads
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  minutes away, dinner options in every direction,
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  something to do after dark Gatlinburg is the
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  straightforward answer. Pigeon Forge, just north
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  of Gatlinburg, leans even further into family
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  entertainment, Dollywood, and a long strip of
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  family attractions and works well as a complimentary
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  stop even if you base elsewhere, or as your primary
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  base. if entertainment matters as much as trail
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  access. Townsend, on the park's western side,
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  markets itself directly as the peaceful side
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  of the Smokies, and the description holds up.
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  A genuinely slower pace, streamside cabins, close
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  proximity to Cades Cove and the Little River
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  Corridor, and noticeably fewer restaurants and
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  services than Gatlinburg, you trade convenience
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  and variety for quiet. It sits close enough to
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  the McGee -Tyson Airport near Knoxville to work
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  well if that is your arrival point, and it puts
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  you right at the entrance nearest Cades Cove
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  useful, given how much we have talked about timing
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  that particular visit. The honest trade -off
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  locals and repeat visitors mention consistently.
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  Townsend is wonderful for the mood of a trip,
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  but thinner on options after dark. and many visitors
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  split their stay between Townsend for a night
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  or two of quiet and Gatlinburg or Cherokee for
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  the rest to get both experiences without fully
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  committing to either one. On the North Carolina
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  side, Cherokee anchors the park's southern entrance,
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  sitting directly on the Koala boundary we covered
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  in the history episode, meaning a stay here puts
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  you in genuine proximity to Eastern Band of Cherokee
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  Indians' cultural sites. including a museum dedicated
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  specifically to Cherokee history, alongside more
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  standard gateway town lodging and dining, though
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  with somewhat less selection than the Gatlinburg
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  area. Bryson City, just west of Cherokee, offers
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  a quieter, smaller town alternative with its
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  own outdoor outfitters and a scenic railway,
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  and works well for anyone approaching primarily
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  from the North Carolina side or connecting toward
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  the Blue Ridge Parkway afterward. Whichever side
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  you choose, remember that the two sides of this
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  park are connected by a single road across the
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  crest, newfound gap road, so switching sides
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  mid -trip is entirely possible. Just budget real
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  driving time for it, particularly if snow or
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  fall leaf traffic is a factor. So pulling this
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  together, if solitude and a genuine backcountry
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  lodge experience matter to you more than convenience,
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  enter the LeConte Lodge Lottery roughly a year
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  out. and be honest with yourself about which
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  of the five approach trails matches your fitness
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  and hiking experience. If camping is the plan,
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  book six months ahead on Recreation .gov and
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  pick your campground based on what you actually
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  want to prioritize Elkmont for the fireflies
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  and scale. Cades Cove for the wildlife and the
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  Loop Road, Cataloochee for elk, Smokemont if
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  the North Carolina side is your focus. For a
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  first visit wanting maximum convenience, Gatlinburg.
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  For a slower, quieter trip centered on Cades
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  Cove and the Little River, Townsend. For the
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  North Carolina side and a genuine connection
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  to the Cherokee history covered earlier in this
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  series, Cherokee itself. And one more time, because
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  it is worth repeating at the close of every episode
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  like this one. Reservation windows, fee structures,
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  and which campgrounds require reservations versus
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  allow walk -ups can and does change. Verify directly
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  with the park or the concessionaire before you
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  build a trip around anything specific you heard
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  here today. That closes out the Great Smoky Mountains
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  trilogy. Next episode, we shift to a field skills
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  topic navigation, and specifically what to do
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  when the map on your phone stops working, which,
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  as we have said more than once in this series,
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  happens constantly in mountain country. Everything
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  for the Smoky Series, LeConte Lodge lottery details,
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  campground reservation links, and gateway town
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  information is at wildlandsnews .com. I'm Sean
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  Spanauer. This has been Wildlands. Know the land
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  before you reach it. See you Thursday.