Come ride with us as we ride through Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is in the Western side or Tennessee side of the park. Cades Cove is easy to access from Townsend Tennessee, which is not far from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge TN.
The Cades Cove Loop Road is a eleven mile one lane paved road. It is open to the public daily, but on Wednesdays there are no motor vehicles allowed. Wednesdays are reserved for bikers and walkers. The main road is paved, with traffic moving in one direction only.
We start at the main entrance welcome center. It is an open-air shelter with information about your upcoming ride. At times park rangers will be there with additional information. We highly recommend stopping to visit with the ranger.
As we ride down the one-way road, we see a small herd of horses running through their pasture, wild turkeys, deer, and bear.
The first cabin stop is the John Oliver Cabin. There is a short, pleasant walk from the parking lot to the cabin. Some of the cabins in Cades Cove are open to the public to walk through. The John Oliver Cabin was open and very interesting.
Our next three stops were at the churches in Cade’s Cove. The first church was the Primitive Baptist Church, next was the Methodist church, last was the Missionary Baptist Church. Each church had its own cemetery with many really old graves. Each church was open to the public with adequate parking.
In the area of the churches, you will find Hyatt Lane, a two-way cut through road for anyone wishing to shorten their drive.
Next, we came by the entrance to the Cooper Road Trail. There was parking available for those that wished to take a hike.
Our next stop was the Ellijah Oliver Cabin. Ellijah was the son of John Oliver, the owner of the first Cabin we visited.
Next, we saw the hiking trail for Abrams Falls. Abrams Falls is a very popular destination with visitors to Cades Cove.
At this point we are about half-way around the Cades Cove Loop. The Cable Mill Area Visitors Center is our next stop. The visitor’s center has a gift shop and nice bathroom facilities. While we were at the Visitors Center, we saw several very docile Deer. There is also an old grist mill at this location.
Cades Cove Nature Trail was next, another hiking trail.
The rest of the loop consisted of Dan Lawson Place, Tipton Place and the Carter Shields Cabin. Each cabin was unique with different points of interest.
For those who would like to ride through again without having to exit and come back in, there is a two-way road available, Sparks Lane. Turning left at the end of Sparks Lane will take you back to the beginning of the loop.
We have visited Cades Cove numerous times, and we can’t wait to go back again. The beautiful mountain views are breathtaking, and you never know what you will see around the next turn. Cades Cove is also beautiful in the fall as the leaves change.
