You probably already know that the Smoky Mountains are the most visited park in the United States. People come from all over the country to see our miles and miles and miles of emerald hills, snow-covered peaks, waterfalls, rivers and hiking trails – but what is it do you suppose we have that brings people not just from around the country to the Smokies, but the entire world? What brings people from China, Yugoslavia, Norway, Portugal, Egypt, Jamaica, France and Estonia to little ol’ Sevier County, Tennessee?
You already know the answer – the fall color change.
We see the leaf colors change just like everywhere else in the country, but the truly epic scope of the Smoky Mountains take the simple concept of the vernal equinox and explode it into something you just have to see to believe. When you’re on a hiking trail in the Smokies in the middle of October, it’s as close as you’ll ever get to being inside color itself. The emerald hue of Appalachia from Spring and Summer give way to a bright golden atmosphere that radiates an intense palette of red, orange, yellow, green, brown and purple and even some pink pigments (oddly enough, we don’t get blue leaves out of it – must be something to do with how the chlorophyll breaks down).
The color change, depending on how our summer weather was, usually begins somewhere in early September. The change is often quite slow and you get a very potent sense of anticipation throughout the month. It adds quite a bit more to the experience than you might guess and it ALWAYS leads up to an awesome payout. That payout is somewhere around the second week of October when the colors finally reach their peak and they remain there until the second week of November before the cold snap comes in and starts taking them down.
If you’ve never see it before, here are some gorgeous previews for what you can expect:
Pretty grand, isn’t it? But pictures only preview the experience, there’s nothing like being here to see and wander through them personally… unless you stay with Summit Cabin Rentals in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Wears Valley. With a reservation at Summit Cabin Rentals, you not only get almost 360 degrees of pure Appalachian Autumn atmosphere in its alliterative bliss from our houses, but you also get a luxury vacation house stacked floor-to-roof with modern amenities. You get multiple decks, rocking chairs, walls of glass that overlook the ridges and multi-color skylines right from the inside of the house.
Bring a camera, you’re going to need it!
Find the cabin with the views you’d like to see on our cabins page. Reserve TODAY because, as you might guess, reservations during October fill up very quickly!
