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Pigeon Forge · Gatlinburg gateway · National park day trip

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

America’s most visited national park starts about 2 miles past Gatlinburg. Entry is free, but you’ll need a parking tag to stop for more than 15 minutes.

Plan your visit Directions Call (865) 436-1200

“Plan your visit” opens the park’s official fee and parking tag page. Buy your tag online ahead of time and print it.

Details checked October 2026

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Video thumbnail from Bear Facts of the Smoky Mountains’s YouTube video about Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park · Bear Facts of the Smoky Mountains on YouTube

Overview What you’ll see Why go RV tips Reviews Plan your visit Stay nearby FAQs

Type

National park

Day trip via the Sugarlands Visitor Center

Admission

Free entry + parking tag

Tags: $5 day, $15 week, $40 year

Hours

Park open 24/7

Sugarlands VC 9–5 (9–4:30 in Dec–Feb)

Time needed

Half day or more

Our suggestion for Sugarlands plus Newfound Gap Road

Parking

Tag required

For any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes

Elevation

6,643 ft at Kuwohi

Park’s highest point (formerly Clingmans Dome)

What you’ll see

What to see on a Smokies day from Pigeon Forge

Start at Sugarlands for maps, a short film and your parking tag, then pick a direction: up Newfound Gap Road toward the state line, or west on Little River Road toward Elkmont and Cades Cove.

Visitors outside the stone-and-glass Sugarlands Visitor Center under spring trees, photographed in 2018
Sugarlands Visitor Center
Photo: Andrea Walton, NPS on Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Start here

Sugarlands Visitor Center

Sugarlands sits where Newfound Gap Road (US-441) meets Fighting Creek Gap Road, about 2 miles south of downtown Gatlinburg. Inside are a free natural history museum, a 20-minute orientation film, a park store and the Backcountry Office. Rangers can help you pick a drive or hike for the day, and parking tags are sold here. The Gatlinburg Trail and the short walk to Cataract Falls both start right behind the building.

RV tip: The lot fills quickly on busy days. Arrive before 9 a.m. or bring the tow car instead of the motorhome.

More to see

  • Newfound Gap Road (US-441)The main road over the mountains, open year-round weather permitting. Newfound Gap sits at 5,046 feet on the Tennessee–North Carolina line.
  • KuwohiThe park’s highest peak at 6,643 feet, formerly Clingmans Dome. Kuwohi Road is open April 1 to November 29 in 2026.
  • Gatlinburg TrailAbout 4 miles round trip from the visitor center to the edge of Gatlinburg. One of only two park trails that allow leashed dogs and bikes.
  • Cataract FallsA short, easy walk to a small waterfall that starts right behind the Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Official park site

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance sign beside US-441 near Gatlinburg
The park entrance on US-441Photo: Famartin on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Newfound Gap Road curving through orange and gold fall forest, photographed in 2023
Newfound Gap Road in fallPhoto: Andrew Heneen on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Layered blue ridges and fall color from the Thomas Ridge Overlook on Newfound Gap Road
Thomas Ridge OverlookPhoto: Washuotaku on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Fall color on the steep slopes near the Chimney Tops along Newfound Gap Road, photographed in October 2023
Fall color near the Chimney TopsPhoto: Sarah Stierch on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Why go

Why Great Smoky Mountains National Park belongs on your list

Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers 522,427 acres, split almost evenly between Tennessee and North Carolina. In 2025 it logged 11,527,939 recreation visits, the most of any national park. For RVers based in Pigeon Forge, the Gatlinburg entrance is the closest way in.

The park has no entrance fee. Instead, the Park It Forward program asks every vehicle that parks for more than 15 minutes to display a parking tag. A day tag is $5, a week is $15 and a year is $40, the same price for a car or a motorhome. America the Beautiful passes don’t cover the tag. Vehicles with a disability placard or plate don’t need one.

Elevations run from about 875 feet at Abrams Creek to 6,643 feet at Kuwohi, with 16 peaks above 6,000 feet. You can climb most of that in a single afternoon on Newfound Gap Road. The park also has 848 miles of trails, 384 miles of road and more than 22,700 documented species.

A park ranger helping visitors at the relief map in the Sugarlands Visitor Center lobby, photographed in 2013
Inside Sugarlands
Photo: Warren Bielenberg, NPS on Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Why it made our list

  • Most visited national park in the U.S. (11.5 million visits in 2025)
  • No entrance fee; parking tags start at $5 a day
  • Sugarlands is about 2 miles past Gatlinburg
  • Year-round main road over the mountains to Newfound Gap
  • Two trails where leashed dogs are allowed

For RVers

Bringing the rig to the Smokies

The main roads take motorhomes, but several side roads don’t. Here’s what to know before you leave the campground.

Use the Gatlinburg Bypass

Heading south on the Parkway from Pigeon Forge, take the Gatlinburg Bypass to skip downtown Gatlinburg’s traffic lights and crowds. The 3.6-mile, two-lane road is owned by the National Park Service and can only be entered from the southbound lanes. It meets US-441 inside the park near Sugarlands. Commercial trucks are banned on it, as they are on park roads.

Roads closed to big rigs

Motorhomes, buses and vans over 25 feet, and any vehicle towing a trailer, are prohibited on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Little Greenbrier Road, Rich Mountain Road, Parson Branch Road, Wear Cove Road, and Heintooga Ridge and Heintooga Round Bottom roads. Unhook and explore those in the tow car.

Newfound Gap Road in an RV

The park lists no length limit on US-441, but it is a two-lane road with steep, continuous grades and tight curves, and no truck lanes or runaway ramps. Use lower gears on the way down. The road can close for weather; it was closed for high winds on October 9, 2026. Check park alerts before you go.

Pets and the parking tag

Leashed pets (6-foot leash) are welcome in campgrounds, picnic areas, parking areas and along roads, but only on two trails: the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail. The park asks that you never leave pets alone in vehicles or RVs. Your tag must show the plate of the vehicle it’s in, so if you tow a car, buy the tag for the vehicle you’ll park.

What visitors say about Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The visitor report card

Review sites score the park’s individual stops, such as Clingmans Dome and Cades Cove, rather than the park as a whole, so there’s no single score to show here.

Entrance to the park is free, but most visitors will need a parking tag.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, describing its fees · nps.gov

Smokies elevations, in feet

Smokies elevations, in feet: Kuwohi 6,643 ft, Mount Le Conte 6,593 ft, Newfound Gap 5,046 ft, Abrams Creek 876 ft6,643 ftKuwohi6,593 ftMount Le Conte5,046 ftNewfound Gap876 ftAbrams Creek

Source: NPS, Great Smoky Mountains ‘Mountains’ page. The NPS statistics page gives the low point as about 875 feet.

Good to know

Entrance feeNone; parking tag needed to park over 15 minutes

Parking tag prices$5 day, $15 week, $40 annual

PassesAmerica the Beautiful passes don’t cover the tag

Leashed pets on trailsGatlinburg Trail and Oconaluftee River Trail only

Prices, hours and road dates checked October 2026 on nps.gov/grsm and smokieslife.org. Tags aren’t required on Free Entrance Days (next: November 11, 2026). Confirm before you go.

Know before you go

Plan your visit

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  • AddressSugarlands Visitor Center, 1420 Fighting Creek Gap Rd, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
  • HoursThe park is open 24 hours a day, every day. Sugarlands Visitor Center is typically open daily 9:00 am–5:00 pm March through November and 9:00 am–4:30 pm December through February, closed December 25. Kuwohi Road is open April 1 to November 29 in 2026.
  • Phone(865) 436-1200
  • TicketsNo entrance fee. Any vehicle parked longer than 15 minutes needs a physical parking tag on the dashboard (daily or weekly) or windshield (annual): $5 daily, $15 weekly, $40 annual. Buy daily and weekly tags on recreation.gov and print them, annual tags at smokieslife.org, or any tag at visitor centers and parking tag machines. Tags aren’t refundable or transferable.
  • Getting thereFrom the Pigeon Forge Parkway, head south on US-441 toward Gatlinburg. Take the Gatlinburg Bypass (southbound lanes only) to skip downtown; it meets US-441 inside the park. Sugarlands Visitor Center is at the junction of Newfound Gap Road and Fighting Creek Gap Road.
  • ParkingSugarlands has a large free lot with accessible spaces, but it fills quickly on busy days. Your parking tag is required here like anywhere else in the park. Oversize spaces aren’t posted, so a tow car or pickup is the easier choice in peak season.
Plan your visit Get directions

The park says visits peak between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. On busy days it suggests getting in by 8 a.m.

Where to stay nearby

RV parks near Great Smoky Mountains National Park

These are the parks we’ve written up near the Gatlinburg entrance, closest first. Drive times to Sugarlands are estimates for a normal day.

Sunbeams through the forest at Elkmont Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
About 17 min · 6.6 mi via Little River Road

Elkmont Campground

National park campground near Gatlinburg with no hookups, set in the woods along the Little River.

See Elkmont

RVs parked on grassy riverside sites along the Little Pigeon River at Camp Riverslanding in Pigeon Forge
About 19 min · 9.5 mi via the Gatlinburg Bypass

Camp Riverslanding

Private park with full-hookup sites along the Little Pigeon River, a short drive from the Old Mill end of town.

See Camp Riverslanding

Aerial view of Creekside RV Park in Pigeon Forge with the Great Smoky Mountains behind
About 27 min · 13.1 mi via the Gatlinburg Bypass

Creekside RV Park

Full-hookup park off Henderson Springs Road with a seasonal pool. Closed January and February.

See Creekside

Helpful answers

Frequently asked questions

The questions RVers ask most before pulling in.

Yes, on the main roads. The park lists no length limit for Newfound Gap Road (US-441), Kuwohi Road or Cades Cove. Motorhomes over 25 feet and anything towing a trailer are banned on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Little Greenbrier, Rich Mountain, Parson Branch, Wear Cove and the Heintooga roads.

There is no entrance fee. Any vehicle parked for more than 15 minutes needs a parking tag: $5 for a day, $15 for a week or $40 for a year, for every vehicle size. America the Beautiful passes don’t replace the tag. Vehicles with a disability placard or plate are exempt, and tags aren’t needed on Free Entrance Days.

Buy daily and weekly tags on recreation.gov and print them before you go, or buy annual tags from smokieslife.org, which mails them to you. You can also buy tags at park visitor centers, including Sugarlands, and at parking tag machines. Most trailheads don’t have machines. Digital copies on your phone aren’t accepted.

Yes, on a leash no longer than 6 feet. Dogs are allowed in campgrounds, picnic areas, parking areas and along roads, but only two trails allow them: the Gatlinburg Trail, which starts at Sugarlands, and the Oconaluftee River Trail on the North Carolina side. Don’t leave pets alone in your car or RV.

The park says it is busiest from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and suggests arriving by 8 a.m. on busy days. Fall color weekends bring heavy traffic and full lots, so weekdays and early mornings are easier.

Allow about an hour for the museum, the 20-minute film and a ranger chat. Add time for the walk to Cataract Falls or the Gatlinburg Trail, which is about 4 miles round trip. A drive up Newfound Gap Road turns it into a half-day or full-day trip.

Park open 24/7 · Sugarlands 9–5 most months

Get your parking tag before you go

Print a daily or weekly tag from recreation.gov the night before. Then take the Gatlinburg Bypass and start your day at Sugarlands.

Parking tag info

or call (865) 436-1200

Thank you to the people behind these photos and this video. Please support them by giving their work a look. Photos: Andrea Walton, NPS (Sugarlands Visitor Center; public domain, via Wikimedia Commons), Famartin (the park entrance on US-441; CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons), Andrew Heneen (Newfound Gap Road in fall; CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons), Washuotaku (Thomas Ridge Overlook; CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons), Sarah Stierch (fall color near the Chimney Tops; CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons), Warren Bielenberg, NPS (inside Sugarlands; public domain, via Wikimedia Commons); the images were resized. Video: Bear Facts of the Smoky Mountains on YouTube (The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park). Review-site logos are trademarks of their owners.

Disclaimer

RV-Roundup is an independent, community-based resource created to help RV travelers and to support and promote the places we feature. RV-Roundup is not owned by, operated by, or officially affiliated with Great Smoky Mountains National Park unless otherwise stated.

The information on this page was prepared using the most current details available at the time of publication, including published materials from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and publicly available sources. Hours, pricing, rules and other details are set by the National Park Service and may change at any time without notice. Before you travel, please confirm all details directly with Great Smoky Mountains National Park at nps.gov/grsm/index.htm or (865) 436-1200. RV-Roundup is not responsible for errors, omissions, or changes made after publication.

We will always do our best to keep this page up to date. Thank you to everyone who contributes; we truly appreciate your help and support.

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