Smoky Mountain "must see": Foothills Parkway

The entrance to Foothills Parkway
from Rt. 321

If you want great views of the Smoky Mountains without the fuss and hassle of all the crowds and cranky drivers, we may have an option for you to try.

The Smoky Mountain Foothills Parkway is a hidden gem on the west side of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. While the kabillions of tourists flock to the attractions in the center of the park like Laurel Falls, Cades Cove and Clingman's Dome, we found the Foothills Parkway to offer extraordinary views with very little traffic.

To find the Foothills Parkway, you have to travel west out of Pigeon Forge on Rt. 321. Go all the way to Townsend and then keep going for about 10 more minutes. It's about a half-hour away from the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, but the drive is beautiful and well worth the effort.

Look Rock

Don't miss the path to climb up
to the Look Rock tower.

One of the key features on the parkway are several parking areas that feature spectacular views of both the Smoky Mountains to the east and south, as well as the region to the west of the park.  You can tell when the designers of the parkway were planning this route, they expected the same type of crowds you will find stopping at Laurel Falls or Cades Cove. But incredibly, there was hardly anyone out here with us, and we were here at peak season right before the July 4th weekend.

Look Rock is about midway through the drive. When you arrive, you'll find a nice viewing stand near the parking area. But don't miss the crosswalk that takes you a half-mile further up the mountain side to the Look Rock viewing Tower. From here you can take in an incredible view on a clear day. We were fortunate. The haze wasn't too bad. We were able to see as far away as Knoxville to the west while able to take in Mount Le Conte and Clingman's Dome to the east.

Look Rock Tower

Following our visit to look rock, the rest of the ride south provides beautiful views and you wind up at Chilhowee Lake created by Fontana Dam. We wound up having a picnic along the water. During our rest, we noticed the damage caused earlier by an EF4 tornado that ripped through the western part of the park. The damage is pretty extensive, but the park is so big, the scope of the damage appears relatively small.

Recommendation
If you are coming all the way to the Smokies for vacation, we'd recommend that you invest the time to visit the Foothills Parkway. The views are worth the drive....and it's free!

Panoramic view from Look Rock Tower
Smokies to the left, Maryville to the right.