We had the opportunity to take one of our favorite drives in mid-April, 2013. The Cades Cove loop road is an 11 mile one-way, one-lane road through a beautiful valley in the mountains. At the entrance to the cove, a side road leads to a picnic area and a campground. The campground also has a ranger station as well as a small store, restrooms, an open-air auditorium, and a bicycle rental facility.
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| Ranger station and campground fee station |
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| Camp store with bicycle rentals at the rear |
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| Covered open-air auditorium |
The loop road travels counter-clockwise around the cove. Several fields are still fenced to provide pasture for the horses that are also available for rent.
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| Horseshoe Ridge and Cobb Ridge |
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| Open pasture |
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| Dogwood in bloom |
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| More open fields |
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| Tater Branch |
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| Vast open spaces |
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| Grasslands |
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| Deer grazing near the road |
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| Ridges recede into the distance |
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| Deer grazing and resting beyond the turnout for Abrams Falls |
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| Wildflowers near Abrams Creek |
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| Wildflower closeup |
The following video of a wild turkey crossing the road was shot with a hand-held camera as there wasn't time to set up the tripod.
The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.
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