Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a 5½-mile one-way paved road accessible from the Cherokee Orchard entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It provides a couple of excellent viewpoints on the left side of the road as it climbs toward its namesake creek. You will be out of the park and back in Gatlinburg at the end of the road. A left turn will lead to a traffic light on East Parkway, US 321. A left turn on East Parkway will bring you back into town while a right turn heads toward Pitman Center and Cosby. Trailers, motor homes, and buses are prohibited due to the winding nature of the road. We explored the route in July 2022.

View from the first overlook

Growing back after the 2016 fire

View from the third pullout and second overlook

There is no entrance fee at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. However, a parking fee will be levied beginning March 1, 2023. The fee will be $5 for a daily tag, $15 for a seven-day tag, and $40 for an annual tag.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.