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To fully experience the grandeur of Townsend, one only has to venture into the GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK. At 500,000 acres, it's the largest piece of wilderness east of the Mississippi. 800 miles of trails are packed with over 1,400 species of flowering plants, including 150 tree species, over 50 species of ferns, 71 mammals, 35 amphibians and at least 235 birds. And be on the lookout for black bears. Hundreds of them can be seen throughout the park daily!
Without leaving your car, you may drive the 11-mile, one-way, paved Loop Road in Cades Cove. Deer, bear and wild turkey are frequently seen on this drive. Also along the way: churches and cemeteries which one served residents of the cove, the Cable Mill area, and several pioneer cabins and houses.
Cades Cove lies peacefully in a tranquil valley. Its open fields stretch between 5,500-foot mountain peaks. Home to a fully operational grist mill with a working waterwheel and historic structures, there's over 1,500 kinds of flowering plants, deer and hundreds of black bears that live in the park. View the sights on our 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road. Wednesdays and Saturdays from early May to late September the road is closed to motor vehicles until 10:00 a.m., allowing a safe, quiet experience for bicyclists, pedestrians, and the adventurist on horseback. Summer programs include apple butter making and performances in the amphitheater. Come by the Cades Cove Visitors Center, on Loop Road, for more information.
As you enter Cades Cove, you may stop and purchase a copy of the auto tour booklet published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. It's available in a stand by the roadside at the beginning of the loop road and also at the Ranger Station. Cost $1.00.
Walker Sisters Home
A 1.5-mile hike from Little Greenbrier School in the Metcalf Bottoms area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park takes you to the old Walker Sisters home, first constructed in the 1840's and home to some of the last living residents of the park. The five sisters lived there amidst the old Appalachian traditions until the last sister, Louisa Susan, died in 1964. Visitors can explore the old home, the springhouse and corn crib, and bits of stone walls that were part of this homesite.
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Seven miles into the National Park via the Townsend entrance, an 11-mile driving loop takes visitors back in time. Families began settling in Cades Cove in 1821 and the population peaked around 1900 with 708 individuals in 125 family units. Today, cabins and churches built during the 1800's are open for exploration, fields are wide and surrounded on all sides by magnificent mountains, a working grist mill and historical re-enactments are complemented by a visitor's center and gift shop. At the beginning of the loop drive, an introductory interpretation facility tells the story of the once-thriving community that lived there. 
