View Full Version : Parking; Road to Nowhere
blue indian
05-05-2014, 11:16
I read that there is a small parking area somewhere at the end of Lakeview Dr (Road to Nowhere) I'm assuming by the tunnel. Is parking here allowed/deemed safe? Is it easy to find? Anything else I should know about it? Thanks yall!
HooKooDooKu
05-05-2014, 11:52
There is a barricade about 100 yards before the tunnel. At the barricade is a small parking area. On crowded days, people also parallel park in the grass beside the road.
If you zoom in on the area in google earth, you can see the parking area (and even the concrete that supports the barricade) and a horse trailer parallel parked in the grass.
35.458917° Latitude, -83.537712° Longitude
Oh... to answer your other questions... I've never read about or heard about issues with leaving cars at the parking areas near the tunnel.
The only places I've specifically ever heard about issues with parking around GSMNP have been:
1. Davenport Gap (relatively remote but easy I-40 access)
2. Maddron Bald (easy access from 321, but relatively out-of-sight... but last I heard, they arrested the guy causing all the thefts there)
3. Lower Parking Lot at Alum Cave (easy access from 441, but relatively out-of-sight).
By contrast, most other trail heads are located in view of the major roads or require someone to 'go out of their way' at an unusual time of day just to check and see if there is anything worth breaking into.
2. Maddron Bald (easy access from 321, but relatively out-of-sight... but last I heard, they arrested the guy causing all the thefts there
yeah.....that spot is not as bad as it used to be as they did arrest the person (who happened to live on that road) and was sent to prison......that has been a few years ago, so not sure if that person is out yet and/or if there have been problems since...
as for parking near the tunner----ive parked there numerous times both overnight and just for the day and have had no problems......however, on one of my last trips there, as i was pulling up to park, another guy was checking the window that was smashed outta his truck.....
blue indian
05-05-2014, 20:28
Ive been up on Maddron bald before and we had a ranger assist us in parking for that trip and it was at a camp ground and i felt ok about that.
From what Ive read the road to nowhere sounded a bit sketchier, but from your two responses it sounds like it will be fine.
Thanks for your input HooKoo and TNhiker.
dmath010
05-05-2014, 22:08
Ain't no preacher, just happy to meet ya. Enjoy the trip, my friend.
ATL Backpacker
05-05-2014, 22:09
On the gosmokies site the road-to-nowhere parking lot has a reputation of break-ins, or at least it used to. Guessing that's cars left overnight as the area usually has some traffic during the day, weekends at least. On trailheads now I remove anything valuable and leave the doors unlocked...hoping the crook checks the door before smashing my window!!!
blue indian
05-05-2014, 23:04
Ain't no preacher, just happy to meet ya. Enjoy the trip, my friend.
WSMFP! ...Thank ya sir
blue indian
05-05-2014, 23:06
On the gosmokies site the road-to-nowhere parking lot has a reputation of break-ins, or at least it used to. Guessing that's cars left overnight as the area usually has some traffic during the day, weekends at least. On trailheads now I remove anything valuable and leave the doors unlocked...hoping the crook checks the door before smashing my window!!!
Ive never had a problem leaving my car for hikes (knock on wood) but Ive also usually leave it in a campground or near a road with a decent amount of traffic. I dont guess there are any alternatives to parking here?
likewise, in the 15 years that ive been hiking in this area---all over the smokies and lately in the cherokee national forest----i havent had a problem with my car being broken into....
and yeah, the road to nowhere doesnt really present any alternatives to park............there isnt a ranger station nearby (its in deep creek), and bryson city is about 10 miles (and it would be a really hard hitch) from the tunnel...
personally, i wouldnt worry about it too much........dont keep much in car, dont keep things in sight, and lock cars and lock trunk (there's a way to lock this on most cars so even if someone gets into the doors, the trunk remains locked)........