View Full Version : parking in the Smokies
colbertj
02-05-2004, 22:27
My wife and I are continuing our section hike of the AT from Clingman's Dome in early June. Is long-term (2-3 weeks) allowed at the Clingman's Dome parking lot? If it is, is it recommended?
Lone Wolf
02-05-2004, 22:33
Call The Happy Hiker outfitter in Gatlinburg. They'll know. 865-436-6000
Where are you stopping at? May be better to park there & catch a shuttle to the Dome. Or, park at Happy hiker & have them run you up to the Dome, in 98 they charged around $1.00 a mile, I think it's 27 miles to clingmans from HH, might be more.
If you decide to park there, notify the park service, they have an office at each end of Newfound gap road.
Doctari.
I would definitely call the park service about this. I don't think there are any restrictions, but if they see your car there for more than a week they might start to get a bit worried. The longest I've parked in the Smokys was for 8 nights, but that was way out in Greenbrier.
As an alternate, think about taking Greyhound instead of driving and then parking. There is almost certainly a Greyhound stop in the immediate area. Gatlingburg, aka The Worst Place on Earth Next to Gary, Pigeon Forge, and Seviersville are all pretty big and close to the northern side of the park. Hitching from G-burg should not be difficult. If you are heading north, 2-3 weeks will put you somewhere around Erwin or Damascus. There is a Greyhound station in Abingdon, outside of Damascus. From Ewrin, you should be able to get to a Greyhound stop fairly easily. Johnson City has one, but there is probably something closer. If you are heading south, then you'll hit Springer and getting back to Atlanta shouldn't be much of an issue.
Hikerman
02-12-2004, 23:41
Parking. Just be careful. I had a shuttle drop me off at Hwy 40 and I hiked back to where I left my car at Newfound Gap and the car was broken into the last night before I got there. They got mine and the two parked next to it. They broke out our windows and stole all our stuff in the vehicles. Kind of put a bad ending on a great hike. Now I try not to leave my vehicle in a public lot. I try to have someone keep it at their house or bussiness. Not the trailhead.
This was about 4 years ago.
Good luck,
Hikerman.