balsam mountain road

去大烟山是在10月初。美国中北部地区还是晴好的秋日，田纳溪州的大烟山山脉上却已经是冰雪覆盖。我们团队开车进山，典型的北方落叶林应入眼前，浓密的树林环绕着曲折的小路。下午7点左右到达露营地，刚才还晴好无比，一下子开始下雨。无奈中搭了半个小时的帐篷，准备野炊厨具。晚上很冷，只能围在篝火旁才能感觉到一点温暖，睡在帐篷里一直能感觉到湿气和寒气。晚上真的太难熬了，就盼着太阳早点出来。一大早在教授带领下我们徒步行走30多mile,徒步体验大烟山的地质和植被多样性。有的地方你可以体会到温带雨林的湿润，就像走在夏初的丛林。有些地方却寒冷的不能忍受，冰雪覆盖，寒风刺骨，不得不把自己包成个雪人。大烟山这个季节是最好的，因为如果夏天来，她跟其他国家公园没什么区别，茂密丛林，观望山景。但是这个季节来，你可以体会到夏天到冬天的变化，肯定回让你惊喜忘外。

This is a beautiful drive, starting with the Blue Ridge Parkway. We saw four elk standing beside the road on the drive. The views as we drove up the mountain were breathtaking. Once you reach Balsam Mountain Road, be warned. It is an unpaved gravel road, that winds around the ridge line and up and down the mountain. I had no trouble in my Subaru Outback, but I don't advise a sedan or anything that sits low to the road as it is rutted and rocky in spots. Do NOT start this drive with less than four hours of daylight left! It is extremely remote and you don't want to drive this road in the dark because it is narrow, has switchback after switchback and very steep drop offs. I was driving and was glad my brother-in-law was with us; it would have gotten unnerving had it just been my sisters and I. Once you get to the bottom of the mountain the road follows a beautiful creek with several small waterfalls. Worth the trip if you love the forest, peace and quiet.

Be warned - the road is unpaved. We got to the start of the road but did not attempt it with a car full of small children. It looked like it would be good fun with a 4x4 or SUV. The roads leading up to it (like the Blue Ridge Parkway) were very scenic and uncrowded even on a 4th of July weekend.

We first did this road in 2012. Unfortunately it was closed in 2013 but we got to enjoy it again this year.We do not have a 4x4 but had no problem in our Escape. I would not try it in a small, low to the ground car. It's great fun and we saw LOTS of wildlife. More wild turkeys than we can count. One preened across the road showing his display for us. One was a mother hen with 4 baby chicks. We even saw a black bear cub running across the road in front of us. We never saw mom! The views along the first part of the drive are great but the end is my favorite part and it follows a gorgeous babbling river down hill all the way to Cherokee. The flowering creek banks, coolness of the woods, wildlife, adventuresome driving = something for everyone to enjoy.

If I had a 4x4 and was strictly looking to kill time and go off-roading, I'd take this road. Otherwise, if you're on vacation, avoid at all costs. There are a hundred better things to do in this region. It's simply a road through the woods.

We did enjoy the drive up US 441 but were unable to visit the park itself. I was impressed to see several rangers still working, thanks;not so much thanks to those in congress.

We drove the Blue Ridge parkway when we left the Smoky Mountain national park. The misty cloud in the mountain along the parkway is very pretty. One has to see it to enjoy it. Wish to come back during fall.

We took it in the fall and the colors were great. Even though it was peak tourist season, we only saw one other vehicle the whole time. The views were nice with some streams and overlooks. It is a one way gravel road that takes several hours to complete but if you want to get a way from the masses and see some nature, it is worth it.

When you are in the Smokey Mountains you must do the drive through the National Park. It is the most beautiful drive I have taken in my life. It has now become family tradition every time we are there. There are so many places to stop off and capture beautiful photos of the landscape and family photos.

We rented 2 jeep wranglers and took them up in the mountains! Our boys loved it but I think I loved it more! There was no one on the road and we could stop anywhere and just stand up in the jeep with the top down and take it all in! Will ride this road again. it is a dirt road and it is about 28 miles. Just make sure you have time to get out before dark. They close the gates at dark.

Beautiful views abound in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. There is a reason this is the most visited national park in the country, yes even more visitors than Yellowstone because of its location. There are many trails from beginner to advanced along this road. If you enjoy being deep in the woods, I highly recommend this.

Great place to hike. Lots of waterfalls to hike to. Warm enough in summer to enjoy a refreshing swim when you get there. One of my favorite trips.

We are both avid mountain road people. We take as many off-the-beaten-path roads as possible. We have a roadster and thought this would be a good road to investigate.....wasted about two hours from our Blue Ridge Parkway drive to eat the dust from this road. Scenery is nearly non-existent. Either too many trees or just not very many good spots. It is a gravel road with some jagged rocks...had to be careful in the SLK (roadster), but made it with no problem. Basically, this road is a long dusty, gravel road....no waterfalls...creeks near the exit part and not very scenic. There are many...many...many other better places to drive. As a footnote...we are glad we did it, because we can say we did it.It does lead to Cherokee.....sooooo, you can always stop and waste some $$$$ at the casino while you are wasting your time on this road. We did see an elk on the Balsam Mountain road to Heintooga Ridge Road. Picture...Got some good pictures of the handsome fellow. We love the area....

This is a smaller campground with a couple short hiking trails but it's nice because there aren't a lot of people here and the elevation makes it nicer in the warmer months since its cooler the higher you go. Mid July it was in the mid 60's at night and in the morning which made tent camping very comfortable. This facility, like most in the National Park does not have water or electricity at the camp sites but they have 2 restroom areas that have toilets and running water for cooking, brushing your teeth etc.. we brought a propane stove and a shower bag so we were prepared.. $14 gets you a nights stay and it's well worth it. The hiking trail is about a mile long round trip.

If you like to be by yourself on twisty winding roads that have some rocks, holes and downhill grades, then this one is for you. My wife thought I was crazy when I told her we were taking the minivan down this 'road', but I had already checked with one of the park rangers to make sure it was a marginally sane thing to do.The two gravel lanes you see right at the entrance is the very best of the road until you get to the bottom, but by the time you figure that out you are committed. We only saw 1 other vehicle right at the beginning. They let us pass at a turn-out since some of their crew were riding mountain bikes part of the way down. It is definitely a one-lane one-way road. After that, there was no one but us for the the 1.5 hours as we twisted and wound around down the hills. The upper part of the road is rougher than the lower part.We did get a little rain, thunder, and fog on the way down which made the wife and kids a bit nervous, but it was no major issue for driving. I would not want to be on this road in severe weather. (Storms late in the day shut down 441 for 3+ hours with downed trees across the road. Had we been on this road then......yikes.)The up close views of the forest were spectacular to my wife and I. If we had a little more time we would have made a few more stops to look and listen for more wildlife. Our kids (10 and 6) weren't all that impressed, but they remained resonably tolerable. Older kids might enjoy the scenery.