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Bicycles can travel on
most roads within the park. However, due to steep terrain, narrow
road surfaces, and heavy automobile traffic, many park roads are not
well suited for safe and enjoyable bicycle riding.
Cades Cove Loop Road is
an exception. The 11-mile one way road, is a popular bicycling area.
It provides bicyclists with excellent opportunities for wildlife
viewing and touring 19th century home sites. During summer and fall,
bicycles may be rented at the Cades Cove store (located near Cades
Cove Campground). For information call (865) 448-9034. Beginning the
second week in May, the loop road is closed to motor vehicle traffic
Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10:00 a.m. to allow bicyclists
and pedestrians to enjoy the cove. This closure continues through
the second-to-last Saturday in September.
Other areas
suitable for bicyclists include Greenbrier and Tremont roads in
Tennessee, and Lakeview Drive, and Cataloochee Valley in North
Carolina. Cyclists may also traverse unfinished portions of the
Foothills Parkway in Tennessee.
Download a park
map to locate these areas.
Safety is always a
major concern where cars and bicycles must share the road.
The State of Tennessee requires that children age 16 and under wear
a helmet. We strongly recommend that all riders wear
helmets, use rear view mirrors, and ride properly fitted and
well-maintained bicycles. Please obey all traffic regulations.
There are no mountain
biking trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Gatlinburg
Trail, the Oconaluftee River Trail, and the lower Deep Creek Trail
are the only park trails on which bicycles are allowed. Bicycles are
prohibited on all other park trails.
Mountain biking trails
are open on national forest and recreation lands outside Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. For information on mountain biking in these
areas, please contact the following offices:
Chattahoochee
National Forest (770)
297-3000
Cherokee National Forest (423) 476-9700
Nantahala National Forest (828) 257-4200
Pisgah National Forest (828) 257-4200
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (423)
286-7275
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area (800) 628-7207
The Tsali Recreation
Area in Nantahala National Forest (listed above) is a
popular mountain biking area |