All four Visitor Centers offer Ranger information, brochures, maps and information regarding all of the activities in the Park.
The Cades Cove Center focus is on the Mountain people of the region while Sugarlands Center stresses the natural history and Clingmans Dome Center has an exhibit of a Water-powered grist mill. The Center also chronicles the Europeans that settled in this region. The Visitor Center at Oconaluftee has exhibits and stories of the Native Americans that roamed this area, from the prehistoric American Indians 10,000 years ago to the Cherokee. The Cherokee maintained a complex society and political structure, in addition to being culturally adaptive and incorporating aspects of European life, such creating their own written language. The Europeans who settled here in the 1700s found some of the most cultivated Native Americans in North America, the Cherokee Indians. The Park preserves a wonderful collection of historic log structures, from houses, barns and churches to grist mills and schools, in addition to well maintained remnants of communities representing Southern Appalachian mountain life. There are over 800 miles of maintained trails, with a diversity of flora and fauna to please nature lovers, photographers, and those interested in historical sites. Its acreage is divided almost equally between the two states, with two entrances in Tennessee and one in North Carolina. With over half a million acres, Great Smoky covers more area than the Grand Canyon. This ancient region has been designated as both an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. Great Smoky Mountains National Park stretches across the expanse of two states Tennessee and North Carolina.
Location of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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