Driving Through Cades Cove
Now this may surprise you. Of all the activities we did over our two weeks in the Smoky Mountains, I would put Cades Cove at the bottom. Not that it was bad, it just wasn’t outstanding. At least for me.
One reason is because we had to drive the loop. We brought our ebikes with designs on riding the loop, but we were too early in the year for this activity. So, keep dates in mind if you hope to do this. Also, now that I’ve visited the park, I see how challenging parking can be. So, if you’re not camping at Cades Cove, I’m not really sure how hard it would be to find a place to park and ride the loop. In any case, we ended up driving the loop in our car.
A second reason the Cades Cove loop fell below average for us is that we didn’t see any wildlife. Like reason number one, this is on us, too. We didn’t drive the loop early in the morning or later in the day when wildlife are known to be visible. We drove through in the late morning/early afternoon. Like the wildlife, we also have our routines. And getting up early isn’t one of them.
A third reason is also on us. The loop is filled with historic structures – as well as beautiful scenery. However, I hadn’t done any research about this history of the loop beforehand. So, it was kind of like looking at a great piece of art without knowing anything about it. We did read the informational displays at each stop which did help, but I think the experience would have been richer had we had some background information.
Also, at the beginning of the loop, we read everything. But near the end, we had reached our “historic structure” limit and just couldn’t absorb any more information.
Now, all this isn’t to say we didn’t enjoy it. We did. It was a beautiful day, and each time we got out of the car, we were rewarded with fresh air and sunshine, a pretty view and/or an interesting historic building.
Here are just a few of the highlights from our tour of the Cades Cove loop:
The John Oliver Place
This one and a half story cabin is one of the oldest structures in the park. It was completed about 1820. Members of the John Oliver family lived here for more than one hundred years.
Behind Dan are steps going to the second floor.
The Methodist Church
This church was built in 1820. There is a cemetery on the side of the church. Most of the graves were really old, but I did see one from 2019. There were also a number of graves with coins on them. I had not seen this before.
Missionary Baptist Church
This church was founded in 1839.
I love the symmetry and balance.
This feels very restful to me.
Near the church was a plaque honoring the work done in the park by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933 to 1942. We saw the same plaque in another location in the park. If you visited Smoky Mountains National Park, do you know where it is?
…whose hands built roads, trails, bridges, buildings, campgrounds, and picnic areas…for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.
“If you seek their monument, look about you.”
Cable Mill
Cable Mill is operated by the Smoky Mountains Natural History Association from May to October. We were fortunate enough to see the mill working.
There was a park ranger in the mill discussing the mill and life in the 1800’s, and there were several informational displays in the mill. According to one of the informational displays, in 1989 a black bear ripped through the siding of the mill in search of corn. I guess that bear was pretty hungry!
Also in the mill was another informational display entitled “Mill Speak.” As a lover of words and language, I always find the origin of phrases to be quite interesting. Among others, this display listed the phrases: “The daily grind”, “Run of the mill”, “Rule of thumb”, “Come to a grinding halt”, and “Put through the mill.”
including this Drive-Through Barn
Even though Cable Mill is located about halfway through Cades Cove loop, this is the end of the road for this tour. We did finish the loop, of course, but a good rule of thumb is to stop the daily grind before it feels like one has been put through the mill.
After our driving tour, we visited the Cades Cove picnic area which was another picnic area that was just beautiful. Like other days, we ate our lunch and played some Scrabble. We really enjoyed these charming picnic areas in the park.
While many of our meals were eaten in our travel trailer or at the park’s picnic areas, we did eat out a few times. And that is what I will dish up in my next post.
Chambers on the Road 
Isn’t it funny how sometimes our most anticipated destinations aren’t the highlights of the trip? I liked the mill and the drive through barn in your post. Hopefully someday I’ll get here too.
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I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but you are right. Cades Cove was a “must see”, and I’m glad we did … but definitely not the highlight of the trip. There is another highlight of the trip though (to be featured in a later post) which we didn’t even know we were going to do. 🙂 I hope you’ll make it there someday, too. I bet you will. You’ve made it to so many other fascinating places! Have a great Saturday!
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Another great read, Betty! Even though it didn’t live up to your expectations, it sounds like you made the best of it. Lovely photos and excellent information about what you saw at Cade’s cove. Your post was far from run of the mill 😉
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Ha ha. Thank you! Love your comment!
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Cade’s Cove is probably the most popular section of the park. We sat in a bumper to bumper line of cars as you did, but we were fortunate enough to see a bear. Historic buildings and the stories that come with them are great, but viewing many of them can get old real quick. I loved reminiscing over your wonderful photos though. It has been a long time since we visited GSMNP, and you’re inspiring us to go back someday. Have a good Saturday!
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Thanks, Kellye. We were fortunate that although there was a line of cars, it was always moving. And the farther out we got, there were less cars. We also were fortunate enough to see two little bear cubs one day when we were driving somewhere in the park. We just saw them in the distance, and we didn’t stop. I am sure mama was somewhere close by. We really did enjoy our visit, but I didn’t want to gloss over this part. I hope you have a good Saturday, too!
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I appreciate your honesty, and I’m sure other readers do too.
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I kept looking for something to strike a memory chord with me, as I read your post. I didn’t come up with any memories. So, I did a bit of research on our past wanderings. It wasn’t Cades Cove that we visited, it was Cataloochee Valley near Maggie Valley NC.
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Thanks, Linda. I look forward to reading your post about it. We did venture just a bit in NC during this trip. That’ll be another post. 🙂
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If my memory serves me correctly, the other plaque for the CCC is at the monument where Roosevelt addressed the crowd. There was a large sign about the CCC camp there also. We drove through Cades Cove also, and it was not really what we expected either. In another “if my memory” we had the option to get off the loop at some point, and went out another way. As always, your sense of humor makes it even more fun, and I loved the photograph of Dan in the cabin. I looked at the door to the entrance and know he ducked!
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I don’t remember seeing the other plaque by where Roosevelt addressed the crowd. Perhaps there is one there, and I missed it. Maybe there are three? I do remember the info posted there about the CCC camp. There are two roads which dissect the loop and where one can escape – or just make a shorter loop. We didn’t escape as our thinking was this may be the only time we visit Cades Cove, so we are going to see the whole loop. You could go up those stairs in the cabin and look at the second floor. It was a pretty impressive cabin for having been built by so few and so long ago. And yes. Dan did duck! Hope you have a great Saturday!
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Looks like a wonderful visit, Betty. So this is a different John Oliver than the satirist on HBO? 😉 Love the Civilian Conservation Corps structure — it really is great to see those Works Progress-era buildings and structures being maintained. They are such a vital part of our history. Great pictures! – Marty
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Thanks, Marty. I am guessing this is a different John Oliver than the one on HBO. Or perhaps he lived in the cabin until he made it big on HBO. Or he made it big and then bought the land and built a cabin as a second home. Or else, I’m just having fun. Enjoy your Saturday!
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Wonderful post. So many wonderful, historic sights to see, and so much to learn. However, I can see how you can quickly get overloaded. Such a shame that our parks are so over crowded. I’m wondering what is going to happen in the years to come. The RV industry is about to go bust, so maybe, just maybe the throngs of today will begin to taper of.
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Thanks, Bill. I feel like I am beginning to see less crowding at campgrounds. And I see posts on Facebook where campers say, “There’s hardly anyone here!” Time will tell as we go through the summer, but I think things are beginning to taper off now for us campers. Glad you enjoyed the post, and enjoy your Saturday!
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It has been a long time since I was there. It sounds like the traffic has gotten worse since then. Glad you had a nice day despite not being able to ride your bikes.
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And I think we were there at a slower time – mid to late April. Everything worked out okay. Happy Mother’s Day!
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Thanks for the memories. We haven’t been to Cades Cove in ages; it looks like it has gotten a lot busier in that time.
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You’re welcome. From everything I hear, it has gotten a lot busier – especially during the busy season. It was our first time to visit the Smoky Mountains. Have a great week ahead!
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Thanks, Betty for another informative and humorous tour. None of your featured stops brought back any memories for me so on many of those trips to the park I took with my parents, we must have never taken the Cade Cove loop. But thanks to your post, I am at least now familiar with it.
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It would be great to see wildlife or to ride a bike through the loop. Kids could get bored being in the car so long. Have a great week, David!
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Thanks and you too!
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Cable Mill workers needed to borrow your bear-bell that you were wearing in the previous, or previous-previous, post. After all, you saved so many people! HAHAHA
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Ha ha! The only thing that bear bell did was start conversations! But that was okay, and we did talk to many nice people. 🙂
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