Cades Cove Heritage Tour

Cades Cove Heritage Tours is a not-for-profit organization that operates as part of the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee. We are so proud to be part of the Heritage Center and its mission. We are the best tour of the Great Smoky Mountains , and the Heritage Center is the best museum and historical attraction in the area. What a pair! Read on to learn more about this wonderful place and some of what it has to offer this season. We can't wait to see you there! About the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center Visit the Heritage Center to celebrate the cultural heritage of East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains region. The center features gallery exhibits, educational programs, demonstrations, festivals, and cultural enrichment. The center's mission is to preserve, interpret, and share the history and culture of the diverse peoples who have inhabited the Southern Appalachians and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Museum The G...

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a vast and gorgeous place to visit. With so much area to cover, it can be difficult to know which locations are best to include on your trip. As the best tour of the Great Smoky Mountains , Cades Cove Heritage Tours has you covered with visits to Cades Cove, and on private customized tours, you can visit Elkmont and Newfound Gap. Read on to learn more about each of these incredible places, and don't forget to call and book your own tour with us! Cades Cove This is one of the most popular destinations in the Smokies for good reason! Wildlife is abundant in this area, providing great chances to witness wild horses, bears, turkey, coyote, and more. The history of Cades Cove is rich and interesting. Europeans moved to the area in the early 1800s, and a booming town was born out of the growing logging industry. Once the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established, the loggers moved out of town, leaving behind incredible build...

Cades Cove Heritage Tours offers the best tours of the Great Smoky Mountains National Par k! Some people choose to try and tour the Smokies on their own. but did you know that, on average, only 1 in 100 people come into contact with a Park Ranger when visiting the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? The vast area can be overwhelming to try touring on your own, and you may miss several interesting stops and turns along the way. Schedule a tour with Cades Cove Heritage Tours to experience the ecology and history of Cades Cove like never before! Read on to learn more about why touring with us is the best way to experience Cades Cove at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park ! Celebrity Tour Guides The guides at Cades Cove Heritage Tours are hand-picked for their expertise in the area and their unique ability to captivate their audience. In 2019, we've had three celebrities guiding groups through the Smoky Mountains while providing interesting st...

Cades Cove Heritage Tours is proud to announce an incredible new day trip - the Festive Holiday Trip to Grove Park Inn and Biltmore . This beautiful experience will help inspire you to feel the holiday spirit this season with a gingerbread exhibit, champagne brunch, candlelit tour, and more! Mark your calendars for November 23rd and buy your tickets before the October 22nd deadline to secure your place on this incredible day trip! 27th Annual Gingerbread House Exhibit at Grove Park Inn Enjoy the intricate, too-pretty-to-eat designs on display at the Annual Gingerbread House Exhibit. This beautiful exhibit shows off the winning gingerbread houses from the Annual National Gingerbread House Competition at The Omni Grove Park Inn. What started as a small community event in 1992 has blossomed over the years into a wonderful tradition that participants and guests alike appreciate and treasure every year.  Holiday Champagne Brunch at Grove Park Inn Grove Park Inn is th...

The Smoky Mountains are a breathtaking location sure to be on everyone's travel bucket list! There are numerous activities, sights to see, and places to visit. As a long-time tour destination in the Smoky Mountains , Cades Cove Heritage Tours has great tips to help you plan your trip. Read on to find out a few essentials you should pack for your next visit! Comfortable Clothing Smoky Mountain hiking trails are some of the most beautiful you can witness, especially on our Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tour . Make sure you are prepared by choosing hiking boots that provide stability for your ankles and have comfortable soles so your feet don't start to ache before the hike has even started. Pack warm, thick socks to help prevent blistering and losing heat as you climb to higher elevations. It is also a good idea to bring a few different layers so you can adjust to the temperature fluctuations as the day progresses. Check the weather in the area where you will ...

We know the Smoky Mountains as foggy towering mountains with a thick forest. Did you know that before the Great Smoky Mountain National Park existed that most of the Tennessee side of the Smoky Mountains were barren? Here at Cades Cove Heritage Tours , we love the rich history of the mountains and we love to tell the stories. In this week’s blog, we would like to talk about the history of the logging industry in the Smoky Mountains. Early Logging Endeavors The first logging operations in the Smoky Mountains began in the 1880s. The most well-known early loggers were the English Lumber Company on Little River, the Taylor and Crate on the Hazel Creek, and Alexander Arthur on the Pigeon River. These operations couldn’t reach the high forest ranges, so they focused on the low-lying areas along waterways. They used splash dams or booms to float logs down the rivers to get to the mills. The dangers of working on waterways were flooding, and all three companies failed after their opera...

The Smoky Mountains are well known for amazing fall foliage, black bears, and moonshine! Moonshine? Yes, moonshine is a huge historic part of life in the Smokies. You will find all kinds of distilleries, large and small surrounding the Smokies, but it wasn’t too long ago that these mountains were crawling with bootleggers running corn whiskey stills. In this week’s blog, Cades Cove Heritage Tours will tell you all about the history of Moonshine in the Great Smoky Mountains . How It All Started When Irish and Scottish immigrants settled in the Smoky Mountains in the 1700s, they brought along their tradition of whiskey making. The Irish and Scottish typically used grains and barley to make their traditional whiskey, but the plentiful amount of corn would soon become the product of choice. The Whiskey Rebellion On January 27th, 1791 the House approved legislation to impose an excise tax on whiskey. The Distilled Spirits Tax was implemented to pay down national debt that had acc...

The Smoky Mountains are full of amazing wildlife! People from all over the country come to Cades Cove to catch a glimpse of these animals. Here at Cades Cove Heritage Tours , the black bear is the most popular and people are always asking questions about them. In this week’s blog, we will tell you all you need to know about the Smoky Mountain black bear . All About Black Bears Black bears are the most common bear in North America. Typically, black bears live in forests, but can also be found in mountains and swampy areas. They are excellent tree climbers. Despite being called black, black bears can also be blueish, brown, and cinnamon-colored in other parts of the country. The black bears in the Smokey Mountains are all black in color and will range from 100 pounds to 600 pounds. The bears can be up to six feet long and stand up to three feet tall from the ground to shoulder. Black bears tend to be solitary animals and like to roam large areas. Most of their diet consists of ...

Cades Cove features several historic buildings, including three churches, log homes, a working grist mill, and other restored structures. In this week’s blog, Cades Cove Heritage Tours would like to tell you all about the historic structures you will see along our public and private tours. Grab the family, grab your camera, and let’s go for a ride! John Oliver Cabin The first historic structure you will see along the tour is the John Oliver Cabin. This cabin is named after one of the first pioneers to settle in Cades Cove. The home has no nails or pegs, the notched corners use gravity to hold it together. The John Oliver Cabin stayed in the Oliver family for over 100 years before the National Park Service eventually took it over. Churches You will enjoy the site of three church buildings along the route. First is the Primitive Baptist Church, then the Methodist Church and lastly the Missionary Baptist Church. These structures are very intriguing and hold lots of history. ...

If you’re visiting the area and looking for something exciting and educational to do with the family, a tour of the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center is a must-stop destination for any trip to the Smoky Mountains . Opening to the public in 2006 the Heritage Center has been growing ever since and is dedicated to preserving the rich history of the Great Smoky Mountains. In this week’s blog, we would like to tell you all about the Heritage Center and how together we celebrate the cultural heritage of the Great Smoky Mountains ! Mission The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center preserves, interprets and shares the history and culture of the diverse peoples and Native Americans who have inhabited the Southern Appalachians, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It offers exhibitions and programs for educational and cultural enrichment. Museum The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is first and foremost a museum; a museum whose mission is to preserve, protect and ...

Whether you are a regular visitor to the Smokies, or you are a first timer, Cades Cove Heritage Tours offers you the opportunity to experience the Smoky Mountains as never before. We offer public and private fully guided tours for individuals and groups of all ages. In this week’s blog, we will answer the questions we are asked frequently about our tours here at Cades Cove Heritage Tours . Why Do You Charge for Your Tours? Aren’t Most Guided Tours in National Parks Free? Most shuttle tours in National Parks are not free. In fact, Cades Cove Heritage Tours is an excellent deal for a guided tour. Most private guided tours can run anywhere from $25 to over $125 per person. Is the Shuttle Going to Be Mandatory for All Visitors? No, Cades Cove Heritage Tours is not part of any plan to make riding mandatory. Cades Cove Heritage Tours is a private non-profit that seeks to provide a superior visitor experience while protecting the natural and cultural resource of Cades Cove. We offe...