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When we arrived at Great Smoky Mountains National Park a few weeks ago, we saw a flashing billboard on the drive in warning that the Cades Cove Loop was closed to vehicles on Wednesdays over the summer. We looked into it and discovered the park does so in order to allow walkers and bicyclists easier access to the 11 mile loop on that day of the week. Cades Cove is a valley in the western side of the park that has a large number of historic buildings built in the early to mid 1800’s. It is one of the most popular destinations within the park. We had visited there back in 2014 but couldn’t remember much about the place. With one exception, the traffic was horrendous. Each stop has limited parking and the road isn’t wide enough to pass the car in front of you if they decide to wait for a parking spot along the way. It seemed like we should go back to refresh our memories.
The road thru Cades Cove is a single lane paved one way road that is about 11 miles around the loop. It’s definitely not a flat route but has less than 750 feet of elevation gain along the way so we figure it should work out okay to try on our bikes. While it is possible to bicycle the loop on normal days, having a “bicycle only” day seemed ideal. Both parking and traffic issues should be nearly eliminated. Most of the historic buildings are very near the road but a few of them are a quarter mile hike from the road. With further investigation about coming on a Wednesday with the bikes, we discovered that the most frequent negative comment about the program was the minimal parking. Even though an additional gravel parking area was constructed earlier this year, it sounded like if you’re not there by 8 AM, you’ll be out of luck. Being an 85 mile drive, with much of it on park roads, the travel time was estimated at about 2.5 hours! Arriving before eight wasn’t looking promising. Another alternative was to drive to Townsend Tennessee and pay for a shuttle to and from Cades Cove with our bikes. But at $25 per person, that seemed excessive. The other option was to arrive mid afternoon when the crowds had died down a bit. We picked the last choice.
Since there were other things to see in GSMNP, we headed out Wednesday morning with bikes on the rack and went to another very popular destination within the park - Clingmans Dome. This is the highest point (6,643 feet) within the park and the third highest point east of the Mississippi River. It’s a 7 mile drive from the main park road back to the parking area. Even with nearly 150 parking spots, it was packed when we arrived and decided to turn around and park along the gravel on the side of the road and just walk the extra quarter mile. A 45 foot tall observation tower built in 1959 sits at the end of a half mile walk. It isn’t a long walk but it does gain 340 feet in that distance for a ~13% average grade!
It is a paved path and reasonably wide, which is good with a couple hundred people going up or down. We were huffing and puffing but didn’t look nearly as bad as many of the people making the attempt. There are a few benches or large flocks along the way that many were using as resting spots. At the end of the path is a 375 foot spiral ramp that goes up to the observation tower. The ramp is about the same grade as the path but didn’t seem as bad since we could see our destination.
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| Clingmans Dome |
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| Clouds Roll Thru |
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| View of Ramp from Dome |
The weather wasn’t perfect for great views. Low hanging clouds would pass by making the visibility change by the minute. |
| Obscured View |
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| People Coming and Going |
It was still a nice place to visit since the clouds never generated rain. The walk back down, no surprise, was dramatically easier! It is even more apparent how tired the uphill visitors look when you pass by several dozen along the way. The parking lot area was still a zoo but there are some pretty good views to the south when the cloud cover is just right.
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| View on Walk Down |
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| Rocks at Beginning of 1/2 Mile Path Up |
It was approaching lunch when we got back to the car so we headed to our next stop - the Chimneys Picnic Area. This is just along the main park road near mile marker 6. It was a very popular spot. There are about 70 picnic tables scattered along a half mile loop in the woods next to a small river. We found a spot and had lunch. Lots of the people here were also enjoying the water so we headed over to check it out.
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| West Prong Little Pigeon River at Picnic Area |
We thought it may still be a bit early to show up to Cades Cove so we took advantage of the Cove Hardwood Nature Trail. There is a small parking area at the trailhead but we just left the car at our picnic spot and walked the extra distance. This 0.8 mile trail with only 200 feet of elevation gain seemed tame enough - heck it’s called a nature trail! After the stairs out of the picnic area, the trail seemed tame enough for the first tenth of a mile. At this point, the trail splits into a loop an still isn’t too challenging until it turns uphill. Maybe Clingmans Dome had tired out our legs, but that 200 foot climb was a challenge. It’s heavily wooded with lots of roots and rocks with the added challenge of water flowing. On the way back down, we thought we heard thunder in the distance but didn’t think rain was expected. Whether it was expected or not, we had just gotten to the picnic loop road and still had 1000 feet to go when the skies opened up. Even the tree cover did nothing to keep us from getting soaked. The shower did have the advantage of clearing out the picnic area. |
| Motionless Moths |
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| Along Cove Hardwood Nature Trail |
After it had let up a bit, we continued the long drive back to Cades Cove. Based on the number of cars exiting from that area, we were optimistic about finding a parking spot. It was still crowded but there were parking spots, in fact we got the one closest to the start of the loop. By then, the sun was out and everything looked dry. It wasn’t clear it had even rained here. I talked with a couple that was loading up their bikes to head out and they informed us it had poured down here as well. We changed into our cycling clothes and headed out. The first stop is John Oliver Place. It’s a little distance from the road and while the path would have been easy to bike, bicycles are only permitted on the roads in Cades Cove. It a pretty cabin built in the 1820’s. |
| John Oliver Place |
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| Inside Cabin |
Next stop is the Primitive Baptist Church. This one is a third mile off the main road but since there is a gravel road back to it, bikes are allowed. Not the flattest road but in good shape and worth the added effort to get back here. Established in 1827, the current church was built in 1887. A small cemetery is just behind the church. Nothing fancy inside but still pretty. |
| Pretty View Across Valley at Cades Cove |
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| Primitive Baptist Church |
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| Inside |
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| Cemetery Behind Church |
The Methodist Church is next right off the main road. Established in the 1820’s, the current church was built in 1902. It’s a little more ornate than the last one but not by much.
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| Double Entrance at Methodist Church |
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| Piano in Church |
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| View from the Pulpit |
We were less than 3 miles into the loop and it started to look like some dark clouds were headed our way. I guess if there is a brief ran shower, there are plenty of buildings to stay dry in. Next on the tour is the Missionary Baptist Church. A group of Primitive Baptist Church members were expelled because they favored missionary work. They formed their own church. The current building was constructed in 1915. It’s a nice building but I was most impressed with the wide boards used to make the pews inside - that was some nice lumber!
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| Dark Clouds Approaching Cades Cove |
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| Missionary Baptist Church |
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| Interior |
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| View from the Pulpit |
The weather still looked threatening but so far so good. The next stop would be Elijah Oliver Place. This one is about half a mile from the road and while the trail back to the cabin could easily be biked, it too is closed to cyclists. We left our bikes near some orange milkweed that was attracting lots of butterflies and headed town the trail. Not too far along the trail is a large barn. This one dates to around 1920 to 1930. We check it out and find lots of lumber being stored inside. It’s unclear whether this is back from 90 years ago or if the park service stores some of its supplies. We didn’t get much past this barn when we spotted something moving in the tall grasses maybe 150 feet ahead of us. It was a black bear. As we watched it, we realized there were three cubs as well. It was tough to get a clear picture with all the trees and brush in the way so I only got one of momma. We waited to determine which way they were heading with the hopes they would move away from us as well as our destination. They zigzagged around a bit before heading straight down the trail in the direction we needed to go. The good news was they weren’t heading towards us but given they were heading towards the cabin, we made the prudent decision to simply skip this one.
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| Still Threatening Weather |
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| Butterfly on Milkweed |
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| Barn Along Path to Elijah Oliver Place |
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| Inside Barn |
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| Mama Bear Makes Us Turn Back |
The next stop was the Cable Mill Area and Visitor Center. This is roughly at the halfway point along the loop. There are numerous buildings here although only the grist mill was here originally. The rest of the structures were moved from elsewhere in the park. It started to sprinkle very lightly and we kept expecting it to get bad. Several damselflies were flitting about the gristmill and I managed to get a decent picture of one.
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| Cable Mill Visitor Center |
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| Gregg-Cable House |
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| Inside House |
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| Grist Mill Water Wheel |
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| Damselfly Poses |
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| Notice Bumblebee Photo-Bombing Picture |
On our drive back from Cades Cove the other day, we had taken a different route that didn’t go thru the park. We didn’t have the energy to do something else that day, but we were just looking for roads we hadn’t driven on yet. As we were coming up US-411, we saw a large factory of some sort that seemed out of place for the rest of the surroundings. Then we noticed a large parking lot and the Bush’s Visitor Center - as in Bush’s Baked Beans. It was approaching 8 PM as we drove by so it was closed but it made us wonder about what the place was. And since it was only about an hour drive from Chill Hill, it was worth considering. We were hoping that they give factory tours but that wasn’t the case even before COVID. But the visitor center is free and there is a cafe had good reviews. So we decide to give it a try.
Since it is a bit of a drive, we look to see what else is in that direction and discover one of the more popular hikes in the area could be considered to be on the way. Max Patch Trail is heavily trafficked 1.5 mile loop with only 300 feet of elevation gain but apparently has some great views of the surrounding area. So we decide to make a day of it and hike the trail in the morning, then show up to Bush’s Visitor Center/Cafe for lunch and a tour of the visitor center.
We should have been more alert to the car’s GPS route to the Max Patch parking area before we left home. By the time we realized the road it wanted us to take wouldn’t get us there, we were out of cell range and had to rely on occasional signage to get us there. It was a long drive on dirt roads but for the most part they were passable. The parking lot was quite full with over a dozen cars but we got a spot and walked over to the trailhead sign. We had read that they used to permit tent camping at the top of the mountain and people would do so in order to be there for both sunset and sunrise. But had recently banned it because people were trashing the place. There were lots of signs stating the new policy.
We hiked the loop in a counterclockwise direction but with such minimal elevation change, it probably doesn’t matter. The trail started out somewhat overgrown but once we hit the wooded portion, it was much better. There are several other trails that run through the area. In fact a portion of the loop trail is also the Appalachian Trail. It just means you should be paying attention at trail intersections to avoid a much longer hike than planned.
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| Heading into Overgrown Section of Max Patch Trail |
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| Trail Sign Helps from Getting Lost |
As we head up to the top, the trail comes out of the woods and gets steep enough that there are lots of steps to help get up (or down) the mountain. The peak is only at 4616 feet so its not clear why the top of the mountain is mostly devoid of trees - probably the rocky composition of the peak.
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| Looking Back Down Steps We Just Climbed |
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| Pretty View |
The views from up top are pretty remarkable even on a hazy day like we had. I found humor in the signs attempting to keep people on the trails and not to go into the grassy areas: “Respect the rattlesnakes’ and ticks’ privacy - Please stay on the trail”. The problem I found with Max Patch was the peak is very broad which meant it was difficult to see in all directions from a single point. It was also very evident from all the small matted down areas where the frequent camping spots had been. The trail back down to the parking area was more of a forest service road but worked out fine to get us back. We took the slightly shorter drive away from Max Patch to head for lunch.
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| Sign to Keep Visitors on Trail |
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| Others Heading Up to Top |
We made it to Bush’s Visitor Center around 1 PM and probably half of the hundred plus parking spots were taken which initially surprised us. But I guess it might be that the place is about 15 miles from Sevierville so there are lots of tourist not too far away. We were getting hungry so we headed into the cafe for lunch first. They have a pretty large selection on the menu. I was a bit concerned they may only offer all variations of their baked beans! We had heard that their pies were excellent as well. The fact that we were stuffed didn’t stop us from getting slices of the pinto bean pecan pie to go - one plain pecan, one chocolate pecan. They were excellent when we got home.
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| Old Delivery Truck Nicely Restored |
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| Cafe and Visitor Center |
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| Chris Poses with Duke and Jay Bush |
The factory is just across the street from the cafe and visitor center and takes up nearly 150 acres. Chris needed her picture taken with Duke and Jay Bush (from the famous Tv commercials). We were greeted by one of the volunteers who all seem to be former Bush employees at the factory. We had missed the beginning of the movie that plays on the half hour so we checked out some of the museum displays before catching the next showing.
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| Production Plant Across Street |
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| That's a BIG Can of Beans |
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| Simplified Bean Processing Display |
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| Walk Thru Can Display |
It was a very well done video that both talked about how the company came to be back in 1904 as a tomato cannery for the Stokely family before branching out on its own by 1908. Besides the history and growth of the company, the video does do a nice job of showing the present high-tech factory. A real factory tour would have been better but this sufficed to explain the process. The speed at which the packaging line runs is astounding. They even do high speed video in order to slow it down so it isn’t just a blur. After the movie, we headed back to check out the rest of the displays. We obviously were slower than the average folks because we were still there when the subsequent movie group came out of their showing.
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| I Just Pressed with One Foot on Scale |
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| Bush Family History |
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| Lid Soldering Tools |
A few things I learned during our visit. First, the baked beans are sealed in the cans and then cooked. I just assumed it was cooked then packaged. Next, the original metal cans of tomatoes had lids that were soldered in place by hand! Metal cans were invented long before can openers existed. The earliest cans requires a hammer can chisel to open. There now you know too. A gift shop on the way out sells the typical hats, t-shirts, and mugs like you may expect. But they also have a section with shelves of all the different types of specialty baked bean products they currently make for regional markets. This was an interesting stop and glad we came back for it.
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| Early Bush Timeline (1904-1938) |
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| Bush's Secret Family Recipe Behind Laser Protection |
On the drive back, we went a bit out of our way to find a geocache in another county. The one we picked, turned out to take us to a very interesting building. St Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, North Carolina was built in 1991. Its only 12 x 14 feet but is big on beauty. Just a hundred feet away is another beautiful stone cottage that wasn’t open and isn’t clear what it is but was worth the look.
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| St Jude's Chapel of Hope |
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| Chapel Interior |
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| Stained Glass Over Entrance |
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| Beautiful Stone Building Near Chapel |
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