Among the many ways to experience nature in the Smokies, wildflower blooms are one of the best. Every year in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the spectacular annual display starts off in late February with spring ephemerals and runs through the summer months into fall. Below are a few places a wildflower lover must see when it’s springtime in the Smokies.

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The Sugarlands

The Sugarlands is a popular place for park visitors and the perfect beginning for a tour of Smoky Mountain wildflowers. The Old Sugarlands Trail and the Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail are both easy to access, located not far from the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Along these trails, you’ll find fringed phacelia and mayflower blanketing the forest floor in spring and early summer, with white trillium peeking through. Also in the area are bloodroot, spring beauty, and heal-all, to name a few.

Cove Hardwood Nature Trail

Cove Hardwood Self-Guided Nature Trail is one of the most highly recommended places for viewing gorgeous Smoky Mountain wildflowers. The trail loop begins just a little farther up Newfound Gap Road from the Sugarlands, at Chimneys Picnic Area. At the trailhead you’ll find brochures to guide you. The hike is not very strenuous, and the payoff is huge. March and April see large blooms of bloodroot and hepatica, while dwarf iris and several varieties of trillium come out in May and early summer.

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Little River Trail

None of Smoky Mountain National Park’s 312 trails will have everything, but the Little River Trail is a solid introduction. From the trailhead in Elkmont Campground, the trail takes an easy upward slope along the Little River. Views of wildflowers along the trail are some of the best in the park. From mid-March through April, you’ll find violets, mayflower, rue anemone, dwarf cinquefoil, and stonecrop. Excellent opportunities for wildflower photography await you as well, with common sightings of exquisite beauties such as pink lady’s slipper.

Deep Creek

Another wildflower spot that won’t disappoint is Deep Creek. The whole area has appeal for the outdoor enthusiast, but for the wildflower viewer it is a paradise. Easy hikes along the Deep Creek and Indian Creek Trails will take you past a diverse sampling of the Smokies’ 1,500 wildflower species. In spring, you can expect to see jack-in-the-pulpit, various bluets, wild geranium, and Solomon’s seal, to name a few.

These are just some handpicked favorites from Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s hundreds of amazing wildflower spots. There is also the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, a late-April festival that celebrates the Smokies’ stunning array of wildflower blooms, during which you can check out these locations and countless others.

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Plan Your Spring Getaway

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The Great Smoky Mountains aren’t simply a great place to experience nature — they’re also an incredible cultural destination, with extensive history and rich traditions. Next time you visit, why not explore these different sides of the region at the same time? Below, we share local hiking trails that will lead you to historic landmarks, along with a handful of acclaimed local history museums you can reach without the trek.

Little Cataloochee Church

The Little Cataloochee Church is one of the largest relics of the historic Little Cataloochee “island community,” which occupied the area until the 1930s. Set in the Cataloochee Valley, also home to a thriving elk population, it’s accessible via an eight-mile round-trip walk that also passes by log cabins and lush fields. 

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East Tennessee Historical Society

The Tennessee Historical Society boasts 24 Smoky Mountain landscape paintings by Jim Gray — valued at more than $1,000,000 — as well as extensive permanent exhibitions on the local culture and temporary exhibitions on topics from local quilting traditions to basket-weaving techniques.

Noah Ogle Place

Noah “Bud” Ogle Place — also known as the Junglebrook Historic District — houses a former homestead on the National Register of Historic Places. One of TripAdvisor’s top 20 attractions in the Smokies, it is known for charming foliage and scenery, as well as nineteenth-century architecture, given its location near LeConte Creek, in the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River.

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Little River Railroad Museum

Another engaging stop for history buffs is the Little River Railroad Museum. Here you’ll learn about the namesake river’s role in the daily lives of Native Americans, pioneers, farmers, and loggers — as well as the Little River Railroad & Lumber Company, whose main investor once owned much of today’s national park.

Palmer Chapel

The Palmer Chapel is known for playing an important role in Methodist religious revivals. You’ll reach it by taking what happens to be one of the steepest and most challenging trails in the park, along steep rocks and a cemetery.

*Note that hiking poles are highly recommended for this one, as the path can be slippery. 

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The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center

If you’re interested in learning more about the local history, without the hike, don’t miss the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. The museum holds collections devoted to five National Parks, the local Native American tribes, and the history of local transportation. Quilts and cannons are among the artifacts on display.

Mingus Mill

Roughly a half mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitors Center, Mingus Mill is one of just a handful of living-history destinations throughout the Smokies. It comprises a historic grist mill with a water-powered turbine, which you can learn about from an on-site miller, and shares its grounds with several other historic properties.

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