Great Smoky Mountains road trip: Knoxville to Asheville

From Knoxville to Gatlinburg, across the national park on Newfound Gap Road to Cherokee, and on to Asheville.

Stops
4
Nights
5
Driving
129 mi
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Rows of forested ridges in autumn colour, seen from a gap in the mountains.

The route by road

Point at a leg of the route, or tap it, for its drive time.
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The stops, in order

  1. Knoxville, Tennessee

    1 night

    The nearest big airport on the Tennessee side.

  2. 48 min · 42 mi from Knoxville

    Gatlinburg, Tennessee

    2 nights

    The park's main Tennessee entrance; Cades Cove is a drive away.

  3. 59 min · 35 mi from Gatlinburg

    Cherokee, North Carolina

    1 night

    The park's North Carolina entrance.

  4. 1 h 02 min · 51 mi from Cherokee

    Asheville, North Carolina

    1 night

    Mountain city at the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Day by day

5 days with the nights above. Drive times are for a car without traffic; a day over six hours is flagged.

  1. Day 1: In Knoxville

    No driving

  2. Day 2: Knoxville to Gatlinburg

    Night in Gatlinburg

    48 min · 42 mi

  3. Day 3: In Gatlinburg

    No driving

  4. Day 4: Gatlinburg to Cherokee

    Night in Cherokee

    59 min · 35 mi

  5. Day 5: Cherokee to Asheville

    Night in Asheville

    1 h 02 min · 51 mi
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Photo: View from Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Newfound Gap - October 2023 - Sarah Stierch 03” by Missvain, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. “Blue Ridge Parkway October 2022 1 (Stoney Fork Overlook)” by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0. “Natchez-Trace-Parkway-Highsmith” by Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain. “Skyline Drive overlook view” by APK, CC BY-SA 4.0.