★ TOP 15 ★
Things to Do in Wears Valley, Townsend and Cades Cove
Fifteen favorites on one page. Big views, horseback riding, old schoolhouses and cabins, and the back door to Townsend and Cades Cove.
FREE KIDS SCENIC DRIVE OUTDOORS RAINY DAY PAID
My heart is in the Smokies. I have learned one thing being in business in this area: we are all a team. I feel their business is my business. I want you to explore all we have to offer.
Will Cupp
WEARS VALLEY AT A GLANCE
What to know about Wears Valley
About 10 miles out
Head out Wears Valley Road (US 321) from Pigeon Forge. About ten miles out is where folks consider it Wears Valley.
Gateway to Cades Cove
Wears Valley is the back door to Townsend and Cades Cove.
Horseback riding
Guided trail rides at stables in and near the national park.
Big views
Farmland, Cove Mountain, and the Foothills Parkway overlooks.
A real community
Wears Valley is a community, not just a road.
THE VALLEY AND THE VIEWS
Wears Valley and the back door to the park
No entrance fee to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You just need a parking tag if you stop for more than 15 minutes ($5 a day, $15 a week, $40 a year).
1
Wears Valley Road and the Valley
FREE SCENIC DRIVE
US 321, from Pigeon Forge toward Townsend
Free
Pull over for the farms and the mountain backdrop
US 321 leaves the Parkway in Pigeon Forge and runs out through farmland with Cove Mountain rising on one side, then on toward Townsend. About ten miles out is where folks consider it Wears Valley, and it is a community, not just a road. This is also where you pick up the Foothills Parkway and Wears Cove Gap Road into the park.
2
Foothills Parkway
FREE SCENIC DRIVE
Wears Valley to Walland
Free (parking tag to stop)
Hop from overlook to overlook; there is even a seasonal roadside waterfall
The 14.75 mile section opened in 2018, climbs to nearly 2,500 feet near Caylor Gap, and has about ten overlooks, including Townsend Overlook and stops facing Mount Le Conte and Roundtop Mountain. The nearest restrooms are at Metcalf Bottoms.
3
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area
FREE KIDS OUTDOORS
National park, down Wears Cove Gap Road
Free (parking tag to stop)
Shallow river rocks and picnic tables
A riverside picnic area on the Little River with tables and raised grills, and one of the few park picnic areas open year round. It is the starting point for the walks to Little Greenbrier School and the Walker Sisters Cabin.
4
Little Greenbrier School
FREE KIDS
National park, near Metcalf Bottoms
Free
A real one room schoolhouse
Built in 1881 from tulip poplar logs, the one room schoolhouse also served as a church and gathering place, with a cemetery beside it. You can drive up Little Greenbrier Road in summer and fall, or walk about 0.7 mile up the Metcalf Bottoms Trail any time of year.
5
Walker Sisters Cabin
FREE OUTDOORS
National park, above Little Greenbrier
Free
Older kids can handle the 3.4 mile round trip
The Walker sisters kept living in their family’s log home after the park was created, under a special lifetime lease, until 1964. From Metcalf Bottoms it is about 3.4 miles round trip past the schoolhouse to the cabin, springhouse and corn crib.
6
Elkmont
FREE OUTDOORS
National park, upstream from Metcalf Bottoms
Free
Explore the old resort cabins
A former logging camp that became an early vacation spot. The park has preserved a group of the old Appalachian Club cabins you can walk around, and it is where the synchronous fireflies put on their June show.
A community, not just a road.
TOWNSEND AND CADES COVE
Next door in Townsend and Cades Cove
From Wears Valley it is a straight shot to Townsend and Cades Cove. A few of these cost money, and they are marked PAID.
7
Cades Cove, Through the Back Door
FREE KIDS SCENIC DRIVE
Townsend side of the national park
Free (parking tag to stop)
Deer, turkeys, maybe a bear, and log cabins
From Wears Valley it is a straight shot to Townsend and the 11 mile, one way Cades Cove loop, with old churches, log cabins and the working Cable Mill. Plan on two to four hours, and know the loop is closed to cars on Wednesdays from about May through September.
8
Cades Cove Riding Stables
PAID KIDS OUTDOORS
Townsend side of the national park
Paid
Age and weight limits apply
The national park’s stable at Cades Cove offers guided trail rides plus hayrides and carriage rides, mid March through late November. Ride times are split between online reservations and walk ups.
9
Davy Crockett Riding Stables
PAID OUTDOORS
505 Old Cades Cove Road, Townsend
Paid
Call ahead about ages
A local riding stable just outside the park in Townsend, listed by Blount County’s tourism office. Call (865) 448-6411 for ride times and age rules.
10
ℹ
ℹ Townsend Visitor Center
FREE KIDS RAINY DAY
Townsend
Free
Room to run on 10 acres, and local artisans
Blount County’s visitor center has local info, a store with park books and music, and artisans demonstrating and selling their work. The grounds cover 10 acres and host festivals through the year.
11
Little River Railroad and Lumber Company Museum
FREE KIDS RAINY DAY
Townsend
Free (donations welcome)
Real logging engines up close
Tells the story of the logging railroad that once hauled timber out of the Smokies, in an old depot with a 1909 Shay steam locomotive outside. Open daily May through October and weekends in April; the outdoor exhibits are always open.
12
Tubing the Little River
PAID KIDS OUTDOORS
Townsend
Paid, summer
A lazy float; life jackets are a good idea
Townsend outfitters rent tubes for floating the Little River in warm weather. Blount County’s tourism office lists River Rage Tubing and Smoky Mountain River Rat among its family picks.
Big views, all the way to Cades Cove.
RAINY DAY AND ON THE WAY
Caves, history and a big city park
Underground, indoors, or on your way out of Pigeon Forge.
13
Tuckaleechee Caverns
PAID KIDS RAINY DAY
Townsend
Paid (open March 1 to November 30)
A big hit, but plan on about 1.25 miles of walking
A guided walk underground through the Big Room and past Silver Falls, about 210 feet top to bottom. Open March 1 through November 30.
14
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
PAID KIDS RAINY DAY
Townsend
Paid (check admission)
Hands on activities and a historic village
A museum and historic village about Townsend, Cades Cove and the mountain people, with artifacts going back thousands of years, a Cherokee collection and preserved 19th century buildings. It also hosts a summer concert series.
15
Wear Farm City Park
FREE KIDS
623 Wears Valley Road, Pigeon Forge
Free
Two playgrounds, including the Discovery playground, and a StoryWalk trail
Pigeon Forge’s main park covers 118 acres, with ball fields, two playgrounds, walking trails, a StoryWalk trail and basketball. It is a good stop on the way out to the valley.
Seasonal tips
Every season has its own Smokies. Here is what to know before you go.
Spring
Riding stables in the park open in mid March, Tuckaleechee Caverns opens March 1, and the Little River Railroad museum opens on weekends in April. Wildflowers bloom from late winter on.
Summer
Tubing season on the Little River, and Cades Cove is car free on Wednesdays from about May to September. The synchronous fireflies light up Elkmont in June, and you can drive up Little Greenbrier Road.
Fall
Color usually peaks in the second half of October, and the Foothills Parkway overlooks are hard to beat. No parking tag is needed on the fee free days, October 27 and November 11, 2026.
Winter
Metcalf Bottoms picnic area stays open year round, and Cades Cove stays open, weather permitting. The caverns and the railroad museum building close for the season, but the museum’s outdoor exhibits are always open.
Good to know Wears Valley has no visitor bureau of its own, so the official links on these cards go to the National Park Service, Blount County tourism (for Townsend) and the City of Pigeon Forge. The park has no entrance fee, but you need a parking tag to stop more than 15 minutes ($5 a day, $15 a week, $40 a year). Little Greenbrier Road is open to cars in summer and fall only. Hours, fees and road openings change, so check before you go.
Thinking about calling Sevier County home?
Will Cupp has helped folks buy and sell homes, cabins and land in Sevierville and the Smoky Mountains for more than 30 years. If you have questions about living here, give him a call.
Will Cupp, Realtor and Real Estate Broker, Realty Executives Associates
Photos: Public domain and CC0: Foothills Parkway (Joye Ardyn Durham, NPS), Metcalf Bottoms stream (Erica Walton, NPS), Cades Cove meadow (Warren Bielenberg, NPS), Cades Cove in October (Warren Bielenberg, NPS). Wears Valley and Cove Mountain (Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0), Wears Valley farmland (Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0), Little Greenbrier School (James Postema, CC BY 4.0), Walker Sisters Cabin (Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0), Wears Valley and Roundtop Mountain (Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0), Morning mist (Gary Millar, CC BY 2.0). All via Wikimedia Commons, resized. Licenses: CC BY 3.0, CC BY 4.0, CC BY 2.0.