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Getting to Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Driving to Great Smoky Mountains

There are numerous road entrances to the park. The two most common lie at either end of Newfound Gap Road (US-441), at the cities of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Cherokee, North Carolina. Exit 407 from I-40 leads to the Gatlinburg side. Additional entrances are at Deep Creek, Townsend, Big Creek, Balsam Mountain, and several others. Study the map for details.

If you’d like to plot directions from your location use the interactive map below. The marker shows the location of the Sugarlands Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains.

Flying to Great Smoky Mountains

Below you will find a list of airports most convenient for a trip to Great Smoky Mountains, listed in order of distance. For each airport we provide direct links to browse available flights and cars. For price searches, simply enter your origin and dates.

McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS)

Located near Knoxville, Tennessee, 24 miles by car to Great Smoky Mountains (Townsend entrance)

Knoxville flight schedule and price search

Knoxville available rental cars and price search

Asheville Regional Airport (AVL)

Located near Asheville, North Carolina, 58 miles by car to Great Smoky Mountains (Cherokee entrance)

Asheville flight schedule and price search

Asheville available rental cars and price search

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP)

Located in Greer, South Carolina, 109 miles by car to Great Smoky Mountains (Cherokee entrance)

Greenville-Spartanburg flight schedule and price search

Greenville-Spartanburg available rental cars and price search

Official Park Map

Below is the official park map provided by the National Park Service. You can view either the original PDF file or a simple JPEG image file (some of these files can be quite large). Note that while this map is useful for general navigation around the park, if you plan to do any hiking, you should really have a proper Great Smoky Mountains Trail Map.