Things to Do in Townsend, Tennessee

An 11-mile, one-way loop road circles this mountain-ringed valley, passing three churches, a working gristmill, barns and restored log homes. Wildlife watching is a big part of the draw. From the Y, where Tennessee 73 meets Little River Road inside the park, Cades Cove is about 7 miles west.

★ Good to know Allow two to four hours, and go early; traffic is heaviest in summer, fall and on weekends. The loop closes to cars on Wednesdays, typically May through September.

Billed as the “Greatest Site Under the Smokies,” these caverns are estimated at 20 to 30 million years old. The Big Room could almost hold a football stadium, and Silver Falls drops 210 feet, the tallest underground waterfall in the eastern U.S. The guided walk is about 1.25 miles round trip.

★ Good to know The caverns open seasonally, March through November.

This museum connects Townsend, Cades Cove and the Smokies through their history. Exhibits include ancient pottery and stone tools found in Townsend, and outdoor displays run from firearms to forges. A historic village and farmstead holds authentic 19th-century buildings.

★ Good to know Next door, the National Park Service’s Collections Preservation Center archives items from area parks, though it isn’t open to the public.

Volunteers founded this museum in 1982 to tell the logging story that built Townsend. The original Walland depot holds photos, papers and tools, and outside sits Shay locomotive #2147, a 70-ton geared engine built in 1909. It came home to Townsend on Thanksgiving weekend 1982.

★ Good to know Shays could climb 7 percent grades and turn on a 100-foot radius, which is why loggers used them in the mountains.

Tubing is one of the most popular things to do on this side of the Smokies. The Little River runs through Tuckaleechee Cove, with calm stretches and livelier spots. Outfitters such as River Rat and Smoky Mountain Outdoor Center rent tubes.

★ Good to know The Y, inside the park where Tennessee 73 meets Little River Road, is a popular swimming spot.

This national parkway runs along the ridges north of the park, with views of the Smokies on one side and the Tennessee Valley on the other. The Walland-to-Wears Valley section, 14.75 miles one-way, opened in late 2018, more than half a century after the parkway’s first section opened in 1966.

★ Good to know Stop at Look Rock, where an observation tower at 2,650 feet gives a 360-degree view.

The Lynn Camp Prong Cascades walk follows an old railroad bed 1.4 miles round trip to a dramatic cascade. Chestnut Top Trail climbs 5.6 miles round trip to a ridgetop known for spring wildflowers and fall color. On the Cades Cove loop, Abrams Falls is a 5-mile round trip to a 25-foot waterfall.

★ Good to know Don’t swim at Abrams Falls; the park warns of slippery rocks and a dangerous undertow.