Things to see and do Parcs nationaux américains

Long before the first pioneers came to their slopes, the Great Smoky Mountains were known to the Cherokee Indians. They called him sha-kon-o-hey (the land of blue smoke) because of the blue haze that constantly floats on the horizon.

It was with the help of private funds ($ 5 million was donated by John Rockefeller Jr.), added to the $ 15 million provided by the US government, and with a significant mobilization of the residents of Tennessee and North Carolina, that the park was created on June 1934. It was finally inaugurated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. It was declared Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and then classified as UNESCO World Heritage in 1983. It covers a mountainous area ranging from 267 to 2 025 m (at the peak, the Clingmans Dome) and whose area reaches 2 110 km ². It houses 400 species of vertebrates (200 birds, 66 mammals and 55 fish), 5 000 plant species and 100 kinds of trees… Its forest is just one of the oldest in the world.

With over 10 million visitors each year, it is the most visited of all U.S. national parks. The main entries are in Cherokee (North Carolina) and Gatlinburg Tennessee. Between the two, the U.S. 441 (or Newfound Gap Road) passes through the park and gives access to many trails and viewpoints, such as the Rockefeller Memorial, which offers a beautiful view of the park from the Newfound Gap Pass (1 538 m) on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. Roaring Fork, Cataloochee, Elkmont, Oconaluftee and Cades Cove, a valley west of the park that houses pioneers and preserved churches, are other points of interest in the park.

The park has four visitor reception centres. Two are located near Gatlinsburg and Cades Cove, in the part of the Tennessee side park, the third on the border of the two states (Clingmans Dome) and the last near Cherokee, North Carolina. Please note that a free email booklet is available for smartphones on the park website.

This rock in the shape of a human skull is one of the favourite landmarks of Joshua Tree hikers. Also accessible by car by asphalt road, on Park Blvd.

Pretty approximately one hour excursion in the heart of the wild flowers. But beware, you do not have the right to gather wanting.

A huge redwood 6 m in diameter and 93 feet high in Prairie Creek.

The English elks are elk, of the family of deer, with long wood. It is a very rare species in the world, it left out mainly in Canada. You will see them here in freedom, a few metres from you. Remember that it is a wild species; although not very wild, do not get too.

This panoramic view of the Valley of Fire is an ideal place to admire, and photograph, the colorful rocks that are on the horizon.

These unusual sandstone formations altered by the forces of erosion resemble the alveoli of a hive (bee = bee, hive = hive).

A few hundred metres walk around Lake Tuendae, facing the California State University Desert Studies Center. Has little interest.

Cross the beautiful gorges and explore the ruins of Fort Piute, built in the 1880 s to welcome travellers on Mojave Road. A nearby permanent water course provides the necessary water for plants and animals.

Learn how to identify desert plants on this short trail.

In the north of Park Avenue you can admire the old fossilized dunes.