Cades Cove was once a remote place in the Great Smoky
Mountains. Nature abounds here and the loop affords spectacular
views of the mountains and fields. Many
deer call the Cove home, and many people have seen bear here as well. One of the few ways through the Smokies and
into the cove was along Indian trails. Some of those trails were improved into
roads. One of those trails was called, appropriately enough, Cades Cove road.
The name was later changed to Rich
Mountain Road. By either name the road was one of
the main routes through the Smokies between Tuckaleechee and Cades Cove.
Rich Mountain Road
is about a third of the way around the Cove.
It is a one way dirt road that is about 12 miles long that ends up back
in Townsend. There are a couple of nice
views of the Cove along the drive and can be a good shortcut to get back to
civilization. There is another road to
explore out of Cades Cove called Parsons
Branch Road.
This is a one way primitive road that cuts through pristine forest with
opportunities to see wildlife and wildflowers as well. There are areas where the creek cuts across
the road and some nice waterfalls. It
comes out on 129 in the middle of The Dragon.
Though Cades Cove was generally a
self sustaining community, pioneers bought things from Maryville such as medicine and remedies such
as Camphorated oil, catnip tea, Castor oil, Epsom salts. As time went by,
general stores sprang up in Cades Cove where medicine, seeds, sugar, kerosene,
yard goods and hardware supplies. Products could be purchased with money or by
trading products such as eggs. Still, the larger town of Maryville had a more appealing selection and
so the trips from the Cades Cove continued. Many times families would sell
chestnuts which grew everywhere in Cades Cove in the 1800’s. Disease eventually killed the trees.
"Kate's Cove" was the name of Cades Cove originally, after an
Indian chief's wife. The Cove drew the Cherokee Indians back to the area again
and again because of its abundant wildlife and good hunting. Later, Cades
Cove's wildlife drew European descent frontiersmen to make it their home. They
and their offspring cleared the fertile valley floor and built farms to sustain
them. The pioneer's families lived in Cades Cove for many generations before
the cove became part of The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Today, Cades
Cove is still as full of wildlife as before but draws not hunters, but millions
of Smokies visitors.
The Cove has been preserved by the Great Smoky
Mountain National
Park to look much the way it looked in the
1800's. Once home to a small mountain community whose settlers came from mainly
from Virginia, North
Carolina and upper east Tennessee,
Cades Cove is today the largest open air museum in the entire Great Smoky
Mountain National
Park.
There are many primitive buildings to enjoy as you go around
Cades Cove, including two churches, some beautiful homestead cabins, corn
cribs, various mills, a smokehouse and barns.
It has all been preserved the way it would have been back in the 1800’s.
Today, the Cove boasts a large
campground, stables for riding horses, an amphitheater, a large gift shop and
bike rentals. The Cades Cove loop is 11
miles long and runs along a beautiful valley in a loop with mountains surrounding
it. It is a favorite for many families
and people enjoy the hiking and biking and nature viewing opportunities. It is a great way to take a peek at what life
would have been like 200 years ago.
