The scenic drives in the Smokies can introduce you to plenty of wildlife, rushing streams, colorful flowers, lush forests, mountain vistas, and historic buildings—all from the seat of your car. To get the full flavor of the Smokies, be sure to park in plenty of the many pull-offs so you can get out and explore on foot as well.
This is the fifth in a series of blog posts describing the park’s best scenic drives.
With two distinct sections covering roughly 40 miles, the Foothills Parkway offers spectacular opportunities for sunset viewing on its western end and sunrises on its eastern side.
The Foothills Parkway, like the spur that connects Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg, is technically outside the main park boundary but still falls under the jurisdiction of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is currently divided into two parts—a 33-mile segment at the western end of the national park near Townsend and a nearly six-mile stretch on the northeastern corner by Cosby.
Foothills Parkway East connects I-40 at Exit 443 to Tennessee 32 at Cosby and is 5.6 miles long. Its best views of the Smokies are the two overlooks closest to the Cosby end on the south side of the road. The total drive time for this portion of the parkway is 15 minutes.
Foothills Parkway West stretches for 33 miles between Wears Valley (the eastern terminus) and US 129, near Chilhowee (the western terminus). The entire drive is about an hour, not counting stops. The 17-mile stretch between Wears Valley and Walland is the newest segment, which opened in November 2018. To get to the start of this section of the parkway on a scenic route from the Sugarlands Visitor Center, take Little River Road south for about 9.5 miles and then turn right when you get to the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area. Follow the road across the bridge and continue for about three miles on Wear Cove Gap Road (which becomes Line Springs Road outside the park boundary) until it dead ends at Wears Valley Road (Highway 321). Turn right, and the entrance to the parkway will be on your left in about three-quarters of a mile.
Following a ridgeline, Foothills Parkway West offers overlooks with stunning views on both sides of the road, making it one of the most scenic drives in the Smokies—and with just a fraction of the traffic, even in high season. You will find plenty of worthy pull-offs all along the drive. A few miles from the Wears Valley entrance is an impressive 790-foot-long s-curve bridge that almost appears to be hanging in mid-air. Be sure to stop at the overlook just west of the bridge so you can gaze back at this award-winning feat of engineering.
About 24 miles from the Wears Valley end (or nine miles from the Chilhowee end) is the Look Rock Overlook, the highest point on Chilhowee Mountain. Park your car in the small parking lot and walk the half-mile trail to Look Rock Tower for a 360-degree vista that is every bit as fine as the famous view from Clingmans Dome—but far less crowded.
Fun fact: If you’re wondering what’s between the eastern and western segments of the parkway, this 33.5-mile segment is more or less in limbo—and will remain so for quite some time. The National Park Service has purchased the right-of-way to the land, but funding for the complicated construction necessary to complete this middle segment has not yet been secured.
The Great Smokies Welcome Center is located on U.S. 321 in Townsend, TN, 2 miles from the west entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors can get information about things to see and do in and around the national park and shop from a wide selection of books, gifts, and other Smokies merchandise. Daily, weekly, and annual parking tags for the national park are also available.
