It was the weekend of November 1st, 2019. My ex-boyfriend ( yes, he is my ex because we are married now. 
) decided to visit The Great Smoky Mountains on the side of East Tenessee. We wanted to see the fall’s brilliant burnt orange, golden yellow and red hues of the mountain ranges before everything turns to gray and brown. It was indeed very busy when we got there. But before driving to Tenessee, we had to check Local Guides on information about hotels and towns that are close to the trails we wanted to hike and drive. Local guides have been very helpful in presenting a bunch of options for an affordable and safe place to stay in. We ending staying at Pigeon Forge, TN which is a town, 8 miles away from #TheGreatSmokyMountainsNationalPark. It was a great choice, aside from being so close to the trails, it offers a wide variety of things to do from shopping, dining to entertainment and amusement parks.
On the day of the hike, Google guides never failed to notify us with important information about the road situation and as to which trails are busy at what hours of the day. Thus, we are able to plan accordingly our schedule. At around 4PM which was very close to sundown, Google guides have been indeed informative how busy it was going to the Clingmans Dome, which is the highest point of the park, and that we need to be there at a certain time if we wanted to see the sunset with it’s breathtaking panoramic view of the national park as the background. We had a hard time though getting a good reception as we were driving towards the peak, thus, taking screenshots of Google guides information was I think very a wise move that we did.
Lucky for us, 30 minutes before the sundown, we reached to the Dome and still had the time to settle into a good spot. Then one of the best moment of our lives happen. As the sun was setting down, we got engaged.
So, if you are planning to visit The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the near future, these are my recommendations as part of the #LocalGuidesUSA community:
Hotel: Conner Hill Motor Lodge
Restaurants: Old Mill Pottery House
Coffee Shop: Maragarittaville Coffee Shop ( This is inside a bigger tourist trap place where you also find clearance shops, restaurants, rides, and museums). A great place for families!
The Great Smoky Mountains beautiful spots and trails:
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Laurel Falls / Laurel Falls Trail
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Chimney Tops
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Mount LeConte Trail
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Gatlinburg Trail ( leading to Cataract Falls)
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Clingmans Dome
We also had a stop at Gatlinburg, a town by the National Park. I suggest driving thru US 441 and check out the specialty shops and restaurants along your way.