Park Number: 3/63

First Visited: August 10, 2009

I first visited the Smokies because of pragmatics, as most people do. It's a drive-through park linking the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic, a winding corridor through Appalachia. Because of this, and because of its central location amongst some of America's densest populations, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the system (with over twelve-million people a year, which is double the next most-visited park).

My second visit was one of intention, offering me multiple days of exploration and ample hours studying the replete ecosystem (I've been told the Smokies have more species of trees than all of Western Europe). This is to say, though this park pales in comparison to the iconic monuments and peaks of the West, its biodiversity is second to none.

The Great Smoky Mountains is the ancestral lands of the Cherokee Tribe.

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