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Experience Cades Cove in a New Way by Bicycle

March 25, 2017 By Nedra McDaniel 8 Comments

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Experience Cades Cove in a new way by bicycle

We’ve driven the popular Cades Cove 11 mile loop many times during visits to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The scenic curvy road that leads to Cades Cove is filled with gorgeous imagery of mountains and streams during the 13.1-mile drive.

Depending on the time of year, traffic to the park, and how many times you stop for pictures or animal sightings, the drive to Cades Cove could take you between 40 minutes-1hr+ to reach.

I’m sharing why you should consider biking the loop instead.

Stop at Sugarlands Visitor Center First

If it’s your first time visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I recommend stopping at Sugarlands Visitor Center as soon as you enter the park to make the most of your visit.

You can get a free map of the National Park and the rangers are extremely helpful in offering advice and answering any questions that you might have.

Roadtrip to Smoky Mountains in the KIA Sorento

Because the drive can feel like a really long time to a kid, I’ve found my kids to be less than enthusiastic when we’ve driven the loop and made them get out for multiple stops along the way.

The National Park recommends allowing 2-4 hours when visiting the park…….That’s why biking Cades Cove changed everything!

bike Cades Cove Smoky Mountains

Try Biking Cades Cove Instead Of Driving It

Once you bike Cade’s Cove, you will never want to drive it again!

bike Cades Cove Smoky Mountains

You have the freedom to stop when you want, where you want while connecting with nature all around you at a slower pace.

family biking Cades Cove Smoky Mountains

You can appreciate the sights and sounds so much more from a bicycle than your vehicle.

We also enjoyed this experience so much better than driving the loop because you are not stuck in vehicle traffic.

The loop is one way and bicycles have the right of way.

bikes and cars on the Cades Cove loop

Bike Rentals at Cades Cove Trading Company

You can bring your own bike or there are bike rentals available at Cades Cove Trading Company. The rental shop is located at the camp store when you enter the park.

There are a few 16′ children’s bikes but the majority are 24′ for adults.

boy biking on Cades Cove loop

Kids under a certain age are required to wear bicycle helmets during their ride.

There are no bike trailers available for rent. Bike trailers are not recommended because they are wider on the road and harder for vehicles to see.

Cades Cove Map

The Cades Cove Scenic Loop

You are given a map before you begin your journey that shows points of interest along the way.

We did the 11-mile loop but you do have shortcut options of 4 and 7-mile loops if you want to do a shorter distance.

Each bike rental at Cades Cove has a tag sharing more about a point of interest along the way.

I would recommend stopping for as many of the historic sites as possible.

John Oliver Cabin on the Cades Cove loop

A few of our favorite stops were the John Oliver Cabin, Primitive Baptist Church, and the Cable Mill.

Primitive Baptist Church on the Cades Cove loop

The Cable Mill is also a great halfway stop for lunch or a bathroom break.

bike view of the Cades Cove loop in TN

What to bring when you bike Cades Cove

The bicycle rentals have a water bottle holder. I would also recommend that someone in your party wear a backpack with snacks, sunscreen, and additional water.

We visited during a time when they were doing demonstrations at the mill which made the experience even more interesting.

Cable Mill on the Cades Cove loop

Should you lock your bike if you stop on the Scenic Loop?

When you stop to look at historic sites or wildlife you don’t have to worry about locking up your bikes.

I was told that rangers know to look for the bicycle rentals.

boys on bikes in Cades Cove

Experience the Full Cades Cove Bicycle Loop

The backside of the scenic loop has more elevation changes, which can be more of a challenging ride. Our family was still glad that we did the full loop, we just walked our bikes up the hills when we needed to.

If you see a sign that tells you to walk your bike down a hill, DO IT!

There is a reason for the sign. A few people have been injured while going down because they gained too much speed and couldn’t slow down in time for the tight turn at the bottom.

walking bike on a steep curve on Cades Cove loop

Cade Cove Bicycle Only Days and Hours

If you want a vehicle-free experience, check out the online calendar mid-May- mid-September on Wednesday or Saturday mornings from 7-10am.

The employees will arrive at the bicycle rental around 6am.  I was told that the Cades Cove bicycle rentals go really FAST ( like by 7:15 am).

Insider tip: Wednesdays tends to be the busier day of the two.

Biking Cades Cove was unanimously one of our family’s top 3 adventures during our weekend visit to the Smoky Mountains.
 
I would highly recommend this experience!
 

You can find out more about Cades Cove from the National Park website.

Thanks again to Visit Gatlinburg for hosting our visit and KIA for providing a 2017 KIA Sorento to use as our road trip vehicle.

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Filed Under: Adventures, Adventures With Friends, Family Adventures, Featured, Fitness Fun, Historical Sites, On A Date Adventures, Outdoor Adventure, Travel Tagged With: bicycle, bicycle rental, bike, bike rental, biking, Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, nature, scenic loop, Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nedra McDaniel

    February 21, 2019 at 9:28 am

    It really depends on how often you stop to look at the sites along the way and if you need to bike slower because of car traffic. There is one steep hill that is recommended for you to walk your bike down and there are a few hills on the back end but it’s doable. You can always walk your bike if it starts to feel strenuous.

  2. Richelle

    February 21, 2019 at 7:17 am

    This sounds fun! We are going In April. How long did it take you to bike the trail? Was it strenuous?

  3. Nedra McDaniel

    August 27, 2018 at 7:27 am

    We did this in the spring, probably around that time of year.

  4. Carri

    August 27, 2018 at 6:02 am

    What time of year did you go? I would love to do this but we are going the last week of March 2019. Are the bikes available?

Trackbacks

  1. Why You Need to Visit Anakeesta in Gatlinburg says:
    May 11, 2019 at 8:58 am

    […] Experience Cades Cove in a new way by bicycle […]

  2. Fun Things for Families to Do in Gatlinburg says:
    December 16, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    […] Experience Cades Cove in a new way by bicycle […]

  3. Unique Adventures to try in the Smoky Mountains - Adventure Mom says:
    October 10, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    […] Our experience biking Cades Cove was unanimously one our family’s top 3 adventures all weekend…and that says A LOT! Seriously, riding vs. driving Cades Cove was a game changer! You can read more about that adventure here.  […]

  4. Unique Adventures in the Smoky Mountains - Adventure Mom says:
    April 2, 2017 at 5:49 am

    […] Our experience biking Cades Cove was unanimously one our family’s top 3 adventures all weekend…and that says A LOT! Seriously, riding vs. driving Cades Cove was a game changer! You can read more about that adventure here.  […]

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