What Are The Quiet Walkaways In Gatlinburg – Great Smoky Mountains

Face it when you visit Gatlinburg the chances are good that you will end up driving through the mountains. If you have never been to Gatlinburg before or even to the Great Smoky Mountains, you may see as you drive through the mountains with a pull off that says quiet walkaway. Now, you could start asking what are these walkaways and why would I want to stop here? Well, I know for one that I had doubts about these  on  my first trip, but quickly found this is one of the best kept secrets I have found in the mountains and the park as a whole.

What Are The Quiet Walkaways? 

The answer for this is very simple as they are small trails that take you up into the mountains in older populated areas that are overgrown, but still can find foundations of buildings. At the same time, some of the quiet walkaway trails take you into the beauty of the mountains as they are more nature oriented. These trails are generally going to be in an area that has something of interest, on Newfound Gap Road one of the walkaway trails actually takes you up to an older settlement area and gets you off of the road. These trails are not as well maintained as the trails in places  like Cades Cove, but that adds to the beauty of the trail and often means fewer people on the trails. I know when I went on one of these walkaway trails I did not see another person outside of my family for an hour. 

Where Are These Walkaways Located At? 

Often, I found these trails just by driving around the various roads in the mountains. What is even better is the trails often are cropped up at various areas. Yes, the trails do have a place to be, but they are located all over the park and that often makes it easier to find a trail where you are. I know that the one I mentioned on Newfound Gap Road was off to the side and had the little sign. While, you can find guides that have the stops mentioned, I personally found it best to go out and just drive around the park and look for them in the area you want to stop.

Who Would Enjoy The Quiet Walkways? 

I have to say the people who may enjoy these quite a bit more than the normal person would be the people who want to enjoy the mountains without the crowds. Yes, I know that may sound kind of bad and odd to say, but I found these trails tend to have more seclusion than the average Great Smoky Mountains Trails that can get crowded early in the day. 

I do want to let you know that if you are looking to get a little bit rougher on the trails then these would be for you as well. These trails tend to be less maintained as mentioned, so they are a little bit rougher compared to what you may be used to if you are looking at some of the more popular trails.

Who else I think would like walking on these trails would be those that want to actually hear more of the noises of nature. Yes, I know that in the middle of the mountains and at Cades Cove you can sometimes hear the sounds of nature from the birds and other parts. However, you can get the sound of people in the sounds as well. With these trails they tend to have more natural sounds and less sounds of the people walking around.

Who Would Not Do Good On The Walkaways?

The people who would not really do that well in the walkaways would be those who have some type of disability or people who do not want to go out and kind of blaze their own trails. This is because some of the trails are not as well maintained as what you would like to have them. However, the peace that you get is going to be one of the best things that you can do.

Our Final Thoughts On The Quiet Walkaways

While these trails are not for everyone, they are for the people who want to get away from a lot of the headaches that are seen in some of the other trails you can walk on. These trails tend to have limited parking and they are a little bit harder to get to than what the normal trails are. With that being the case, if you want to have a great walk that allows you to connect with the beauty of the mountains you need to know these are the best way to hear all the sounds that are present in the mountains. Overall, I have to say I give the quiet walkaway trails a very strong endorsement for you to go on an enjoy.