Gatlinburg Driving Trails & Waypoints

To begin your journey to Cades Cove, you’ll travel back through the city of Gatlinburg before heading into the mountains. Once beyond town, the road follows a peaceful creek, creating a scenic drive all the way to the cove. Cades Cove is a popular tourist destination, featuring an 11-mile, one-way loop road that winds through a broad valley at the base of the mountains.

Spanning 6,800 acres, the cove is renowned for wildlife viewing, including black bears, deer, and wild turkeys, as well as its history, with preserved 19th-century cabins, churches, and a working gristmill to explore along the route.

To reach Cherokee, you’ll head back through Gatlinburg and continue straight on Highway 441, climbing deep into the Smoky Mountains. Instead of turning toward Cades Cove, the road winds past iconic high-elevation stops like Newfound Gap and Clingmans Dome, making this one of the most scenic drives around Gatlinburg. The roughly 50-minute ride delivers sweeping mountain views, cool elevations, and frequent wildlife sightings.

Cherokee sits at the southern gateway to the Smoky Mountains National Park and is the cultural heart of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Set along the Oconaluftee River, it combines Native American history, outdoor adventure, and entertainment, with riverside restaurants, attractions, Mingo Falls, and Harrah’s Cherokee Casino all within easy reach.

Douglas Lake, also known as Douglas Reservoir, is a sprawling TVA lake in East Tennessee located at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, just a short drive from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Created in 1943 for hydropower and flood control, the lake covers more than 30,000 acres and features over 550 miles of scenic shoreline formed by the French Broad and Pigeon Rivers.

Surrounded by rolling hills and mountain views, Douglas Lake is a popular destination for boating, fishing, especially for crappie and large mouth bass, camping, swimming, and picnicking. With seasonal water-level changes and more than 1.7 million visitors each year, it offers a dynamic, outdoor-focused experience near the Smokies.

*Please DO NOT drive out on the lake.

If you want something beyond the usual UTV trails, Unseen Pass exclusive routes are a great way to find quieter pull-offs and lesser-known spots around Gatlinburg, plus Smoky Mountain views, forest scenery, and calm river areas. They’re also a nice option if you’re trying to avoid the busiest traffic zones.

Along the way, you’ll find easy places to stop, especially near the river, where you can take a break and enjoy a snack or lunch by the water with your family (chairs and cooler included). After your rental, you’ll get GPS route maps, and the team will show you how to use them before you head out.