Gatlinburg UTV Trails: Best Scenic Driving Routes to Explore

From our Gatlinburg location, Greenbrier is just six (6) miles east on Highway 321, directly across from Hungry Bear BBQ. This quiet corner of the Smoky Mountains offers scenic dirt and gravel roads that wind alongside the river and through lush forest. Even when Gatlinburg is crowded, Greenbrier remains less busy.

Known for its old-growth cove forests, spring wildflowers, and excellent fishing along the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon River, Greenbrier also features a peaceful picnic area and access to iconic trails, including the challenging 8-mile hike to Ramsey Cascades.

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.

Check out the full experience

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.

Right at the edge of town, the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is one of the best places in the park to see wild elk grazing in the meadow, especially early morning or the last hour or two before sunset (stay at least 150 feet back, it’s the law).

Check out the Gatlinburg to Cherokee UTV drive

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.

Foothills Parkway isn’t one continuous road. Of the 72-mile corridor originally planned along the western edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, only a few sections are open today. The stretch closest to Gatlinburg is Foothills Parkway East, a 5.6-mile drive connecting Cosby (off US-321) to I-40 near Hartford, about 20-25 minutes from our Gatlinburg location.

It’s short, but it’s one of the quietest UTV trails near Gatlinburg: smooth, paved, and with far less traffic than the roads through the park itself. A good pick for a quick mountain-overlook stop without committing to a longer drive. (Looking for the longer 30+ mile stretch of Foothills Parkway? See Townsend below, it connects from there instead.)

Newfound Gap Road climbs from Gatlinburg to Newfound Gap, the lowest drivable pass in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at 5,046 feet. From there, Kuwohi Road (recently renamed from Clingmans Dome Road) climbs another 7 miles to the base of Kuwohi, the highest point in the park at 6,643 feet, the highest point in Tennessee, and the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. Kuwohi Road closes to vehicles every year from December 1 through March 31.

Along the way you will pass through several distinct forest zones as the elevation climbs, with pull-offs for panoramic views into both Tennessee and North Carolina. This is the same route our Cherokee, NC drive follows partway.

Elkmont is a former logging town and early-1900s vacation community inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about 15-20 minutes from our Gatlinburg location via Little River Road. The main access road is paved, winding along the Little River past preserved historic cabins and cottages you can walk through along the way.

It’s one of the quieter UTV trails near Gatlinburg (most visitors are hiking or photographing the old cabins rather than driving through), so plan for a relaxed pace. Elkmont is also known for its synchronous fireflies display, typically late May into early June each year (viewing requires a lottery permit through recreation.gov), worth knowing if you’re planning a late-spring trip.

If you want something beyond the usual UTV trails, Unseen Pass exclusive routes are a great way to experience the best of the Smokies in a different way: quieter pull-offs and lesser-known spots around Gatlinburg that not many visitors ever see, plus Smoky Mountain views, forest scenery, and calm river areas. They are also a nice option if you are trying to avoid the busiest traffic zones.

Along the way, you will find 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). With your rental, you will get GPS route maps, and the team will show you how to use them before you head out.