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Clingman’s Dome is the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park at just over 6600 feet. Visitors can take the 7-mile road to the Clingman’s Dome lot, walk an extremely steep, albeit paved, half-mile path to a 54 foot observation tower. Although the GPS address is in North Carolina, Clingman’s Dome actually straddles the state line ridge so that it is both in NC and Tennessee.
Because of the elevation, the weather here is very unpredictable. On our first day in the park, we started out visiting some of the lower elevation areas of the park and it was a nice sunny day. By the time we reached the lot for Clingman’s Dome, it was pouring rain to the point where we could hardly see the road. We carefully turned around and went back to Gatlinburg (where it was only drizzling) and did some sightseeing in town. On our last day in the park, we attempted again to visit Clingman’s Dome. While it wasn’t raining, it was completely fogged in. We did the hike to the tower anyway because we weren’t going to have another chance.
While we weren’t able to enjoy the 360 degree views from the tower (which we hear isn’t as spectacular as it can be due to pollution) we did get some pretty cool shots of the fog rolling down the mountains.
Location: Clingmans Dome, Forneys Creek, NC 28713
Designation: National Park
Date designation declared: 9/02/1940
Date of my visit: August 2013
Weather has no allegiance with tourists. You take what you can get and make the best of it. That is where some of the best memories come from. Allan
Yup, the fog seems to love us. While it may detract from scenic vistas, it does make for dramatic photos and cooler hiking.
Just beautiful Scenery and Kids!
Thanks so much!
There’s one I’m overdue to visit again! I was there once when I was a kid but didn’t have a camera (it was pre-smart phone days lol) and hardly remember any of it!
We were there in the late summer of 2015 while on vacation in the USA. I started a hike with my youngest daughter (aged 10 at this time) from Clingman’s Dome to Newfound Gap. It was absolutely marvelous! We were curious about the fact, that we almost saw no other hikers during this few hours. 🙂
Sounds like you may have been on a section of the Appalachian trail…normally used by thru-hikers and backpackers, so not as popular as some other trails. We took a hike to some waterfalls the summer we were in the park and there were plenty of people sharing the trail with us.
These are great pics. How cool is that to see the guys making the nature film! I appreciate your site. We love the NPS, and I’ll be posting more stories from our adventures at the NPS. I’m glad to have found this site to keep us inspired!
Thanks so much for the nice comment! I look forward to reading your NPS adventures.
Those foggy photos are eerie-cool!
Thanks!
Very nice! My times at Clingman’s Dome were also quite foggy… too foggy for photos.
Thanks! Better fog than pouring rain I guess 🙂
You got the same weather we did at the Dome!
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