Picnicking In
The Great Smoky Mountains
National Park

The Park has specific sites set aside for picnicking. Picnic areas are located at Big Creek, Chimney Tops, Cades Cove, Collins Creek, Cosby, Deep Creek, Greenbrier, Heintooga, Look Rock, Metcalf Bottoms, and Twin Creeks. The picnic areas at Cades Cove, Chimney Tops, Cosby, Deep Creek, Greenbrier, and Metcalf Bottoms remain open year-round. The remaining picnic areas are closed during the winter. Click Here for maps that you can download and print to view the location of picnic areas in the park. All picnic areas have pavilions except Chimneys and Cades Cove. The picnic pavilions at Collins Creek, Cosby, Deep Creek, Metcalf Bottoms, and Twin Creeks can be reserved for groups up to five months in advance by calling 1-800-365-2267, or by Clicking Here. All pavilions except Twin Creeks cost $20 per use. Twin Creeks' fee ranges from $35-75 depending on the usage. Payment can be made by credit card or personal check at the time the reservation is made.

The 81-site Cades Cove picnic area is available with restrooms, fire rings and tables, some of which are wheelchair-accessible. Located before the beginning of the loop road, it closes at 8:00 pm from May through August, and at sunset for the rest of the year. No overnight parking is permitted in the picnic area. No picnic facilities are found along the loop road. Visitors may picnic at other sites without facilities. However, stoves, grills, or other fires are prohibited outside of the picnic area. Food and trash must be completely removed at the end of each picnic. Food must be properly stored inside vehicles at other times. Drinking water is available at the picnic area, outside the campground store, and at the Cable Mill area.

Please remember that feeding bears and other wildlife is illegal throughout the Park. The black bear symbolizes the invaluable wilderness qualities of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But, bears are dying unnecessarily due to improper disposal of garbage or illegal feeding by visitors. A bearÕs remarkable sense of smell may lead it to human foods, such as a picnickerÕs cooler, garbage left in the open, or food scraps thrown on the ground or left in the grill. A bear that has discovered human food or garbage will eventually become day-active and leave the safety of the backcountry. It may panhandle along roadsides and be killed by a car or it may injure a visitor and have to be euthanized. Please do your part to help protect black bears and other wildlife in the Great Smokies. Clean your picnic area, including the grill and the ground around the table, thoroughly after your meal.

For a more detailed schedule of picnic area information, check at the Visitor Centers.