Great Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Cave National Parks, with moderate hikes

In this trip we will hike the main draw for Great Smoky, its namesake mountains, with the cool streams and waterfalls, and the homesteads in Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley.

Then we will explore Mammoth Cave in Kentucky (to where tourists have been heading since 1816) with its many twists, turns, and drops in the cave. No one is quite sure how long Mammoth Cave really is. At last count nearly 370 miles of passages had been measured, and the world’s second longest cave, Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota, is fewer than 145 miles in length.

Spring weather in the areas of these parks is sunny with day average temperatures 60 degree F and possible winds. See updates of weather forecasts at: https://bit.ly/3m2nOBi

Trip's summary:

• 5days/4nights trip for a small group of 6 explorers.
• The starting point is Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) and ending point is Nashville International Airport (BNA), or Louisville (SDF).
• Hotel accommodations in Cave City, KY, Cookville, TN, and Gatlinburg, TN. All locations in this event follow safety requirements by the state.
• Level of activities: Easy to Intermediate.

Clothes and gear recommended:

• good hiking shoes,
• warm jacket for evenings, be ready to layer up,
• hiking poles if you used to them,
• consider hydration bladder for hikes,
• sunglasses,
• sunscreen,
• flashlight and/or headlamp,
• hat,
• swimming suite, cap, flip-flops for hotel's swimming pool,
• for personal protection: mask, carry-on sanitizer, gloves (by your choice.)

Cost $580 per person (no later than 1 month before the start this cost can be updated, for no more than 10%, based on services price changes, like gas and others.)

What is included:

• 5days/4nights stay in 2-people occupancy non-smoking room (two beds in room),
• Breakfasts at some hotels,
• Transportation by minivan (like Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Grand or similar) covering approx. 600 mi of road-tripping total,
• Park entrance fees,
• Ranger's guided tour to Mammoth Cave,
• Organized hikes in all days.

What is NOT included:

• Getting to Knoxville, TN and returning from Nashville, TN.
• Meals, snacks, water.

Sunrise: 7:40am. Sunset: 7:45pm. Every day we want to start off from the hotel at 7:30am, or 8am as the latest. If you are a night owl, please try to adjust yourself for an earlier getup during the trip - the purpose of it is to use more of daylight for activities.

Photo-album from the previous trip with a similar itinerary and activities:

https://www.meetup.com/u-s-national-parks-quest-group/photos/31321617/

Please sign up and feel free to contact the organizer with any questions!

If you see that the event is full/no tickets available, do not hesitate to contact the organizer about your interest as spots can become available.

Also, please check on the photo-album from our past trips (in About section) and our future trips to U.S. National Parks and National Parks in Europe and Asia for 2023-2024. Thanks!

ATTN. There will be a Zoom meeting on this trip and a WhatsApp group chat will be formed for the group to communicate and prepare for the trip. Please be available to connect by WhatsApp (provide the organizer with your WhatsApp contact info to be included in the chat.) Regular messaging will not work out for this trip, sorry.

ATTN. The $10 payment through Eventbrite is for reserving a spot in this small group event (it counts in toward the whole payment for the trip.) After you reserved your spot, you will be contacted by the organizer about a Zoom meeting with the group and joining a WhatsApp group chat. Meeting your future groupmates in a Zoom and being able to communicate by WhatsApp are mandatory steps to become a part of this trip and make the full payment. If any of these cannot be done/mind changed, the $10 reservation payment will be refunded in full though the initial means of payment, minus fees paid to Eventbrite/third parties. The outline of the trip will be communicated during a Zoom meeting and in WhatsApp group chat. The detailed, hour-by-hour, itinerary will be provided to the confirmed participants of the trip.