Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Managed by National Park Service
1,070 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Settlement School Dormitories and Dwellings Historic District · Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gatlinburg
Gatlinburg has 362 acres of parks, 99 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Great Smoky Mountains National Park (2.3 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Gatlinburg, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #9 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
316 acres · of 10.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
362 ac
99 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,947 ft
Holy Butt
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Gatlinburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gatlinburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gatlinburg is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #9 of 177 in Tennessee. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gatlinburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land99 acres of park per 1,000 residents (362 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home80% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 95%
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Gatlinburg’s 5% is ahead of 79% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mills Park
Managed by City of Gatlinburg
25 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
316 conserved acres
5% of Gatlinburg’s land. Who manages Gatlinburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service316 ac
National Park · 316 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park National Park | National Park Service | 316 | Open |
Things to do
28 places to go in Gatlinburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gatlinburg
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Gatlinburg
7 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Gatlinburg
Holy Butt2,947 ft elevation · In Great Smoky Mountains National Park
DirectionsBriar Knob1,519 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 5 peaks without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Gatlinburg
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Gatlinburg
Camp LeConte Luxury Outdoor Resort
DirectionsGatlinburg Creekside RV Resort
DirectionsTwin Creek RV Resort
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
Cove Mountain Trail0.3 mi
Treetop Skywalk0.2 mi
Gatlinburg SkyBridge0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
11Tennis
4Soccer
3Baseball
3Basketball
2Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
John Ownby CabinBuilding · listed 1976
About itPerry's CampDistrict · listed 1992
About itSettlement School Dormitories and Dwellings Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itFirst Methodist Church, GatlinburgBuilding · listed 2007
About itSettlement School Community Outreach Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Gatlinburg: April to June and August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.0 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 53 | 61 | 71 | 78 | 84 | 86 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 60 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 4.9 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 5.0 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gatlinburg →
Questions about parks and trails in Gatlinburg
Where can I hike in Gatlinburg?
The longest trail networks: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 2.3 miles; Mills Park, 0.2 miles; Mynatt Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gatlinburg is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 1% for a Tennessee town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Gatlinburg’s trails?
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Mills Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Gatlinburg?
163,168 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gatlinburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 362 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gatlinburg have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 of 177 in Tennessee. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Gatlinburg neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →