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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
NATIONAL PARK
HORSEBACK RIDING WILDLIFE
Three riding stables provide guided horseback
rides from mid-March through late November.
Rides can last from 45 minutes to several hours.
The stables also offer carriage rides and Cades
Cove hayrides. More than 400 species of animals, including
an estimated 1,500 black bears, live in Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. Bear-watching
opportunities are best along Roaring Fork Motor
Nature Trail and Cades Cove Loop Road. Remember
that wildlife should be viewed at a safe distance.
YEAR-ROUND COLORS
From early spring
through the end of
fall, Great Smoky
Mountains National
Park is filled with
colors provided by
more than 1,500
species of flowering
plants and fall foliage.
Violets, black-eyed
Susans, sunflowers
and asters are some
of the seasonal
flowers that brighten
the park landscapes.
Beginning in mid-September, leaves begin to
change to autumn glory, peaking between mid-
October and early November. Reports on color
change are posted beginning in September at
nps.gov/grsm/planourvisit/fallcolor.htm.
LEAVE IT LIKE YOU FOUND IT
Park visitors are urged to respect nature’s beauty
and leave no trace behind when you depart. Never
leave food, trash, personal items or equipment in the
park. Regulations for leaving the park like you found
it are at nps.gov.