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Old 10-17-2018, 05:51 AM   #1
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Great Smoky Mt NP Fall Colors

We just got back from taking our youngest daughter to the Smoky's for her college fall break. The colors were just starting to change and should be amazing over the next 10 days or so. Here are a couple shot from our trip.
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Old 10-17-2018, 07:38 AM   #2
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Great pics, Ghaag. I’m taking delivery of my AS in the Spring and am bringing it to GSMNP for its shakedown trip. Can’t wait.
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Old 10-17-2018, 08:41 AM   #3
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Great pics, Ghaag. I’m taking delivery of my AS in the Spring and am bringing it to GSMNP for its shakedown trip. Can’t wait.


That’s great, it is a beautiful place for a maiden voyage!
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:24 AM   #4
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Hi

We kept telling ourselves that the colors were "just about to change" all last week. We're now up in PA and still not a lot of fall colors. This just may be one really odd year ....

Bob
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Old 10-18-2018, 09:19 AM   #5
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We were in GSMNP in early October. Met a fellow that has camped there every Oct for 30 years. He said the prime time for color has shifted from mid Oct to late Oct.
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Old 10-18-2018, 10:09 AM   #6
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Hi

We kept telling ourselves that the colors were "just about to change" all last week. We're now up in PA and still not a lot of fall colors. This just may be one really odd year ....

Bob
My experience in the Smokies has been the best colors occur sometime around or after October 20th. We had to go early this year because we took our youngest daughter during her fall break from college. I would love to be back up there in about a week but I am unable to, maybe someone will share pictures.
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Old 10-18-2018, 06:46 PM   #7
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Three years ago, I stayed in the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway for almost 4 months. That year, the fall colors came in late October (if memory serves).
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Old 10-19-2018, 07:07 AM   #8
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So what are your favorite campgrounds in the SMNP area?
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Old 10-19-2018, 07:33 AM   #9
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Yes, please share your experiences. That part of the country is definitely on our radar.
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Old 10-19-2018, 01:13 PM   #10
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So what are your favorite campgrounds in the SMNP area?
Unfortunately do not have a wide variety of experience with the campgrounds. If we dry camp, we stay in Cades Cove Campground. If we want hookups, we stay at Twin Creek RV Resort in Gatlinburg.
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Old 10-19-2018, 02:57 PM   #11
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We are headed to Gatlinburg in a week. Looks like the colors are late this year...
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Old 10-19-2018, 02:58 PM   #12
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We are headed to Gatlinburg in a week. Looks like the colors are late this year...
brick


I think your timing might be perfect
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Old 10-19-2018, 03:02 PM   #13
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Went through Glatinburg today. No colors yet but some indication of yellow coming. Did not do 441 up high. Lots of traffic. Next weekend should be good.
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Old 10-19-2018, 07:10 PM   #14
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I like the Cosby area because there is less traffic.
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Old 10-19-2018, 07:11 PM   #15
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I like the Cosby area because there is less traffic.


Is that a campground there in the park?
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Old 10-20-2018, 06:08 AM   #16
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We stayed in the Smokemont campground right off Hwy 441 on the southern part of the park. It's about 6 miles from Cherokee, NC. Very nice park, spaces are not crowded too close together and we were fortunate to get a riverside site. It has a bathroom with running water but no showers. No hookups at the sites so you are dry camping. It was quite busy in early Oct. As I said above the colors had not started to change but it was rutting season for the elk and they were bugling all around. They have done a nice job of preserving historical pioneer sites: a water driven grist mill and there is an old farmstead next to the visitors center.
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Old 10-20-2018, 10:10 AM   #17
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Thanks for sharing your SMNP adventure. Here in northern Oregon we've lots of color.

How did your solar do?? Your photos show a lot of tree cover at the campground and some "smoke".
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Old 10-20-2018, 10:18 AM   #18
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Thanks for sharing your SMNP adventure. Here in northern Oregon we've lots of color.



How did your solar do?? Your photos show a lot of tree cover at the campground and some "smoke".


Solar did great, even with some tree coverage. We ran a Honda 2000 generator for 3 1/2 hours the third day because we were running the fan on our heat pump for 9 or 10 hours Sunday night and Monday night. When we left on Tuesday we were still at 52% power.

We love northern Oregon, Cannon Beach is maybe our favorite spot in continental US. Do you have any recommendations on beautiful campgrounds in northern Oregon?
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Old 10-20-2018, 10:30 PM   #19
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Our quick take on the Oregon Coast:

We like Tillicum Beach Campground, which is south of Newport and Waldport. Most of the sites fronting the ocean look right down on the beach a few feet below. The reserveable sites are usually booked solid thru summer, but a few are FCFS. Many sites have water and power but the ocean front ones are dry. This is a good base for exploring the mid-coast.

Closer to Cannon Beach, we like Nehalem Bay State Park, because we can get internet access (T-Mobile) and there are good, quiet restaurants in adjacent Manzanita. Nehalem Bay makes a good base for exploring the north coast all the way to Astoria. There is a barrier sand dune, so no sites are truly ocean front. Some loops are FCFS, but majority of sites are reserveable.

Sunset Bay State Park is another good one. An amazing coastline and it is far enough from the Portland Metro area that you reasonably can expect to get a site without a reservation. Great tide pooling and, to the south, at Seven Devils State Beach, successful agate hunting. Services and restaurants at the nearby greater Coos Bay area.

For the far south, we have stayed at Harris Beach State Park just outside of Brookings, Oregon. Sites are quite close together although a few are both sunny and overlook the ocean beaches to the south. Harris Beach State Park campground adjoins a lumber mill, which, when we visited in June 2018, was running 24 hours a day. While not that noisy, the back up alarms on the moving equipment were noticeable 24/7, so if we were to go back we would look at alternatives Alfred Loeb State Park, which is 7 miles inland from Brookings, but quiet with larger, more private sites, all FCFS, and Cape Blanco State Park, which, while a bit isolated and windswept, has large private sites, also all FCFS, its very own super scenic light house, and vehicle beach access in case you've always hankered to drive on the beach!

Now your turn!

We've actually been talking about a mini-caravan Oregon to Arkansas--check out that diamond digging and catch the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse. What do we need to know?
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Old 10-21-2018, 04:55 PM   #20
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Is that a campground there in the park?
NW corner of the park. Cosby is a "town" . There is a park camp ground rarely full without hook ups. We usually select one of the commercial parks outside the park but bordering. So we can just cross the dirt road and hike into the park.

It is just below the interstate and north of Gatlinburg enough to be traffic lite.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Co...!4d-83.2092664.
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