Great Smoky Mountains - Natures Calendar

The Great Smoky Mountains A Sanctuary for the Body and Soul
Articles:	A Sanctuary for the Body and Soul
	Historic Cades Cove
map	Smokies Flora, Fauna, and Culture-Wise - Natures Calendar

view from foothills parkway

The Great Smokies are often referred to as a sanctuary for the body and soul. With over 500,000 acres of wild lands and a range of elevation from 875 to 6,643 feet, it showcases over 30,000 varieties of plants. Approximately 100 native species of trees, some as high as 100 feet, 1,500 kinds of flowering plants, and numerous mosses and fungi. It’s abundant wildlife includes over 60 species of birds, bears, wild turkeys, bobcats, deer, elk, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, salamanders, others and trout. Some 200 miles of trails thread these mountains – and its waterfalls, coves, balds and rushing streams. Each trail invites you into the intimacy and richness of these highlands, a sanctuary for the body and soul.

Richmont Inn, with its location (10 minutes from the Park), its ambience, and its amenities, is part of that sanctuary – where you can find rest and reflection from a complicated world, where couples can renew their relationships, where you can enjoy God’s work in nature at its very best.

Every season offers a reason for coming to the Smokies

The arrival of spring is marked by a symphony of birds and the colorful majesty of blossoming wildflowers. By summer, the hills, coves, and valleys take on a rich green, tinged with the blue haze that gives the Smokies their name. Botanical and animal life abound. In the fall, the Smokies change their complexion completely. Seen from a distance and lit up by the sun, their foliage becomes a brilliant mosaic of colors. A special time often overlooked in the Smokies is the winter - when the misty clouds rise out of the coves and valleys and freeze on the mountain trees - when the foliage is gone and the views are clearer than ever- when snow is on the mountain tops and there is quietness in the air. Visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Website

Historic Cades Cove A National Treasure

Once the hunting grounds of the Cherokees, then home to a community of 700 people at its peak, Cades Cove now lies peacefully in a tranquil valley. Its open fields of more than 3000 secluded acres stretch between 5,000 foot mountain peaks. The historic buildings: log cabins, barns, a fully operational grist mill with a working water wheel and three churches are preserved and open to the public at no charge, Cades Cove’s wildlife attract as much interest as its cultural treasures. The Cove also offers seven of the best day hikes in the Smokies with stream crossings and waterfalls. You can view the sights by auto on an 11 mile scenic loop road, or walk and bike when the road is closed to vehicles until 10:00 am, early May to late September. Horseback riding is also available.

The Great Smokies are the oldest mountains in the nation
but somehow they make you feel new!

Smokies Flora, Fauna, and Culture-Wise!

January: Black Bear cub are born. Winter birds present include; Ruffed Grouse, Belted Kingfisher, Cedar Waxwing, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Purple Finch, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, Black-Capped Chickadee, Winter Wren, American Goldfinch, Barred Owl, and Wild Turkey.

February: Red Maple trees bloom. Trailing Arbutus may bloom along trail edges. Spicebush blooms. Mourning Doves are courting.

March: Wildflowers that may bloom this month include; Spring Beauty, Sharp-lobed Hepatica, Bloodroot, and several species of Violets. Arriving migratory birds include Brown Thrasher, Solitary Vireo, Yellow Throated Warbler, Black and White Warbler, and Louisiana Water thrush. Redbud and Serviceberry trees bloom along Little River Road.

April: Flowering Dogwood trees reach their peak of bloom about mid month, April 22-28- Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage. Dozens of woodland wildflowers are in bloom, including Foamflower, Columbine, Fire Pink, Dutchman's Britches, Trout Lilly, White Trillium, Yellow Trillium, Crested Dwarf Iris, White Fringed Phacelia and Wild Geranium. Many Warblers and other migratory birds arrive to spend the summer and breed. They include; Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, Veery, Wood Thrush, Yellow-Throated Vireo, Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Blackburn Ian Warbler, Canada Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager.

May: Mountain Laurel is in bloom, Flame Azalea is in bloom at the lower elevations. Silverbell trees and Tulip trees are in bloom as well as Umbrella and Fraser Magnolia trees. Woodland wildflowers in bloom include Creeping Phlox, Wake Robin, Snowy Orchids, Yellows Lady's Slipper, Galax and Woodland Bluet.

June: Catawba Rhododendron reaches it's peak of bloom. Rosebay Rhododendron reaches it's peak at the lower elevations. June 15 - 30th Gregory Bald, a nine mile hike out of Cades Cove is ablaze with Flaming Azaleas. As William Bartram, a noted botanist of the eighteenth century said, "This is certainly the most gay and brilliant flowering shrub yet known."

July: Wildflowers in bloom include; Butterfly Weed, Yellow-Fringed Orchid, Cardinal Flower, Purple-fringed Orchid, and Fly Poison. Rosebay Rhododendron reaches it's peak of bloom at the middle and higher elevations. Sourwood trees bloom.

August: Wildflowers in bloom include Joe-Pye-Weed, Turk's Cap Lily, Pink Turtlehead, Heart-Leaved Aster, Nodding Lady's Tresses, Canada Goldenrod, Bee Balm, and Touch-Me-Not. Fruits are ripe on Pin Cherry trees

September: Flocks of migrating Broad-winged Hawks may be seen from Clingman's Dome and Look Rock Tower. Wildflowers in bloom include Mountain Gentian, New York Ironweed, and Wide-Leaved Sunflower.

October: During the first half of the month, fall colors will reach their peak at the higher elevations. Colors will reach peak at the lower elevations during the second half of the month. Bulk Elk are bugling.

November: Oak Trees continue to show good color early in the month. Watch for the possible arrival of Evening Grosbeaks. Deciduous leaves of Buffalo Nut remain bright green. Many Fall Asters continue to bloom.

December: December 8th - The Festival of Christmas Past at Sugarlands Visitor Center. Mammals in various states of deep winter sleep include Black Bear, Woodchuck, Chipmunks, and Jumping Mouse. Witch-Hazel, a small tree, blooms with bright yellow flowers.