About & disclosures
East Tennessee Guides — practical, first-timer-friendly trip planning for the Great Smoky Mountains, the Cumberland Plateau, the lakes and the small towns in between.
A trip planner, not a diary: how to get there, when to go, what to know before you leave, and where to stay and eat. We favor the quieter side of the mountains — Townsend, Look Rock, the plateau and the lakes — alongside the big names like Cades Cove, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Hours, fees, road closures and rules change. Every guide links to the official source (National Park Service, Tennessee State Parks, TVA, county and city sites) with the date we checked it. Always re-check before you go — especially NPS current conditions ↗.
Photos are by My East TN unless credited otherwise.
The guides are free. Some links go to our own shop or partners, always labeled:
If you buy through these links, it helps keep the guides free. We don’t accept payment to change what a guide says.