Self-Guided Audio Driving Tour in Great Smoky Mountains

Embark on an incredible journey through the Great Smoky Mountains with GuideAlong’s interactive audio driving tour. Discover famous highlights and hidden gems while enjoying fascinating stories and local tips.

Duration: 1 day
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park - As the audio guides play commentary based on your gps location, you can create your own itinerary along the tour route to match your interests and schedule.

Or you can use our trip planners for our suggestions on half, full or multi day itineraries.

Some of the many highlights are listed below;

  • Cades Cove - The 11-mile loop drive around Cades Cove is the culmination of all the fantastic things about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and one of the Park’s must-do areas.

This fertile valley is surrounded by beautiful Smoky peaks, and its idyllic setting and conditions attracted the earliest of European settlers to the region - a place where the Cherokee enjoyed fruitful hunting and foraging.

As you tour the loop, we have the opportunity to visit historic cabins, churches, mills and barns. Always keep an eye out for black bears, deer and wild turkeys, which are frequently seen.

  • Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail - Driving the Roaring Fork short, one way 6-mile loop drive, is a surprisingly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours right from Gatlinburg.

You quickly leave the bustle of town and find ourselves in the peaceful forest and streams of the Roaring Fork Drive.

Along the way you’ll see picturesque cabins and buildings from the days before the National Park.

Some of the Park’s best waterfalls are available on short hikes from the road, including Rainbow and Grotto Falls, or the Trillium Gap Trail. Or directly accessible from the car, Noah “Bud” Ogles cabin, and Place of a Thousand Drips.

Pack a lunch and enjoy at one the picnic spots along the way, there are no services along the road.

Trailers, RVs and buses are prohibited on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

  • Grotto Falls Trail - There is a good selection of moderately distanced hikes throughout the national park, and many of them visit attractive waterfalls.

It’s difficult to declare an absolute best one to choose, but a favorite is the Grotto Falls hike which departs from the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

The 2.6 mile loop trail is not particularly difficult and most hikers will complete it in under 2 hours, with generous time for stops along the way.

The falls themselves are pretty, though not massive, but one of the fun things about this hike is that the trail actually passes behind the waterfall.

  • Mingus Mill - Dating back to 1886, the Mingus Mill served about 200 local families by grinding corn and grains into grits and flour.

Learn about the novel (for its time) engineering behind the powering of the mill.

Today, the restored building and the square penstocks that direct water make for great photos and you can often see the mill in action from Spring until the Fall.

  • Newfound Gap - Explorers are always looking for the low points in mountains for easier passable routes. And so when Swiss geographer Guyot found an improved pass, it was given the label Newfound Gap.

Because there are several different ecosystems descending through the valley, you find a unique mix of trees including hardwood, pine-oak and spruce that contribute to a stunning fall foliage.

And it’s the perfect spot to see the blue “smoke” trails that the Smokies are so famous for. The haze is actually moisture released by this vegetation absorbing the sky’s blue color.

This was the site of the dedication of the National Park, and a memorial acknowledging the vital $5M contribution the Rockefeller family made towards the creation of the Park.

  • Gatlinburg - Gatlinburg, TN, is the most popular base for accessing the National Park.

Located on the doorstop of the National Park, the town features just about every type of paid attraction, entertainment, dining and adventure operators.

Or try some of the local moonshine at one of the distilleries.

And there are no less than 3 chairlifts and tramways to get you to elevated views above the town.

  • Clingmans Dome - Clingmans Dome is the tallest peak in the Park and on a perfect day, we can see 7 states from the top.

At the junction of Newfound Gap Road and the Clingmans Dome access road, we will often see the famous smoky-effect rising from below.

After reaching the car park, a paved trail climbs steadily leading to the observation tower. Although the trail is paved, it can be quite steep in places, so wheelchairs are not advised.

The trail is 1.2 miles with an elevation of 331 feet. Sitting at over 6,500 feet, you’ll see many walkers stopped along the trail trying to catch breath.

What's Included
  • Support via toll-free phone, chat, and email
  • Offline tour access with pre-download option
  • Trip planning tools in-app, online, and PDF format
  • Location-based autoplay for stories, tips, and directions
  • GuideAlong (GyPSy Guide) with 180 audio points
  • One-time purchase with no usage limit or expiry
  • Flexible routes with suggested itineraries or customize your own
Additional Information

Experience the best of the Great Smoky Mountains with GuideAlong’s Audio Driving Tour, enabling you to explore the most frequented national park in the United States.

You’ll not only be directed towards the park’s renowned landmarks but also its lesser-known treasures such as the lowest drivable pass, historic establishments in Cades Cove, and the highest peak in the park.

Enrich your road trip through the Smokies with captivating stories from behind the scenes, insider tips, and navigation that automatically functions as you drive.

With GyPSy Guide, you get independence to tour offline at your comfort, allowing more time to soak in your favourite spots and pass by those that are not to your liking.

✅ Auto-play of narratives, suggestions and guidance tailored to your position
✅ Personalized pace of tour
✅ Dependable on GPS, works without internet or mobile network
✅ Proposed plans for half, full or multi-day utilisation
✅ Unlimited access with no expiry date, complimentary updates
✅ Feels like having a personal guide accompanying your drive

Location
Gatlinburg
Start at one of the official tour introduction points (Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Cherokee or Townsend) or join anywhere along the route and pick up the commentary at the next audio point. Open the GuideAlong app to preview the tour route and browse the suggested itineraries and trip planner.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(49 Ratings)
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Pam
Aug 22, 2024
Best money spent!!! - Best money spent during our vacation!!! LOVED IT!!! He details and landmarks for turns, etc. we're right on!!! Can't wait to try it again in a different place!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabeth_h
Aug 17, 2024
Great! - This was the best money I spent on our Great Smoky vacation! Was easy to use and added so much to our drive.
Review provided by Viator
Dorieosisek_o
Aug 14, 2024
Smoky mountain guide - Guide had a friendly tone while telling us all about the area we were seeing. He also didn't talk the whole time which allowed us to enjoy the sites, while not missing anything.It was nice going at our own pace instead of with a group tour.I highly recommend this audio tour!
Review provided by Viator
U2936zdtinac
Aug 13, 2024
Worth it! - Awesome app! Worth the 15$!!!! We only did a 2 hour loop with a 3 hour hike due to time constraints. If we had more time we would have loved to do the whole thing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabethmr523zz
Aug 9, 2024
Nice audio tour of the Smokies - Great audio tour of the Smokies! We used it for the Cades Cove portion of the park. Lots of interesting information about the history of the area as well as great hike recommendations. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pyro64068
Aug 4, 2024
Absolutely Great! Just like having a personal tour guide! - This guided tour was absolutely awesome!!! So informative and I loved how it played by itself when you hit certain places on the route! It also played in the background so I could use my own GPS. Pretty awesome and I recommend this to anyone head to the Smokey Mountain or any of the other destinations. Pretty darn cool.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lewis_h
Aug 1, 2024
Great Audio Tour - This tour was just what we needed. It functioned flawlessly for us and was pretty user friendly. It was critical for us to download the app and the tour at home where there was wifi and have it loaded ready to go. In the park there is no cell signal or data. But this tour only needs GPS signal to work since the tour is downloaded onto your phone. All I had to do was open the app, select the tour and hit the "start driving" button. The voice came on and lead us along perfectly. We didn't use any other app or GPS just this one to guide us around the park. Every time we were getting close to something it would automatically say something like "in just a bit you're going to see a cabin on the right that...." the tour was informative, interesting. Also, if there was a long stretch between points of interest it would tell us about the history of the park of facts about the animals. I am taking a trip to Vancouver next year and look forward to using their tours again!
Review provided by Viator
Leiismimi
Jul 24, 2024
Entertaining and easy to use - We had a great time using this app! It was easy to use, entertaining and the directions easy to follow. It gave good insight on hikes to take to view cabins and churches in Cades Cove! We will definitely check out other tours on future trips!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jewelbug5614
Jun 28, 2024
Best money spent - Best money spent on our vacation. The narrator was so informative and made us feel safe and not lost in such a huge park. It saved us time and helped lead us to a couple of great family adventures and hidden gems with suggestions of places to stop. I especially enjoyed how well it knew our location and allowed us to go at our own pace, even without cell phone reception. Get this instead of paying for an expensive tour on someone else’s schedule.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scott
Aug 23, 2024
Make it simple to use!!!!! - I couldn't get the page to open to use the tour, to me it was 16.95 wasted time and money!!!!! I won't blame the product, I find myself technically challenged many times. I didn't have my Grandkids to bail me out!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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