Great Smoky Mountains Self-Guided Tour

Embark on a self-driving discovery tour of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited National Park in the country. Learn about Cherokee history, Appalachian life, and more!

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Newfound Gap Road - From there, your drive continues to Newfound Gap, a stunning mountain pass with huge historical significance. Hear the story of how trappers, farmers, and merchants used to cross the Smokies, and how this gap changed all of that.
  • Mingus Mill - As you drive, you’ll have the option to take a detour to the Mingus Mill, an…
What's Included
  • Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone
  • Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
  • Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
  • Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
    -…
What's Not Included
  • Attraction passes, entry tickets, or reservations
Additional Information

Recommended: Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!
Explore Great Smoky Mountains National Park and discover why it’s the most visited National Park in the country! Tour these famous mountains while learning about Cherokee history and legends, Appalachian life, and much more. There’s no better way to see Clingman’s Dome,…

Location
Oconaluftee Visitor Center Parking C
Newfound Gap Road
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.1
(243 Ratings)
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Masterarmorer
Nov 5, 2024
Long Couples Weekend - Spent 4 days in Gatlinburg with my wife. We did the drive through Smoky Mountains National Park. There are dozens of scenic view pull-offs with amazing photo ops. There are numerous hiking trails leading throughout the park. The self-guided drive is well worth the trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachel_w
Oct 27, 2024
Great value for the money - I really enjoyed the self guided tour it was a very thorough tour and easy to use. Love that you can use it over and over again for 1 year.
Review provided by Viator
Dwight_j
Oct 17, 2024
Great Smokey Mountain History - The app provided interesting history details of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The timing of the app worked perfectly as we arrived at each location.
Review provided by Viator
Katiesd6992bk
Oct 10, 2024
Roaring fork motor trail self drive - The self driving tour was fun. Lots to see along the way. Plenty of stops to get great pictures. You can get out and walk to cabins from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Cool to see where they lived way up on the mountain. A lot of info is given to you as you drive.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steve_c
Oct 7, 2024
Do it!! - The driving tour was great. The audio was informative, giving descriptions of pull-overs and local hiking trails. I can't wait to try their other tour in different area of the country!!
Review provided by Viator
Compass47447898129
Oct 6, 2024
Good value for money. Amazing and Totally worth it! - The tour and app were good. Lots of good points that we would definitely have missed if not for this app by actiontourguide. I also got Clingmans dome along with this tour which was a great addition.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cg834
Sep 24, 2024
Change the ways you see and understand the parks forever! - For the best experience using the tour app, please go see my earlierJUly 2024 review from a different trip (Tripadvisor won’t let me copy-paste text from that review into a new one) The audio tours offered here are outstanding in both quality of voice talent, production, and content. It is thanks to one of these tours that my family and I already knew the Cherokee name for Clingman’s Dome (and its native history) even before the Eastern Band just won their petition to have the mountain revert to its native name “kuwohi” [and through the tour we even knew how to pronounce it!]. These educational, informative, and entertaining tours--which trigger sections of dialogue or music using GPS points along your trave--help you absolutely make the most out of drives in the park. I daresay driving’s how most visitors experience the Smokies, and it’s just a delight to have (well, we’ve nicknamed the tour guide “HAL”) a knowledgeable (and human—NOT A.I.) voice along to tell you the names of the beauty spots you’re looking at, or the history of what surrounds you. If a trip to see the Smokies is a 9.5, adding the audio tour makes it a strong 14 on a 10-point scale. *Be sure to keep to the speed suggested on the app so you don’t speed through audio sections. (The suggested speed is, for the most part, in line with posted speed limits—which not all Park visitors adhere to) Recently accessed the “Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail” Tour section. Was taking my mother’s elderly friend with us, who has lived a very active life and hiked the National Park hundreds of times, and with her husband was also an avid caver. Those days are behind her, now. But how fascinated she was by the audio tour! When we finished the Trail, the first thing she said was that even after all of her years “on the ground” exploring the Smokies (as well as having been raised nearby), she learned so many things from the tour she had never heard of or known before. Now that’s $16 well-spent.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pamela_f
Sep 23, 2024
tour - It was perfect for us, no problems following it. Beautiful views! We do recommend this ape. It paused for our stops while we took pictures.
Review provided by Viator
Dreamer28068690093
Sep 20, 2024
Go at your own pace! - Really well done. Informative, easy to follow. Took a little bit to figure out how to start the app but this is definitely worth it. Being in control of your schedule is great. So glad we didn’t do one of those van tours where someone else is driving. We stopped frequently to check out the foliage and mountain view.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Douglas
Oct 22, 2024
Informative Ascent - This audio tour was informative and made the drive up the mountain more enjoyable. The price was reasonable. The visual map did not display on Apple Car Play, but the directions were fairly easy to follow. We liked the historical background and the “quiet walkways” that the tour pointed out.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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