Your Next ItineraryTips for a winter trip
1. Choosing the right vehicle
During winters, you can expect a lot of issues like black ice on the road causing vehicles to skid and the locals highly recommend having a 4 wheel drive along with chains for the tires.
2. Sudden Temperatur Drops
Temperature in the mountains can drop very low, so make sure you have good clothing packed with you (Snow Boots, Ear muffs, warm hat, gloves, leg warmers, a good quality warm jacket).
3. Extreme Weather & Road Closures
The area around smokies does have a lot of elevation or declination which can bring a lot of surprising elements to your trip if you are visiting Smokies for the first time in winter. Be ready to see a lot of road closures on the way which can cause delays and if you are there during snow, be prepared to see a lot of traffic on the highways caused by vehicles that are stuck because of snow. Please read https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/seasonalroads.htm
Tips:
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- Buy refundable tickets: If you booked advanced tickets for any activities that might get affected because of road closures, make sure your vendor has a refund policy.
- Check cancellation policy for your stay: If you booked a really nice cabin in the Smokies or areas nearby, be prepared to face a situation that you will never make it there (from my real experience) during extreme weather conditions like storms. For the safer side, make sure you check the cancellation policy for your stay. Additionally, you can book a backup stay in the city with pay at the site option and 0 cancellation fee.
- Keep some water and snacks in the car: Since a lot of roads/highways get closed during bad weather, be prepared to spend a lot more time on the road than expected as you might have to re-route a lot. These updates are not normally added to Google Maps and you might only get to know this while you face it.
4. Closure of Winter Activities
A lot of attractions get closed during bad weather conditions and there are some attractions that stay closed during Winters. Here is a list for your reference:
- The Newfound Gap Road does close temporarily because of wintry conditions on the order of 15 to 20 times each season.
- Secondary park roads, including Clingmans Dome Road, Little Greenbrier Road, Parsons Branch Road, and Roaring Fork Mountain, seasonally close in the fall and reopen in the spring.
5. Low to No Network
- Download Offline Maps: There are roads in the mountains where you will find no network available for a long time. For safety, it is better to have offline maps downloaded on 1-2 devices.
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Have some music/your favorite audiobook/podcasts downloaded on your devices for 0 network areas.
6. Listen to the Locals
During extreme weather conditions, it is difficult to believe Google Maps or any application for routes. Better ask the locals about the best roads to take to avoid any time waste as believing GMaps and finding road closures could be annoying. Pro tip – If a local tells you to turn back or not go a particular route further – Trust me, Listen to them and Stop to avoid any danger.
7. Important Tools & things to carry
- Shovel: to clean snow from your car/from the road in case the car gets stuck.
- Torch: If you are staying in a cabin/traveling through mountains in dark, it is recommended to carry a torch for outside as it is pitch dark at night.
- Water: Keep water available with you all the time.
- Snacks/backup food: Highly recommend keeping some backup food options available with you all the time as you never know where you might get stuck if you are in the mountains during bad weather conditions and might not have stores nearby
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