General Travel Guides
A good general travel guide that also covers Shenandoah NP and other nearby areas. This guide includes the usual information on food, lodging, and entertainment in the gateway towns, as well as some basic details on the parks and activities there.
The 2021 version is focused solely on Great Smoky Mountain NP and covers north Georgia and Atlanta as a gateway community
Hiking Guides and Maps
One map covers the entire park. Good for general navigation around the park. Roadways are prominently displayed, but the map also shows trails and camping areas. (including shelters).
Three maps in one package. One covers the entire park at 1:70,000 scale while the other two cover the eastern and western sections at scale of 1:40,000 which give a much better representation of hiking trails and other points of interest.
Details on 82 hikes around the park. The hikes are organized into four areas - northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest and two focused on the Appalachian trail. The hikes generally have a map (note - some maps show more than one hike) along with written directions on how to proceed at intersections and other areas. Many also highlight an interesting story associated with the trail.
Nature Guides and Natural History
While many Natural History guides are full of color pictures and illustrations of virtually all of the flora and fauna found in an area, this guide is different. It still has numerous photos and drawings, but the authors recognize the impossibility of being able to deliver a traditional guide for one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet. The book delivers detailed listing of the species that have been identified as well as chapters on endangered species and reintroductions.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in the southern part of the larger Blue Ridge Mountains. This area stretches northward across almost the entire state of Virginia and southward into northern Georgia. Given the expansive coverage, this book devotes only a dozen or so pages specifically to GSMNP locations, but it includes a species inventory and can be used when visiting Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway as well.
Conservation, History, and Archeology
This is a brief history of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, beginning with the formation of the mountains, the time of the Cherokees, European settlement, and the destructive logging that led to the demand for a national park. The author concludes with chapters on the cultural history of the areas and the Eastern Band of the Cherokees. The book is short at 122 pages and reads very fast.
Art and Photography
Helpful guide to taking memorable photos in and near the park. Good information on how to prepare, what to pack in the backpack, along with general tips on composition. This is followed by a series of sectional maps that identify specific place to capture great photos including latitude and longitude and a quick overview of the subject matter at that spot.
Adventure Stories and Other Books
A fun read about the many experiences over the career of a wildlife ranger at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Lots of stories about bears, but also about skunks and wild hogs.
See the full review on recent reads.
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