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Begin your exploration of the park at a visitor center. Here you can pick up a park map or newspaper, have your questions answered by a ranger, and purchase books and guides to the park.
Three Visitor Centers are located within the national park at Cades Cove, Oconaluftee, and Sugarlands. In addition, four Visitor Centers are located outside the park in the communities of Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and Townsend. All Visitor Centers are open daily year-round, except Christmas Day.
Two historic grist mills are open seasonally in the park. Both provide demonstrations of corn meal milling.

Cades Cove Visitor Center
Open every day except Christmas Day.
January 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
February 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
March 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
April 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
May 8:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
June - August 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
September - October 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
December 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Location
Inside the park near the mid-point of the 11-mile, one-way Cades Cove Loop Road.

Special Programs
Ranger-led programs are conducted seasonally. Check at the visitor center for times.

Exhibits
Indoor and outdoor exhibits of Southern Mountain life and culture. Includes Cable Mill, a grist mill which operates spring through fall, the Becky Cable house, and other historic structures.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Public restrooms.
  

Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Open every day except Christmas Day
January - March 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
April 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
May 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
June - August 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
September - October 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November - December 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Location
Inside the park, 2 miles north of Cherokee, NC, on US-441.

Special Programs
Ranger-led programs conducted seasonally. Check at the visitor center for location and times.

Exhibits
The adjacent Mountain Farm Museum contains a fascinating collection of log structures including a farmhouse, barn, smokehouse, applehouse, corn cribs and others. Demonstrations of farm life are conducted seasonally.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Public restrooms and telephones. Soda and water machines. Backcountry permit station.

Sugarlands Visitor Center
Open every day except Christmas Day.
January - February 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
March 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
April - May 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
June - August 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
September - October 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
December 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Location
Inside the park, 2 miles south of Gatlinburg on US-441.

Special Programs
Ranger-led programs conducted seasonally. Check at the visitor center for locations and times.

Exhibits
Free admission to 20-minute film about the park. Extensive natural history exhibits.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Public restrooms and telephones. Soda and water machines. Backcountry permit station.

Gatlinburg Welcome Center - Downtown
Open every day except Christmas Day.
10:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m.

Location
At traffic light #3 on the parkway in downtown Gatlinburg.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. City of Gatlinburg information. Public restrooms and telephones.

Gatlinburg Welcome Center - On the Spur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg
Open every day except Christmas Day
October
Sunday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday- Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
   
November - April 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Location
Located 2 miles outside of Gatlinburg on US-441 South

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. City of Gatlinburg information. Public restrooms and telephones.