CADES COVE BIKE RIDE, GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK – WE SAW BEARS!

Cades Cove is an isolated valley located on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It started as a seasonal hunting camp for the Cherokee Indians. 

What is Cades Cove, TN?

If you don’t want to deal with car traffic on the Cades Cove loop road, time your bike ride for Wednesday or Saturday morning. They close off the road to vehicles from 7-10am to give the bikes a little safety and freedom. 

Best time to do the Cades Cove bike ride

As there was no tag along available at the bike rental for Savannah, she and Craig followed in the car and we joined the car traffic on the Cades Cove loop road. I was pleasantly surprised and grateful at how encouraging and respectful the vehicles were to us.

Kalyra did an amazing job. It was her first time on a geared bike. After a shaky start, she got the hang of the gears and the ride was smooth. She’s now begging us for a geared bike for her birthday. 

I swapped with Craig of the last part, conveniently where most of the uphills were. Up until then, it was relatively flat or downhill riding. Kalyra, despite her exhaustion, nailed those final hills. 

DON'T MISS OUR FUN ADVENTURE AT CADES COVE