Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina

Another long weekend we drove out to the Western side of North Carolina to the Great Smoky Mountains.  It is on the border of Tennessee so we were able to have lunch un Tennessee.  Since we visited in winter, the higher elevation visitor centers were closed and we couldn't see Clingmans Dome.  The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park. With 12.5 million visitors in 2019, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. This is more so than Yellowstone or Yosemite due to its proximity to the major cities of the Eastern US.  We also visited the Biltmore estate. It was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II from 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet.  The surrounding gardens and grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.