Ask anyone in Cosby where to go the week the color peaks and you’ll hear the same answer more often than not: the fire tower.…
Hiking Mt. Cammerer from Cosby: A Local’s Guide to the Fire Tower at Peak Fall Color
The stone fire tower on Mt. Cammerer sits right where the Smokies’ fall color is peaking this week, and the trail starts minutes from our Cosby cabins. Here’s how to do the hike.
Elk Rut Season in the Smokies: A Local’s Guide to Cataloochee Valley This October
There is a sound in the Smokies that most visitors never hear, and it only happens for a few weeks every fall. Stand at the…
Apple Season in the Smokies: Where to Pick, Sip, and Eat Your Way Through Fall
By the last week of September, the air along Cosby Highway starts to smell a little different — woodsmoke, cut hay, and somewhere underneath it,…
Fall Festivals Near Gatlinburg 2026: Craftsmen’s Fair, Oktoberfest & Dollywood’s Harvest Festival
The 2026 fall festival calendar near Gatlinburg: Craftsmen’s Fair dates, Oktoberfest at Ober, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival and LumiNights, the scarecrow hunt, and a simple weekend plan.
Fall Color in the Smokies: A Local’s Guide to When (and Where) to See It First
By mid-September, we start getting the same question from guests every year: “When should we come for the leaves?” It’s a fair question, and it’s…
Chasing Waterfalls: The Best Hikes Near Cosby This September
September is our favorite month to send guests out to the waterfalls. The summer crowds have thinned, the creeks are still running strong from late-summer…
Fly Fishing the Smokies in September: A Local’s Guide to Cool Water and Quiet Streams
Something shifts in the water around Labor Day. The heat that’s pressed on these mountains since June finally loosens its grip, mornings carry a little…
Where to Cool Off: A Local’s Guide to Smoky Mountain Swimming Holes Near Cosby
By the middle of August, the creeks around Cosby are doing more work than the air conditioning. If you’ve spent an afternoon on the Foothills…
Elk in the Smoky Mountains: A Local’s Guide to the Fall Rut at Cataloochee and Oconaluftee
By the second week of September, the open fields on the North Carolina side of the park start making a sound you will not hear…
