2024 UPDATE: Kuwohi (also Kuwahi) is the Cherokee name of the highest peak in along the Appalachian Trail. Beginning in 1859, it was renamed Clingmans Dome by geographer Arnold Guyot, and kept that name until September 18, 2024, when the original name was restored.
According to the resolution to restore the original name drafted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: “Kuwahi or ‘mulberry place’, is the highest point in our area and has significance to us as Cherokees as it was visited by medicine people who prayed and sought guidance from the Creator regarding important matters facing our people, and then returned to our towns to give guidance and advice.”
Original post (with name change): Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of Tennessee & North Carolina, is the most visited National Park in the United States with over 11 million people in 2017. That’s almost twice as much as the second most popular park, the Grand Canyon. I didn’t know and I bet you didn’t either.
One of my favorite things to do a national parks is to photograph them in use. I like to observe & document how people interact with nature and the parks themselves. I think it says a lot about American culture.
We visited the Smoky Mountains in late July, along with about a million other people. But that is just a rough guesstimate on my part. July & August are the busiest time of year for the Smoky Mountains and even then it was well worth it!
This National Park includes expansive prairies, soothing mountain scape and charming historical settlements. When the GSMNP was created in 1934, many of the settlers left their homes and businesses and those buildings have been preserved by the park. Southern Appalachia was also home to the Cherokee people who were forcibly removed by the US government and the NPS shares some Native American history throughout the park.
Kuwohi is the highest peak in the Smokies at 6,643 feet. It’s the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. The wonderful thing about this summit (and National Parks in general) is that it is unusually accessible. We were able to drive up the winding Newfound Gap Road until the last half a mile and then we hiked the last half a mile up a VERY steep trail to the top. From the observation deck we were rewarded with 360° views of the Smokies.
I really enjoy photographing the visitors to public spaces as much as the scenery. I think its magical to have so much of the natural landscape preserved for generations to experience. I’ve attempted to share a little of the Great Smoky Mountains here and I hope you get inspired to get out and explore!
Visiting a national park with children means spending some time traveling by car in order to see as much as possible on a short visit. We spent only one day in the Great Smoky Mountains and managed to see Cades Cove (a valley on the western side of the park), made the very long and somewhat treacherous drive up Newfound Gap Road then hiked up to Kuwohi, picnicked with a bear near Little Pigeon River (this was exciting but unintentional – NEVER approach a bear!) and explored the settlement surrounding the Cable Grist Mill.
Finally, I’m excited to introduce another new element to our blog: video. I’ve embedded a time-lapse from Cades Cove and some soothing footage of the grist mill below and you can see Kuwohi (the park’s highest point) and Little Pigeon River on our new YouTube channel as well as subscribe to see our latest videos as we release them.
The details included in this post are from The National Park Service website which is a great resource before & during your visit. If you’re interested in licensing for these or any other images from Zach Dobson Photography, please contact us.
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This was a really fun and informative read! The images were phenomenal as always and has me excited to visit the park!
Thanks! Yeah, it’s a great park for sure. I definitely could’ve spent a few more days there.