Best time to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park
September, October and November are the best balance at Great Smoky Mountains: mild and dry for the park (average highs 58° to 78°F), with crowds from busy to very busy. October is busiest, with about 1,592,000 visitors. January is the quietest, with highs near 47°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Gatlinburg 2 SW, TN USC00403420
- Lat / lon
- 35.69, -83.54
- Elevation
- 1,454 ft
- From park center
- 5 mi
- Second station
- Mt Leconte, TN 6,493 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sepbest | Octbest | Novbest | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 47° | 51° | 59° | 69° | 75° | 80° | 83° | 82° | 78° | 69° | 58° | 50° | 67° |
| Low, °F | 27° | 29° | 35° | 42° | 51° | 59° | 63° | 62° | 56° | 44° | 34° | 29° | 44° |
| High at 6,493 ft, °F | 34° | 35° | 41° | 50° | 57° | 63° | 66° | 65° | 61° | 54° | 44° | 37° | 50° |
| Precipitation, in | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 58.2 |
| Snow, in | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 7.7 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:59 | 10:50 | 11:51 | 13:02 | 14:01 | 14:33 | 14:21 | 13:30 | 12:21 | 11:13 | 10:14 | 9:45 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 381 | 463 | 866 | 988 | 1,204 | 1,420 | 1,477 | 1,146 | 1,102 | 1,592 | 953 | 747 | 12,339 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Moderate | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Busy | Moderate | |
| Weather | Cool | Cool | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Hot | Hot | Hot | Mild | Mild | Mild | Cool |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 6,493 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 27° | 34° | 4.8 | 2.4 | 9:59 | 381,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| February | 51° | 29° | 35° | 4.3 | 2.4 | 10:50 | 463,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| March | 59° | 35° | 41° | 5.6 | 1.3 | 11:51 | 866,000 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| April | 69° | 42° | 50° | 4.9 | 0 | 13:02 | 988,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| May | 75° | 51° | 57° | 5.5 | 0 | 14:01 | 1,204,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| June | 80° | 59° | 63° | 6.0 | 0 | 14:33 | 1,420,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 83° | 63° | 66° | 6.3 | 0 | 14:21 | 1,477,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| August | 82° | 62° | 65° | 4.4 | 0 | 13:30 | 1,146,000 | Busy | Hot |
| Septemberbest | 78° | 56° | 61° | 4.3 | 0 | 12:21 | 1,102,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Octoberbest | 69° | 44° | 54° | 3.2 | 0 | 11:13 | 1,592,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Novemberbest | 58° | 34° | 44° | 4.0 | 0.2 | 10:14 | 953,000 | Busy | Mild |
| December | 50° | 29° | 37° | 4.9 | 1.4 | 9:45 | 747,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| Year | 67° | 44° | 50° | 58.2 | 7.7 | 12,339,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 83°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 27°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 12,339,000 (2023–2025 average)
- States Tennessee and North Carolina
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Mt Leconte, TN, sits at 6,493 ft, against 1,454 ft for Gatlinburg 2 SW, TN. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Great Smoky Mountains National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- Andrew Johnson National Historic SiteBest: Mar, Oct and Nov · Tennessee
- Manhattan Project National Historical ParkBest: May, Oct and Nov · Tennessee, New Mexico and Washington
- Carl Sandburg Home National Historic SiteBest: Mar, Oct and Nov · North Carolina
- Cumberland Gap National Historical ParkBest: May, Sep and Nov · Kentucky and Virginia