Ok, I know it’s a tourist attraction, but it’s really very good. My four grandsons can tour me through this place and identify every single fish. They know every display and all the facts related to those displays. Very impressive, educational. Now I couldn’t begin to tell you much about the picture below, except that…
A spring snow dusted Mt. LeConte on Tuesday night, closing the road to Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s not unusual to see the contrasts of winter and spring in one scene as in the picture above. The summit of Mt. LeConte is around 6500 feet, while the green trees in…
Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) is one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in the Smoky Mountains. All of the photos on this page were found near the top of the Chestnut Top Trail, starting to bloom in mid-March. The blossom tends from white to pale pink. Trailing Arbutus is a low-growing shrub-like evergreen which sheds…
“The year’s at the spring, And day’s at the morn; Morning’s at seven; The hill-side’s dew-pearled; The lark’s on the wing; The snail’s on the thorn; God’s in his Heaven— All’s right with the world!” Robert Browning
I love the way Bishop’s Cap (Mitella diphylla) adds a splash of accent to a wildflower scene, as in the picture below. It’s not usually the main attraction, but more like the seasonings part of a recipe. Bishop’s Cap blooms in April and can be found in profusion along the Cove Hardwoods Trail. The name…
Fire Pink (Silene viginica) is definitely not pink, but very bright red. The word pink refers to its membership in the pink family, with notches in each of the five flower petals. This distinctive wildflower blooms in April and can usually be found along the Chestnut Top Trail near Townsend in the Great Smoky Mountains…
What a special moment this was. I had been wandering along the Lynn Camp Prong in the Tremont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a beautiful fall day, but nothing was drawing my attention. Then I came upon this spot where some downed trees had created a dam that was reflecting…
Fringed Phacelia (Phacelia fimbriata) is the wildflower that covers the hillsides along the Newfound Gap Road like a late dusting of snow in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The blooms form a densely packed groundcover in April. The Fringed variety is one of four Phacelias found in the Smoky Mountains. Perhaps the most unique…
Just a hundred yards north of the Townsend Wye is a parking lot, and across the road is the start of the Chestnut Top Trail. In spring this is one of the premier wildflower hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail cuts into a steep embankment, climbing steadily for the first half-mile…
These delicate beauties were photographed along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) blooms in April in the Smokies. It is a member of the Buttercup family, and is easily identified by the distinctive leaves. The photo below was found along…
For ten months of the year the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail is a short unassuming excursion that is part of the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But come April, this trail is transformed into a fairyland of wildflowers. You could hike the Cove Hardwoods Trail every few days during wildflowers…
There are several issues to consider when photographing wildflowers in the Smoky Mountains. First, many of them are tiny, so to get a real good portrait you will need a macro lens. I find that the 100mm is most useful, although I also use a 180mm. In general, macro lenses are reasonably priced and tend…
I was headed down the Newfound Gap Road towards Gatlinburg yesterday after scoping out the wildflowers on the Cove Hardwoods Trail. Suddenly there’s a commotion with cars stopped, people gawking. Usually this means one thing: bears. So I dutifully pulled over, and sure enough there was a genuine Smoky Mountain black bear fast asleep up…
Squawroot (Conopholis americana) is an odd little Smoky Mountains wildflower that looks mostly like a corncob. You have to get down to the ground and look very closely to see the tiny flowers. There is nothing green here, no leaves, for Squawroot is actually a parasite that feeds off the roots of oak trees. It is…
The picture above is from the Tipton Homeplace in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s a great example of the vernacular architecture known as the cantilever barn. The style of hanging a large upper loft area over two cribs below is unique to the area in and around the Smoky Mountains…
I came across these two male wild turkeys yesterday morning, just wandering along beside the road without a care in the world. Luckily my camera was in the seat beside me, so I rolled down the window and got their picture. Of all the wildlife in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it is wild…
Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is a member of the orchid family that grows to 18 inches tall. It’s a fairly rare Smoky Mtn wildflower to find! The ladies above were spotted stepping out just off Twin Creeks trail near the Bud Ogle Place on the Roaring Fork. The photo at the bottom was taken…
A packtrain of llamas is used to carry bed linens and supplies to Mt. LeConte Lodge. The llamas are easier on the heavily used Great Smoky Mountains National Park trails than horses. In the picture below the llamas are passing behind Grotto Falls. Normally, the packtrain makes the trip from the Grotto Falls Parking area…
Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) is one of the most attractive, and most elusive of the Trilliums. A rare sight, perhaps because it is at the southern edge of it’s range in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Painted Trillium favors cool northern forests. Identification is very easy, with the prominent maroon paint circling the inner…
April is prime wildflower time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so I will be devoting many posts to that springtime topic as the annual Wildflower Pilgrimage approaches later this month. As the name implies, the Wake Robin Trillium (Trillium erectum) is an early bloomer and heralder of spring. Another inhabitant of the moist…
Sweet Betsy Trillium (Trillium cuneatum) is not commonly seen at lower elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With distinctively mottled leaves and an erect bloom like Yellow Trillium, the maroon variation is easy to spot. Unfortunately, I cannot recall where I took this photo! Please stop in and visit me to see the…
Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum) is an attractive and unique Smoky Mtn wildflower. Supposedly the bloom is lemon scented, but I can’t vouch for that. This yellow variety is very similar to the Maroon Trillium, with its erect bloom and mottled leaves. The plant is relatively large and easy to spot, and it often grows in…
Catesby’s Trillium (Trillium catesbaei) is one of my favorite Smoky Mtn wildflowers. The bloom is similar to White Trillium, and it also can be found in white, pink and red. However, the Catesby’s Trillium bloom hangs down below the familiar three leaves of the plant rather than the erect habit of the White Trillium. Also,…
It’s trillium week here at William Britten Photography in Gatlinburg, TN. First up is the common White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). This is the species that you will see carpeting the hillsides along the Newfound Gap Road or along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park….
You might see almost anything on the Parkway in Gatlinburg, a quiet mountain hamlet near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For example, strolling the street after lunch at Bubba Gumps the other day, I happened to encounter a young woman with her pet kangaroo. There you go ….
Dutchmans Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) is a unique early spring wildflower found in the Smoky Mountains. The name of course comes from the blooms, which look like pairs of tiny pantaloons hanging from a clothesline. Look for this stunning wildflower along the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail in the Chimney Tops picnic area on the Newfound Gap…
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
Follow William Britten's Smoky Mountains News and Photos on Facebook!
By pressing 
in the box above, you can follow the celebration of life in the Great Smoky Mountains with stunning photos, daily news posts, photo tips, and special offers to Facebook fans!
Join my Wildflower Community on Facebook!
