In April of every year the Smoky Mountains are showered with dogwood blooms like a late spring snowstorm. Everywhere you go … up in the Greenbrier, along the Little River or the lower elevations of the Newfound Gap Road … in Elkmont and Tremont … the dogwoods sprinkle their blooms like white notes on the…
This past week I took advantage of a lovely spring morning to walk to Bud Ogle Nature Trail before my day in the Gallery began. The Bud Ogle Farm is a popular tourist stop at the start of the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, one of the best Smoky Mountains drives. Most people explore Bud’s cabin…
Two random Smoky Mtn waterfalls today, one that you hike to, and the other is just a roadside pull-off. The photo above is Fern Branch Falls. This is about two miles up Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies. Fern Branch empties into Porters Creek below this falls. The hike up Porters…
The Walker Sisters Place is one of many Smoky Mountain homesteads. The five spinster sisters clung to the old self-reliant way of life and became legends in the Smokies. Their lifetime lease on the property ran out in 1964 when the last sister died. Their parents, John and Margaret, had moved to the homestead in…
Spruce Flat Falls is one of the hidden gems of the Smoky Mountains. The hike is about a mile each way, not too rugged but with a bit of a climb. The trail passes through a thicket of Mountain Laurel, which will be in bloom the first week or two in May. It’s also a…
Driving along Little River Road in the Smoky Mountains last week, the water was high from several days of rain, and there were kayakers putting their boats in the water all along the stretch of road between Townsend and Elkmont. Passing the Sinks parking area, I was surprised to see kayakers unloading there. The currents…
In the late 1920s Gatlinburg entrepreneur Jack Huff built a 20 by 24 foot cabin out of balsam logs that was the forerunner of today’s LeConte Lodge. The roof was tarpaper, with a floor of native clay. For more than 35 years Jack and his wife Pauline operated Mt. LeConte Lodge. Jack was the son…
Mt. LeConte is the third-highest Smoky Mountains peak, but to me it represents the skyline of the Smokies. As you approach from the north, Mt. Leconte is a Smoky Mountains landmark seen from 50 miles away, or further on a clear day. As you travel around the Gatlinburg area, there is LeConte, above you in the sky,…
Can a person ever get too much Cades Cove or Smoky Mountains? No need to answer … I find myself drawn back these days over and over to see what’s happening. Mostly it’s been all about pictures of deer this winter … the bucks and the does. Today it’s just the boundless serenity of the…
This time of year in our Smoky Mountains we are all itching to say good-bye to winter and welcome springtime and the wildflower season. These are my candidates for the best early spring wildflowers that may be found in March after some warm days and a bit of rainfall. Follow the links below for more…
Last week we experienced a popular Smoky Mountains view at the Oconaluftee Overlook. This time we’re enjoying the view from Morton’s Overlook. The photograph above is looking west, down the valley towards Gatlinburg. You can see the twin bumps of the Chimney Tops in the upper left portion of the photo. This view spot is a…
One of my favorite places in the Smoky Mountains opens today after the annual winter closure. The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a goldmine for pictures. Pioneer homesteads, amazing moss-covered boulders, waterfalls, and trails. On a typical year, I will go around the Roaring Fork a dozen or fifteen times, watching the seasons change along…
A few weeks ago I was roaming around Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains and found lots of deer. More than a hundred deer. But they were all bucks. A few days ago I was back in Cades Cove and again found plenty of deer, but this time they were all female! The doe above was…
A classic Smoky Mountains morning. The signature blue haze, the tops of the ridges warming with orange as the sun approaches the horizon. How many of the receding ridges can you count? Twelve or thirteen at least. Dawn comes very slowly here. You can leave Gatlinburg in the dark and drive the 15 miles or so…
The photo above was taken this week in the Cades Cove area of the Smoky Mountains. The calendar says it’s still winter, but these daffodils say it’s time for spring! That’s Hyatt Lane branching off the loop road in the upper part of the photo. The large clump of daffodils is huddled around three large…
The Smoky Mountains area had a heavy rain earlier this week, so I was out poking around the next morning to see how full the creeks were. The photo above was taken just inside the Greenbrier entrance to the Park, at the place where families and children love to wade on hot summer days. Not…
In the days before barbed wire, the traditional fencing material in the Smoky Mountains was rails split from a rot-resistant hardwood such as chestnut or yellow locust. The fence above at John Olivers place in Cades Cove is known as a snake, worm, or zig-zag. Sometimes the rails were just stacked up in zig-zag fashion,…
The Smoky Mountains are starting to look Spring-like on this last day of February, and our heavy winter snows may be over for the season. I really enjoyed them … the big Christmas Eve storm that gave us a White Christmas for the first time since we have lived in Gatlinburg. Then some more good…
Here is the final winter wallpaper/screensaver of the season. Out in the Greenbrier crossing one of the bridges on the way to the Ramsey’s Cascade trail. Our next wallpaper will definitely be warmer and more springlike! This image, and all other wallpapers, can be downloaded from http://williambritten.com/wallpaper/ Just click on the file name “greenbrier-snow-screensaver.jpg” and…
It’s a quiet and peaceful day in Cades Cove. Winter is really special here. Plenty of time to cruise the loop road at your own pace, stopping whenever the mood strikes. In winter the deer come out by the dozens — probably over 100 of them in the central meadow on a sunny day like…
In 1839 a group split from the Primitive Baptist Church to form their own congregation. The structure pictured above was built in 1915. I visited the church on a bright winter day in February when there were almost no cars on the Cades Cove loop road. As with many of the historic building in the…
Last week I headed over to Cades Cove with these deer in mind. In winter they tend to congregate in large groups in the central meadow of the Cove. I parked along the loop road and walked down into the field among the herd of young bucks. Don’t ask me where the doe or the…
100 years ago in the early 20th century, the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was a bustling center of tourism for the wealthy. The Appalachian Club, Wonderland Hotel, Daisy Town, Society Hill and Millionaires Row comprised the new Smoky Mountains resort. The Little River Railroad scheduled daily excursions from Knoxville to…
This is a short, sweet hike with a special and nearly secret destination. Jakes Creek Trailhead is the starting point, which is found by turning left just before entering the Elkmont campground. Go on past the first parking area for the Little River Trail, to the new parking area near the old Elkmont cabins. Walk…
A free winter wallpaper/screensaver in appreciation for all my blog and facebook fans. This is Bull Head on the right and Balsam Point on Mt. LeConte on the left, in January 2011, taken from the observation deck of the Space Needle in downtown Gatlinburg. This image, and all other wallpapers, can be downloaded from http://williambritten.com/wallpaper/…
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!
