Smoky Mountains: Cades Cove Safari
Cades Cove is most definitely one of the most beautiful and popular destinations in the entire Smoky Mountains National Park. The name “Cades Cove” can be a bit deceptive, however. If you bring some beer and a swimsuit, anticipating joyous revelry with your friends in a party cove in the mountains, you will almost certainly find yourself a wee bit disappointed.
Cades cove is not a water feature. There is no strong historical documentation of how this valley got its name, but the best hypothesis is that the name started with Chief Kade of the Cherokee Indians, and evolved from there. The valley originally served as a Cherokee hunting ground through the 1700s and evolved into a pioneering settlement in the early 1800s. In the late 1920’s, the United States government opted to create a National Park and began snatching up the land from the settlers, first seemingly amicably, then via eminent domain. In the Christmas of 1937, the last resident of Cades Cove, William Oliver, a descendent of the original permanent settler, John Oliver, packed up and moved on out.
So what is Cades Cove now? An eleven-mile, one-way scenic driving loop was established over the old two-way farm road in the valley, offering amazing views, diverse wildlife, and cool old structures that serve as a reminder of the small farming community that once inhabited this region. All of this beauty and history, nestled in a 4,000 acre valley surrounded by towering green mountains. Pretty cool? Nope! Very cool.
We made a couple of trips out to Cades Cove during our visit, and saw bears, elk, deer, turkeys, and a number of other creatures that make this paradise their home. Here are some of our encounters along the way! Let’s start with some of the creatures…
An elegant map, identifying the location of Cades Cove and Rich Mountain Road.
Cades Cove Map… Looted from cadescove.net in Cades Cove looting fashion.
Creatures of Cades Cove
Here are some shots of the big creatures that we saw in the loop. We saw elk too, but we didn’t get a noteworthy shot of one of those guys! Here are some of the other fun encounters that we had!
These horses seem to be living the good life out here! We didn’t get a chance to ride horses on our trip, but it is an option!
Gah! That’s a face only a turkey momma could love.
Typical white-tailed deer trespassing. Now you know how they are getting into your garden and eating all of your flowers.
This doe appears to have a smile on her face… and why wouldn’t she!? No hunters in Cades Cove! But what about… b…b…bears!?
Yep. Bears are here too! This momma was taking good care of her cub. More on these guys in the bear blog post from the Smokies!
Insects of Cades Cove!?
Okay. If you know your Scotty, you should already know that just about any interesting insect or arachnid that is encountered in our journeys is typically victimized by a photo shoot. In this particular loop around Cades Cove, we encountered what I can only guess was the aftermath of a sugary drink dump by a visitor in the park. Whatever was left behind in this particular location resulted in a swarm of spicebush swallowtails, tiger swallowtails, bees, and other miscellaneous insects looking for a snack. Are these insects unique to Cades Cove? No. No they are not. Nonetheless, you have to scroll over them to get on to the cool pictures of the loop. Muahahaha!
Spicebush swallowtail! These are beautiful butterflies and quite hilarious-looking when in their caterpillar stage.
Spicebush swallowtail stalker. And you thought it was exclusively creeper ex-boyfriends that did this! Nope.
Caught this Tiger Swallowtail in mid flight! Lucky!
Awww. This honey bee and carpenter bee look like they may have gotten into an argument. I sure hope they work it out.
The Valley
Now that you have endured the insect assault, let’s move on to the valley. It is no wonder that old Bill Oliver didn’t want to give up this slice of paradise more than half a century ago. This is undoubtably one of the most beautiful valleys on the planet.
The John P. Cable Mill in Cades Cove, near the Visitor Center. Another old grist mill with a neat history and a lot of character. Basically, you are looking at a versatile, localized power plant from the past. So cool.
Rich Mountain Road - The Old Pass
On our last visit to Cades Cove, we exited the loop on an old one-way gravel road, named “Rich Mountain Road”. This was apparently an Indian trail across the mountain and used as the primary road into Cades Cove by early settlers. The windy old gravel road is a lot of fun in a Jeep, and provides a very intimate experience with the mountains surrounding the valley.
Traci, happy that Scotty did not take the Jeep off of the beaten path on a rugged trail to nowhere. I knew we should have invested in that lift kit!
Near the top of the pass, a view of Cades Cove opens up, granting an elevated view of the valley and the Primitive Baptist Church in the distance.
After we travelled through the pass on Rich Mountain Road, we found some farmland just on the other side of the mountains! It may not be Cades Cove, but it’s still a beautiful place to work a farm!
Conclusion
Well, there you have it! Cades Cove is a wonderful, magical valley that was looted from the Cherokee people by the United States government and given to the settlers, then looted from the settlers by the United States government and given to the people of the United States. We would highly advise getting out to the Smokies to see Cades Cove before the government loots it from us and sells it to Jeff Bezos. Seriously though, this is a must-see spot if you can make the trip. We left full of memories of critters, amazing views, and a neat perspective on the history of this monster of a valley. The momma bear coddling her cub was a highlight, as well as watching the fog pass through and rise out of the valley in the morning… and finding a swarm of insects. Hard to beat that.
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