Sunset atop Mount LeConte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, Tennessee.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
GATLINBURG, Tennessee – There are no showers at this overnight lodge. No sinks. No electricity.
What you get for $162 a night: a comfortable bed, two hearty meals and a couple of very sore feet.
But wow, oh wow, what a view.
The only overnight lodge within Great Smoky Mountains National Park sits high atop Mount LeConte, elevation 6,593 feet, the third highest peak in the park.
There’s only one way to get here -- and it’s not via scenic drive.
Every year, as many as 15,000 hearty souls lace up their boots to hike to the top of the mountain for a room at the inn. Earlier this month, I was one of them.
Honestly, to call it a lodge is a bit generous. It’s a notch above camping, with spare, one-room cabins to rent; a communal building for meals; and a water pump available for teeth brushing. The packing list for overnight guests includes a washcloth, towel and flashlight.
But what it lacks in amenities it more than makes up for in natural beauty and rustic charm.
These buildings were constructed in 1925, nearly a decade before the creation of the national park in 1934. Indeed, the lodge was built in part to convince government and other officials to create the park, a tactic that apparently worked.
For nearly 100 years, visitors have hiked to the top of the mountain for tremendous views and a well-earned rest.
It’s an experience they’ll likely never forget. I know I won’t.
Individual cabins at LeConte Lodge, at the top of Mount LeConte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
The Alum Cave Trail, all uphill, en route to LeConte Lodge.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
The Alum Cave Trail starts out relatively easy, winding along the scenic Alum Cave Creek.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
At Alum Cave, a popular resting and turnaround spot along the Alum Cave Trail within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Five separate trails inside the national park wind their way up Mount LeConte, ranging in length from 5 miles to 8.1 miles. I chose the shortest route and the most popular, 5-mile-long Alum Cave Trail, an all-uphill path that is listed as moderately strenuous.
I’m a longtime hiker, but most of my trekking has occurred in Ohio, where elevation changes are few and far between. I was right to be nervous about this hike, which ascends a total of 2,600 feet. It took me nearly five hours to get to the top, which included a ridiculous number of stops to catch my breath.
The trail starts out easily enough, winding through dense forest along scenic Alum Cave Creek. At about the halfway point is Alum Cave, a massive recess cave, a frequent turnaround spot for day hikers. From here, the trail gets considerably more difficult, steeper and along narrow rockface. Metal cables installed in the rock along parts of the path offered welcome assistance against slipping.
The payoff along this portion: tremendous views of the surrounding mountains – if you can see them. The sky was mostly overcast on the day of our trek – they don’t call these mountains the smokies for nothing – but there was enough break in the clouds that we were treated to some terrific views along the way.
There are plenty of hikers who do the entire Alum Cave trail, up and back, in a day, including numerous folks we encountered as we trudged up.
But as I kept telling myself: This isn’t a race.
Dara Stockstill, the site manager for LeConte Lodge, says it takes her about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to the lodge from the parking lot. (Yes, the lodge’s six employees have to hike in and out too; they live atop the mountain most of the season, with a week off every month or so.) But she’s an East Tennessee native, less than half my age and no doubt doesn’t stop to take pictures every 50 feet.
Though I wasn’t in a hurry, there was no turning back. These rooms book up a year in advance (though I got mine on a late cancellation). And there are no last-minute refunds.
I carried a small backpack, with a 2-liter water bladder inside, along with a change of clothes and rain poncho. In addition to the required towel and flashlight, I packed a bottle of Advil and a couple of hiking poles to aid my aging knees.
Bed linens and pillows are provided, along with a metal bucket to collect warm water from a spigot attached to the dining building. A small outbuilding includes four flush toilets, but no sinks. Accommodations also include a porch and rocking chairs, a kerosene lantern and propane heater, which we only turned on in an unsuccessful attempt to dry out our moist clothes.
Getting close to the top of Mount LeConte in a pine forest along the Alum Cave Trail.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Our modest accommodations, inside a nearly century-old cabin at LeConte Lodge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Hiking on rock on the Alum Cave Trail; note the metal cable at the right.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
This mountaintop can get cold, however, with a temperature difference of 15 to 20 degrees between top and bottom. I hiked with a sweatshirt tied around my waist and used it after the sun went down.
Dinner is offered at 6 p.m. sharp, served family style around communal tables in the main lodge building. My husband and I were seated with a couple from nearby Asheville, North Carolina, and a pair of friends from outside Atlanta. At the table adjacent to ours was fellow Clevelander Jay Valerian, who was making his second trip to the lodge.
He explained the destination’s allure: “It’s so beautiful and easy,” he said. “You don’t have to pack your food or a tent. There’s no TV, no cell phones, no technology. It’s much easier to focus. It’s a recharge.”
(Actually, I did have cell service for a brief period at the top of the mountain – the only place in the park my phone worked; I used it to check work email and the Guardians score.)
On the menu the night of our visit: potato soup, roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, stewed apples, a canned peach half, cornbread and chocolate chip cookie bars. For an extra $13, we could add a bottomless glass of wine.
Breakfast, at 8 a.m. the next morning, was equally hearty: pancakes, biscuits, eggs, Canadian bacon, grits, coffee, hot chocolate and Tang.
If you’re looking for fresh fruits and vegetables, this isn’t your place.
Much of the food supply is delivered via helicopter at the beginning of every season, which runs mid-March through mid-November. A group of nine llamas make the trek up the mountain three times per week to replenish supplies and bring up clean laundry. (Several hikers in our group chose to ascend via the less steep 6.7-mile Trillium Gap Trail in an effort to see the animals; the llamas make the climb on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, weather permitting.)
Our after-dinner entertainment consisted of a walk to the nearby Cliff Tops area, another quarter-mile up, for sunset.
The clouds were thick when we arrived at the overlook, but were moving quickly. They parted just enough to put on a colorful show – pastel yellows and oranges set against a smoky-blue background. Gorgeous.
Early the next morning, my husband and I emerged from our cabin in the dark in pursuit of what we hoped would be a beautiful sunrise at nearby Myrtle Point. It was misting out, however, and then we got confused on the trail – even with our flashlights, it was hard to see – so we turned around and went back to bed for an hour.
After breakfast, it was time to head down the trail.
My feet and legs were still a bit shaky from the previous day’s workout, but I figured the hike down had to be easier and faster. My aging knees, however, set the pace. And it didn’t help that my husband and I somehow took a wrong turn and ended up on the Rainbow Falls Trail for about 20 minutes before we realized our mistake and turned around. (I’m certain, at that moment, that any nearby bears would have been much more frightened of me than I would have been of them.)
Finally, nearly four hours in, we reached the homestretch, along the Alum Cave Creek. And then it started to rain.
I pulled the poncho from my pack and trudged on, never so happy to reach the end of a trail.
A few days later, when my feet had finally recovered, I found myself researching the reservation process for next year. And I’m seriously thinking about it.
View from the top of Mount LeConte, the third highest peak within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
LeConte Lodge, at the top of Mount LeConte, within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
If you go: LeConte Lodge, inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park
What: The only overnight inn within Great Smoky Mountains National Park consists of seven individual one-room cabins and nine additional rooms in two- and three-bedroom cabins.
Where: The lodge is at the top of Mount LeConte, accessible via five hiking trails within the national park in eastern Tennessee, about an eight-hour drive from Cleveland. We spent our first night at a Hampton Inn in Gatlinburg, drove into the park the next morning, and left our car at the Alum Cave trailhead parking lot overnight.
How much: The lodge is priced per person, $162 per night ($88.50 ages 4-12), which includes two meals and nonalcoholic beverages. Each room sleeps at least four, with full-sized bunkbeds; some have an extra twin.
When: The lodge is open mid-March to mid-November.
Reservation system: The lodge will start taking reservations for 2023 at 8 a.m. Oct. 3. Reservations can be made in writing (email, snail mail or online request form) or by phone. Note: Written requests must be received by Sept. 26. For detailed reservation instructions: lecontelodge.com/reservations.
After the rooms are fully booked, the lodge maintains a waiting list. There is a modest $15 fee to cancel a reservation more than 30 days in advance – so there are frequent cancellations. I scored a room about a month in advance of my visit in early September. For cancellation availability, call 865-429-5704 or watch the lodge’s Twitter feed (@LeConteLodge).
Coming next week: Check back at this link to read more about Travel editor Susan Glaser’s recent trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Waiting for sunset atop Mount LeConte. Will the clouds clear?Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
The clouds clear atop Mount LeConte in time for sunset in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).
© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.