Begin your exploration of the park at a visitor center. Here you can pick up a park map or newspaper, have your questions answered by a ranger, and purchase books and guides to the park.

Three Visitor Centers are located within the national park at Cades Cove, Oconaluftee, and Sugarlands. In addition, four Visitor Centers are located outside the park in the communities of Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and Townsend. All Visitor Centers are open daily year-round, except Christmas Day.

Two historic grist mills are open seasonally in the park. Both provide demonstrations of corn meal milling.

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Cades Cove Visitor Center
Open every day except Christmas Day.

January	9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
February	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
March	9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
April - August	9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
September - October	9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
December	9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Location
Inside the park near the mid-point of the 11-mile, one-way Cades Cove Loop Road.

Special Programs
Ranger-led programs are conducted seasonally. Check at the visitor center for times.

Exhibits
Indoor and outdoor exhibits of Southern Mountain life and culture. Includes Cable Mill, a grist mill which operates spring through fall, the Becky Cable house, and other historic structures.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Public restrooms.
  

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Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Open every day except Christmas Day

January - April	8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
May	8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
June - August	8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
September - October	8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November - December	8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Location
Inside the park, 2 miles north of Cherokee, NC, on US-441.

Special Programs
Ranger-led programs conducted seasonally. Check at the visitor center for location and times.

Exhibits
The adjacent Mountain Farm Museum contains a fascinating collection of log structures including a farmhouse, barn, smokehouse, applehouse, corn cribs and others. Demonstrations of farm life are conducted seasonally.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Public restrooms and telephones. Soda and water machines. Backcountry permit station.
 

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Gatlinburg Welcome Center - Downtown
Open every day except Christmas Day.
10:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m.

Location
At traffic light #3 on the parkway in downtown Gatlinburg.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. City of Gatlinburg information. Public restrooms and telephones.

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Gatlinburg Welcome Center - On the Spur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg
Open every day except Christmas Day

April - October	8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
November - March	8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Location
Located 2 miles outside of Gatlinburg on US-441 South

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. City of Gatlinburg information. Public restrooms and telephones.

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Sevierville Visitor Center
Open every day except Christmas Day.
9:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m.

Location
Highway US-66 in Sevierville

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Sevier County, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville information. Public restrooms and telephones.

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Townsend Visitor Center
Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

January - May	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
June - October	9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November- December	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Location
Townsend, Tennessee, on US-321.

Available Facilities
Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore and shop. Townsend and local area information. Public restrooms and telephones.

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Historic Grist Mills

Cable Mill in Cades Cove
Open From March 15 through the Sunday following Thanksgiving 9:00-5:00

Location
Inside the park near the mid-point of the 11-mile, one-way Cades Cove Loop Road.

Exhibits
Water-powered grist mill.

Mingus Mill near Oconaluftee
Open From March 15 through the Sunday following Thanksgiving 9:00-5:00

Location
Inside the park, 2 miles north of Cherokee, NC, on US 441.

Exhibits
Turbine-powered grist mill.
 

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Visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official online store for books, maps, and guides to the park. Operated by the nonprofit Great Smoky Mountains Association, proceeds generated by purchases at the store are donated to educational, scientific, and historical projects in the park.