Article Summary: Great Smoky Mountains National Park Parking Tags
Although there is no fee to enter Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a parking tag program began in 2023. This allows commuters and travelers to drive the scenic highway from Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Cherokee, North Carolina free of charge.
However, if you’d like to park for 15 minutes or more, you’ll need a valid parking tag.
In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park parking tag. The article includes where to purchase your pass, who needs them, when they’re required, and more.
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Table of Contents
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Overview
Location: Tennessee and North Carolina
Gateway Towns: Gatlinburg, TN and Cherokee, NC
Best Airport: The closest major airports are in Knoxville and Asheville. Knoxville is about 45 miles from the park while Asheville is about 60 miles away.
Best Time to Visit: Spring for wildflowers, summer for warm weather, fall for colorful foliage, winter for moderate temperatures; the park is located in a temperate rainforest, so expect rain year-round with thunderstorms in the summer months
How to Get Around: You’ll need a vehicle to explore the park unless you reserve a seat on a shuttle from a nearby community.
Pets: While technically allowed in the park, pets are only allowed on two trails. Learn more about visiting the Smokies with pets.
Fee: There is no entrance fee. There are fees for other activities, such as camping or parking tags.
Reservations: Reservations are not required to enter the park.
Where to Stay: Gatlinburg is the closest community on the Tennessee side and has various lodging options. The primitive LeConte Lodge, accessible only by hiking, is the only lodge in the park. There are also several campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Why Doesn’t Great Smoky Mountains National Park Charge an Entrance Fee?
In 1951, the state of Tennessee passed Highways 441 and 71/73 to the control of the National Park Service. The deed included a stipulation that no tolls could be collected on either road. At the time, these were the main highways used to travel between Tennessee and North Carolina.
Since tolls cannot be collected on these roads, there is no entrance fee for any part of the park.
There are fees for other park activities, such as camping and, of course, parking.
How Much Does a Parking Tag Cost?
There are three different options for purchasing a tag: daily tags, weekly tags, or annual tags. Daily tags cost $5, weekly tags are $15, and annual tags are $40.
Who Needs a Parking Tag? Who Doesn’t?
Anyone who plans to park for 15 minutes or longer is required to display a parking tag. This includes visitors with reservations for picnic pavilions and frontcountry or backcountry camping.
There are a few exceptions. Visitors who meet the following criteria are not required to purchase a parking tag:
- Vehicles displaying a valid disabled parking placard or license plate
- Vehicles in the park on fee-free days
- Family members and descendants visiting grave sites and cemeteries
- Visitors participating in First Amendment activities
- School groups (application required)
- Permitted researchers (application required)
- Tribal citizens who come to the park for traditional activities
How to Purchase a Parking Tag
There are a few different ways to acquire your parking tag.
First, you can purchase a tag online before you arrive at the park.
You must know your license plate number beforehand in order to do this. The parking tag and license plate number must match or you risk getting a citation. If you’re renting a vehicle for your visit, wait until you know the plate number to purchase your pass.
Since there’s an unlimited amount, you don’t need to worry about securing them in advance.
You can purchase annual parking tags online here. These are purchased and then shipped to you. Daily and weekly passes are on Recreation.gov. You’re required to print these at home.
If you’d rather purchase your tag upon arrival, you can use one of the many kiosks in the park. Kiosks are located in the following locations:
- Sugarlands Visitor Center
- Greenbrier Ranger Station
- Cosby Picnic Area
- Big Creek
- Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area
- Townsend Wye
- Cades Cove Orientation Shelter
- Look Rock Campground
- Newfound Gap Overlook
- Clingmans Dome parking area
- Oconaluftee Visitor Center
- Deep Creek Campground Kiosk
- Cataloochee Valley Overlook
There are also several in-store locations where you can purchase your tag:
- Gatlinburg Welcome Center – 1011 Banner Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
- Sugarlands Visitor Center – 1420 Fighting Creek Gap Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
- Greenbrier Grocery – 2406 E. Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
- The Great Smokies Welcome Center – 7929 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, TN 37882
- Cades Cove Visitor Center – 686 Cades Cove Loop Road, Townsend, TN 37882
- Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont Store – 9275 Tremont Road, Townsend, TN 37882
- Clingmans Dome Visitor Center – 7078 Clingmans Dome Road, Cherokee, NC 28719
- Oconaluftee Visitor Center – 1194 Newfound Gap Highway, Cherokee, NC 28719
- Swain County Visitor Center – 2 Everett Street, Bryson City, NC 28713
- Visit NC Smokies Visitor Center – 91 North Lakeshore Drive, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745
Does a Parking Tag Guarantee a Parking Spot?
Unfortunately, the parking program is unlimited. Therefore, parking spaces are not guaranteed. It’s still recommended to arrive early if you plan to visit one of the more popular attractions listed below.
- Alum Cave Trailhead – 69 total parking spaces
- Chimney Tops Trailhead – 34 total parking spaces
- Rainbow Falls Trailhead – 48 total parking spaces
- Grotto Falls Trailhead – 17 total parking spaces
- Laurel Falls Trailhead – 39 total parking spaces
- Newfound Gap Overlook – 141 total parking spaces
- Clingmans Dome – 167 total parking spaces
Parking Program Rules and Regulations
- Parking tags are non-transferable
- You are required to display a physical copy of your parking tag
- The license plate on your parking tag must match the number on the vehicle it’s associated with
- Passes are to be displayed on the lower passenger side window or dashboard (on motorcycles, use any highly visible surface)
- Failure to comply may result in issued citations
- Tags expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on the date printed on your tag
- American the Beautiful passes cannot be substituted for parking tags
What’s the Purpose of the Parking Program?
While the park does aim to relieve congestion in other ways, that’s not the purpose of this program. The parking tags are a source of revenue for the park that is used to improve visitor services. Examples include trash management, trail maintenance, increased staffing, and custodial services.
All of the revenue generated from the parking tags stays in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Pin Our Guide to Parking at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
