Cades Cove is a “limestone window” valley tucked against the eastern edge of Tennessee. The Thunderhead Ridgeline on the south and the Rich Ridgeline to the north form a jagged crown around the lush green valley floor. A narrow 11-mile road rings the valley, connecting 18th century homesites, graveyards, and churches like rusty jewels. All of it blurred into a watercolor haze by the omnipresent smoke of a million trees, exhaling a thick blue fog. It hangs like incense in a cathedral, lifting the prayers of the faithful up to heaven.
And every Wednesday in the summer, that cathedral opens its doors. The NPS closes the loop road to cars, and for the day it becomes a playground for hikers, runners, and bikers. Trevor and I had to see it for ourselves. We were not disappointed.
