Enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains and All Their Beauty no matter where you are, Via Smoky Mountain Webcams!
Get ready for your trip to the Great Smoky Mountains by watching all the gorgeous scenery from one of the many webcams in the area. You can see if any snow has fallen in the park by visiting the park, watch sunrises and sunsets and dream about your next trip. Check out our favorite Smoky Mountain Webcams.
Look Rock
Located on the western end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Look Rock has an elevation of 2, 670 feet and a tower with incredible 360-degree views. From the live WebCam view from Look Rock, see Mount Le Conte, Clingmans Dome and Cades Cove.
If you go in person, it’s an easy ½ mile hike off the Foothills Parkway. There’s also a natural observation ledge at the pull off and is the highest point along the parkway. The National Park Service also maintains a picnic area and a campground here.
The Foothills Parkway skirts portions of the park’s northern side in Tennessee. Foothills Parkway West runs from Walland to Chilhowee, while Foothills Parkway East travels from Cosby to I-40, Exit #443. Originally, the road was intended to run the entire distance from I-40 to Chilhowee. The Foothills Parkway’s open sections provide beautiful views of the park and surrounding country. Completed sections of the Foothills Parkway are open year-round, weather permitting.
IMPROVE
Look Rock Tower holds the park’s IMPROVE monitoring station, in addition to many other air quality monitoring instruments. IMPROVE stands for Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments, and measures both the amount and chemical composition of particulate matter. After knowing these measurements, the park can determine how much pollution particles scatter light, a major determinant of the haze.
The Look Rock station also collects measurements of ozone, sulfur dioxide, sulfate, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, wind speed & direction, temperature, humidity, precipitation, solar radiation, continuous PM 2.5, and black carbon.
For more look-out towers, read our blog post.
The highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Clingman’s Dome , is easy to access via Web cam or in person.
On a clear day, stunning 360-degree views await. Observe the fall color from the high elevation. See the snow. At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome also is the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. Only Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet) and Mt. Craig (6,647), both located in Mt. Mitchell State Park in western North Carolina, rise higher.
Newfound Gap
Located on top of the mountain at the Tennessee and North Carolina line, Newfound Gap Road is also known as US highway 441. This road traverses the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is a classic scenic drive. This 32-mile long highway connects Gatlinburg, TN to Cherokee, NC. But you can see it on the Web cam and plan your drive. Along the way, there are multiple pull off spots for you to hop out, stretch your legs, and take in the stunning scenery. When you reach the state line approximately 15 miles from Gatlinburg, stop and take a walk along the famous Appalachian Trail. Or, continue your drive to Clingman’s Dome or even Cherokee!
Purchase Knob
Purchase Knob (high elevation – 5,000′) is located along the Cataloochee Divide that serves as the border between Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Maggie Valley and Waynesville areas of North Carolina.
Beautiful Maggie Valley NC lies just outside of Asheville NC in Haywood County and the summit of the 5,086-foot Purchase Knob is the outstanding feature that can be seen from this Smoky Mountain Web Cam. The Web Cam showcases the contours and ridgelines of the surrounding Smoky Mountains.
Purchase Knob serves as the site for The Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center based on 535 acres that includes a historic cabin, and two buildings that contain offices, laboratory space, a 50-person classroom, and housing for up to eight visiting scientists.
The buildings and land were donated in 2000 by Kathryn McNeil and Voit Gilmore, who had owned the property since 1964, and had built a summer home upon it. This represents the largest donation of land since GSMNP came into existence. Since then, the park has averaged about 5,000 visiting scientists, students and teachers each year. Everyday, the staff and program participants thank the family for their generous gift.
In 2001, The Purchase became the home of one of five initial Learning Centers created by Congress to support research in the National Parks and to transmit the information generated to the public. At present, there are 17 learning centers nationwide.
Ober Mountain
For a little more excitement in your Web cam viewing, check out Ober Mountain’s cameras! Check out the activities view and the mountain valley view.
Ober Mountain is the place to go when you want some fun outside your mountain cabin.
Ober Mountain Amusement Park and Ski Resort is a “mountaintop of fun, excitement and beauty.” Little and big kids alike AND all the adults can find adventures and entertainment at Ober – outside or warm and cozy inside. Read our nine favorite outside and inside Ober Mountain adventures, plus excellent restaurants!
Start your day at Ober Mountain by boarding the Aerial Tramway in downtown Gatlinburg and avoid the drive up the mountain while taking in, arguably, the best views as you soar above Gatlinburg for more than 2 miles. The cable car has been taking passengers from downtown Gatlinburg to the Ober amusement park and ski area since August 1973. Check out this video for a taste of what you’ll experience!
Outdoor Adventures
Once you reach the top, outdoor adventures at Ober Mountain include Skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing and the children’s play area – Cubbies Snow Zone – where younger children can just, well, play in the snow for $5 or free with a current ski area ticket. Watch it from the Web cam and make plans to go in person.
The slopes are open daily for skiing and snowboarding. Ober Mountain offers ski and clothing rental, along with lessons for young and old. Ober Mountain has 10 trails from beginner to advanced, including a freestyle Terrain Park. There are seven lifts to get you there.
“Magic Carpet”
Snow Tubing
Another great adventure on the mountain is snow tubing. Ride an inner tube and giggle down the 400-foot hill. Ages five and up get 90 minutes on the hill for $25. There are 10 lanes to keep the fun moving.
At the bottom, the snow tubing slope has a “magic carpet” that takes the standing riders to the top, avoiding the exhaustion of schlepping up the hill.
Mountain Coaster
That’s right, a roller coaster in the mountains, even in winter. Only this one at Ober Mountain is one car at a time and you control the speed on your way down in the ADG Mountain Coaster carts. Riders are towed 1,000 feet up through the treetops. On the way down, riders control their own speed for 2,750 of “turns, dips, zig-zags, corkscrews and G-force.” You can cruise through or reach speeds up to 25-mph.
This is definitely an adventure to try or at least watch online!
Read more about Ober Mountain in our blog post.
Check out what’s happening in town!
See if it’s crowded and what’s going on at the Wonderworks Museum. The museum is a place kids will love and parents can actually enjoy. Just down the way from our cabins in Pigeon Forge, TN, this place is 35,000 square feet of fun science. You can learn about space and natural disasters, go laser tagging with your friends and lay on a bed of nails. You can also treat yourself to a 4D motion ride show.
For more adventures, check out the 360-degree camera located at Rowdy Bear Coaster in Gatlinburg.
The first of its kind in the world, the Rowdy Bear Mountain Glider safely soars through the treetops of Rowdy Bear Mountain.
The Gatlinburg Space Needle Web cam overlooks the Gatlinburg Parkway, local ski lift, resorts, and the Great Smoky Mountains.
In person, the Space Needle includes a glass elevator to the observation deck 407 feet above Gatlinburg.The observation deck provides breathtaking panoramic views of Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains – those that you can see on the Web cam.
At the base of the Gatlinburg Space Needle, is a 25,000 square-foot playground boasting the best arcade in Gatlinburg, a Lazer Tag arena, a theater, and The Captured – a Live Escape Game Experience. And when you get hungry, Slice Pizza Bakery serves up the best pizza and sandwiches in Gatlinburg.
For all the downtown Gatlinburg action, check out this Web cam. For more on fun in Gatlinburg, see our blog post.
Skylift Web Cam
Also in Gatlinburg, check out the Skylift Web cam. Skylift Park includes the Skydeck, where visitors can sit outside, buy a beer and do some shopping. The SkyCenter at the SkyDeck on Crockett Mountain overlooks Gatlinburg and offers up “sweeping panoramic views” of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Skylift Park also includes the Sky Bridge , billed as North America’s largest pedestrian suspension bridge at 680 feet from tower to tower.
When making plans to visit in person, know that to get to the Sky Bridge, take the Skylift up to Skylift park. The lift takes visitors up and down the mountain for spectacular 360-degree views.
Read more in our blog about best views!
Ready to book your adventure in the Smoky Mountains?
Give American Patriot Getaways a call at 800-204-5169. Let our experts help you find the right cabin and all the right fun, food and entertainment for a vacation with spectacular mountain views.
Check out our Smoky Mountain Travel Guide for more adventures. We have discount tickets to many attractions in the area. You can also contact us online by searching our cabins in Gatlinburg and in Pigeon Forge. Check out our Pinterest boards for 50% Off Cabins and budget-friendly vacation cabins.
If you need more help planning your Smoky Mountain Vacation, be sure to check out all our vacation guides, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
