Kuwohi

Quick correction — Kuwohi is actually in North Carolina, not Tennessee, though it sits right on the border near Bryson City. We've hiked this trail probably a dozen times over the years, and honestly, it kicks your butt every single time. The "easy" half-mile paved trail climbs 337 feet, which doesn't sound like much until you're gasping for air halfway up those relentless switchbacks.

The payoff is worth it though. On clear days, you can see for 100 miles from that concrete observation tower — it's the highest point in the entire national park at 6,643 feet. But here's the thing nobody warns you about: it's foggy up there probably half the time we visit. We've made the drive and hike only to stand in a cloud with zero visibility.

The road closes completely December through March, which catches a lot of people off guard when they're planning winter trips. Even in summer, bring a jacket — it's easily 20 degrees cooler up there and windy as heck. We learned that lesson the hard way on our first visit wearing shorts and t-shirts in July.

Park early or you'll be walking a mile just to reach the trailhead. Summer weekends are absolutely brutal for crowds, and that tiny parking lot fills up by 9am. The visitor center at the bottom has decent trail maps and some Cherokee history about the name change from Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi back in 2023.

One thing we always tell people — don't underestimate this hike just because it's paved. We've seen plenty of folks turn around halfway up, especially older visitors who weren't expecting the grade to be so steep.