For the best experience using the tour app, please go see my earlierJUly 2024 review from a different trip (Tripadvisor won’t let me copy-paste text from that review into a new one)
The audio tours offered here are outstanding in both quality of voice talent, production, and content. It is thanks to one of these tours that my family and I already knew the Cherokee name for Clingman’s Dome (and its native history) even before the Eastern Band just won their petition to have the mountain revert to its native name “kuwohi” [and through the tour we even knew how to pronounce it!].
These educational, informative, and entertaining tours--which trigger sections of dialogue or music using GPS points along your trave--help you absolutely make the most out of drives in the park. I daresay driving’s how most visitors experience the Smokies, and it’s just a delight to have (well, we’ve nicknamed the tour guide “HAL”) a knowledgeable (and human—NOT A.I.) voice along to tell you the names of the beauty spots you’re looking at, or the history of what surrounds you. If a trip to see the Smokies is a 9.5, adding the audio tour makes it a strong 14 on a 10-point scale.
*Be sure to keep to the speed suggested on the app so you don’t speed through audio sections. (The suggested speed is, for the most part, in line with posted speed limits—which not all Park visitors adhere to)
Recently accessed the “Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail” Tour section. Was taking my mother’s elderly friend with us, who has lived a very active life and hiked the National Park hundreds of times, and with her husband was also an avid caver. Those days are behind her, now. But how fascinated she was by the audio tour! When we finished the Trail, the first thing she said was that even after all of her years “on the ground” exploring the Smokies (as well as having been raised nearby), she learned so many things from the tour she had never heard of or known before.
Now that’s $16 well-spent.
Відповідь від хоста
Sep 2024
I’m so glad to hear that my Great Smoky Mountains National Park Self-Guided Driving Tour added so much to your trip, especially with the rich history and local insights. It’s fantastic that even after years of exploring, your mother’s friend was able to learn something new! I appreciate your thoughtful feedback and am thrilled that the tour made your visit even more special. Thank you for sharing your experience. If you're considering more national park adventures, consider exploring the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or any other 25+ parks in my self-guided tour bundle. Explore at your own pace, and find new wonders each step of the way!