Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains (6,643 ft) and the third-highest peak east of the Mississippi — accessed via a paved one-mile interpretive trail that climbs 332 feet from the upper Clingmans Dome Road parking lot to a 1959-built concrete observation tower with 360-degree views across the Tennessee Valley and the Blue Ridge. Clingmans Dome Road is closed December 1 through March 31 each year (no plowing) which means the trail is hike-in via the Forney Ridge Trail from Newfound Gap during winter — a 7-mile snowshoe round-trip rather than a 1-mile walk. RVs over 25 ft are flat-out prohibited on the upper Clingmans Dome Road, period; the rig stages at Smokemont Campground (35-ft cap, dry only, NC side) or Cades Cove (40-ft cap, dry only, TN side). Great Smoky's $5 parking tag requirement (launched March 2023) applies to every vehicle parked over 15 minutes — the tower lot is no exception.