About Kuwohi Parking Area (Forney Ridge)
The lot at the end of Kuwohi Road is where you leave the car and start a short, steep walk to the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Kuwohi, the Cherokee name for the mountain formerly called Clingmans Dome, stands at 6,643 feet and is the highest point in Tennessee and on the Appalachian Trail.
From the lot to the tower
A half-mile paved ramp climbs about 330 feet from the parking area to the observation tower. The grade is steady and steep, and at this elevation the air has less oxygen, so plan on 20 to 30 minutes each way and use the benches. The tower has a spiral ramp to the top, where you get a 360-degree view that reaches into several states on a clear day. Fog is common, because the spruce-fir forest up here spends much of the year in cloud, so look at the sky from Newfound Gap before you commit to the drive.
The Forney Ridge Trail also leaves this lot, running south to Andrews Bald, a grassy meadow about 1.8 miles away, which is the best alternative if the tower is clouded in.
Getting here
Kuwohi Road leaves Newfound Gap Road close to the gap and runs about seven miles along the crest to the lot. The 2026 season runs April 1 to November 29, and the road closes sooner for snow, ice and fog. Don't count on it staying open after the first hard freeze.
- Facilities: restrooms and the Kuwohi Visitor Center are at the lot.
- Parking: a parking tag is required: $5 a day, $15 a week, $40 a year. There is no reservation or timed entry system.
- Crowds: very heavy on sunny October weekends; arrive before 9 a.m.
- Dress: temperatures can be 15 to 20 degrees colder than Gatlinburg, and wind at the tower is strong.
Check the park's seasonal road page for closures before the drive. A trip from Gatlinburg takes about an hour.
Good to know
- Do I need a parking tag?
- A Park It Forward parking tag ($5 a day, $15 a week or $40 a year) is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Entry is free, and federal passes such as America the Beautiful do not replace the tag.