Cades Cove is a wide, lush valley surrounded by mountains. It is one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies. The cove offers some of the best opportunities for wildlife viewing in the park. Huge numbers of white-tailed deer are often seen,as well as sightings of black bear, coyote, ground hog, turkey, raccoon, skunk, and other animals are also possible.

 

    

HISTORY

 

     There is a very rich history in the valley. Cherokee Indians hunted in Cades Cove for hundreds of years but  no evidence of major settlements have been found.  Between 1818 and 1821 the first Europeans settled in the cove. Before their arrival, Cades Cove as part of Cherokee Nation, who called the Cove, Tsiyaha or "place of the river otter." Cherokee Indians never lived in the Cove, but used the land as its summer hunting ground for river otters, elk and bison.  By 1830 the population of the area had grown to 271. It offers the widest variety of historic buildings of any area in the national park. Scattered along the  road are three churches, a working grist mill, barns, log houses, and many other  restored eighteenth and nineteenth century structures. .