The Great Smoky Mountains National Park encompases an area of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. It came into being in 1934, but was not officially dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt until 1940. Today, it is the most visited park in the US National Park System and covers eight hundred fourteen square miles. There are two main entrances to the park located along U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). One is at Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the other is at Cherokee, North Carolina.

Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied by the Cherokee. In the late 1700s, white settlers began to arrive. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced Native Americans to be sent to reservations, the infamous Trail of Tears resulted. A renegade warrior named Tsali led a group of Cherokees into hiding in what is today the park, thereby avoiding the Trail of Tears. Today, some of the decendants of these Cherokees live in the Qualla Reservation, located south of the park.

As more and more white settlers arrived, logging became the biggest industry in the region. In its development, during the late 1800s a rail line was built, the Little River Railroad, for the purpose of hauling timber. The timber industry was employing a method known as clear cutting, destroying much of the natural beauty of the area. Residents of the area along with visitors began an effort to raise money for the preservation of the land.

Congress had authorized a park in 1926, but the government didn't own enough land in the area to start developing one. John D. Rockefeller heard of the dilema and contributed five million dollars to assist with the purchase of land and development of the park. The US government contributed two million dollars. Residents of Tennessee and North Carolina raised funds to buy small, privately-owned tracts of land to donate to the park.

On June 15, 1934 the park was officially established, after all the pieces of land were assembled. Trails, firetowers and other infrastructure were projects of the Civilian Conservation Corp (the CCC) and the Workers Project of America (the WPA).