Cades Cove Bus Tour: Explore Historic Landmarks

Discover Cades Cove’s rich history and stunning landscapes on a 5-hour bus tour from Pigeon Forge. Uncover Cherokee heritage and natural beauty.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cades Cove - Cade’s Cove is a broad, verdant valley surrounded by mountains and is one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smoky Mountains. It offers some of the best opportunities for wildlife viewing in the park. Large numbers of white-tailed deer are frequently seen, and sightings of black bear, coyote, ground hog, turkey, raccoon,…
What's Included
  • Headsets to hear the guide clearly
  • Driver/guide
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Live commentary on board
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Take a journey into the historic Cade’s Cove. Originally called Cates Cove, it was named after the wife of a Cherokee Chief who adopted a Christian name after converting to Christianity. Chief Abram, who also took on a Christian name, now has a waterfall in Cades Cove named in his honor. Discover this and more during a 5-hour bus tour of the renowned…

Location
220 Apple Valley Rd
Apple Valley Road
Meet the tour vehicle in front of the restrooms which are located in front of the Creamery. It's a large paved parking lot. You should see a winery and Christmas store nearby. Your guide will be waiting inside the tour vehicle. Go meet your guide to check in.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(55 Ratings)
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1 star
Michael
Sep 8, 2025
Great tour excellent guide - The guide was amazing and nice. Scenery was breath taking. Great experience. Must do tour. Driver had other stops as well. Will do again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kitchenwitch
Aug 24, 2025
Wonderful tour! - We had a wonderful morning on this tour. We learned a lot about the history of Cades Cove and saw some wildlife, including wild horses and a mama bear with her cubs. The van was comfortable and the driver, a lovely man whose name I wish I remembered, was sweet and funny. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lawrence_k
Aug 7, 2025
Great way to tour Smokey mountain - Nice drive thru Smokey Mountains. Very relaxing way to tour the area we saw deer turkeys and a bear.
Review provided by Viator
Perry_f
May 17, 2025
Great! - Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. We had a very good time. The bus was comfortable and nice.
Review provided by Viator
Donna_h
Aug 27, 2024
Bears were are you? - Good tour guide with great advice . Enjoy the trip but wish we would have seen a bear. We will be back to try to see a bear
Review provided by Viator
William
May 11, 2023
A worthwhile tour - This tour combined site seeing, history and folklore. I highly recommend taking this tour, particularly if this is the first time to visit the park.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary
Jul 15, 2021
Wonderful, funny, with history of the area included. Highly recommend! Squirrel and Buford were great guides - Buford & Squirrel were great guides. Bufords knowledge of history +great humor (w/his sidekick, Squirrel) made it a fun time! Highly recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_m
Jun 23, 2021
Great tour! - We really enjoyed this tour experience. We had a very knowledgeable driver. Friendly staff. Very fun trip with a relaxed itinerary. Well worth going on.
Review provided by Viator
Kathy_r
Jun 14, 2021
Great trip to Cades cove - I had a great driver and guide. Very knowledgeable about the area and the history of Cades Cove. Willing to either spend time at the right stops if we needed or requested it. I would definitely recommend this to everyone.
Review provided by Viator
Flyer594680
Aug 7, 2025
Do not recommend - Do not recommend. The tour van was not air conditioned, headsets were not provided and was not what we would consider a tour with a guide. We had to pull up our our guide on a phone to get information.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $80
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).