Great Smoky Mountain National Park: The most visited national park in the country

With more than 9 million visitors annually, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States.

"The Cherokee thought it always looked like the mountains were on fire,” Park Ranger Brad told the Asheville Citizen-Times. In fact, the article states, the Cherokee called it “shaconage”— the place of blue smoke.

It’s National Park Week in the U.S., proclaimed by the president to celebrate America’s national parks. We are lucky because of the proximity of the Smokies; it is within a day's drive for a third of the American population.