Sparks Lane

Cades Cove Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tennessee

Dogwood flowers in bloom along Sparks Lane in Cades Cove just after sunrise on a frosty spring morning in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park outside of Gatlinburg, TN. Every morning spent in Cades Cove is special, the sense that you never know what you might find around the next bend. Sometimes it's a stunningly beautiful landscape bathed in the early morning light, somemtimes it's a field teaming with wildlife and dew covered wildflowers gleaming in the morning sun, or maybe you'll be lucky enough to encounter one of the many black bears that call the area home.

This particular morning was certainly no exception, and I was thrilled to be greeted by this lovely scene along one of the popular dirt roads in the park. As the sun started peaking over the mountains behind me and burning off the low laying fog in the fields that blanket the valley floor, the fresh spring foliage and dogwood flowers blooming along the road really started to pop in that sweet early morning golden sunlight. If only every day could start this way, with a sense of exploration and wonder that always seems to lead to some sort of discovery in this magnificent place.

Tags: cades cove, great smoky mountains national park, sparks lane, dogwood flowers, landscape photography, tennessee, appalachian mountains, tn