LeConte Lodge – June 2017
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JUNE, 2017
It is tough to secure a reservation for a night at the LeConte Lodge, at the top of Mount LeConte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And rightly so. It is a unique and magical experience in every respect. But getting to LeConte Lodge is not easy. You have to hike in the backcountry of the Smokies to get there, and the shortest trail to the top is the 5.5-mile Alum Cave Trail which ascends 2750 feet on its route to the LeConte Lodge. The effort is worth it as a cherished stay at the LeConte Lodge is a ‘bucket list’-worthy experience.
Description of the Lodge campus and cabins
LeConte Lodge is a compound of many separate buildings, most of which are small individual cabins that serve as the ‘rooms’ for guests. The interior of each of the seven smaller cabins has space for a twin-size bunk bed and little space for anything else. It’s about three feet from the door to the bed along the entry wall. The beds were warm and comfortable and topped with a Hudson Bay wool blanket. Each cabin has a chair and small table, a hanging rack for wet clothes, and a welcome propane heater. Light comes from an oil lamp. The warm yellow glow from the oil lamp made me feel like I had traveled back in time. There is a small window along one wall, but it is still dark inside. Especially when rainy and gloomy like during our visit.
Each cabin has a covered porch with two rocking chairs. In addition to the one-room cabins, there are also three larger cabins for bigger groups. We were each given a metal wash pan when we checked in to wash our face and body, and there was a hot water spigot on the outside of the Dining Hall building.
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Background – how we ended up at LeConte Lodge
The LeConte Lodge is not a place you decide to visit at the last minute. A stay at the Lodge is a coveted experience in an extremely popular National Park. Reservations are nearly impossible to come by as a result. Our stay was made possible by a late cancellation and the fortunate timing of a phone call to check for possible cancellations. We stayed at the Lodge on the first night of a multi-day Great Smoky Mountains backpacking trip in 2017. It was the highlight of our hike, without a doubt. I tried to get a reservation for a night at the LeConte Lodge during our 2018, 2019, and 2022 Great Smoky Mountain National Park hikes and was shut out each time. It’s a ‘tough ticket,’ as they say. Find a way to experience LeConte Lodge if you can somehow make it happen.
Other buildings at LeConte Lodge
There are three other buildings at the Lodge in addition to the cabins. All three buildings are open for use by guests. The Office Building is where you check-in. It has an ample open space with rocking chairs centered around a propane heater. There are a few tables with chairs, board games, and books to read. The building also has a large deck with rocking chairs. The view from the balcony of the mountains and Pigeon Forge below is spectacular. The other main building is the Dining Hall, where meals are served and Coffee and Hot Chocolate throughout the day. The final building is a reasonably modern ‘privy’ building adjacent to the Office Building. There is no running water, showers, or electricity at LeConte Lodge.
Family-style meals at LeConte Lodge
Breakfast and dinner are included as part of your stay at LeConte Lodge. The meals are certainly one of the highlights of your visit. Meals are served family-style, and each guest is assigned a specific seating location. You are told your assigned seat upon entering the Dining Hall. The food is pretty simple but tasty and satisfying. The night we were there, dinner consisted of pot roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans. A peach half for provided dessert. I’m guessing the green beans and peach were from a can and the mashed potatoes from a dry mix, given the difficulty of getting supplies to the Lodge. Still, after the effort expended on the trail to get to LeConte Lodge, it all tasted very good to me.
There is also ‘bottomless’ red and white wine for an additional fee ($10 in 2017, but $13 now in 2022) for those inclined. The night we were there, one of the servers pulled out a violin and played music for about 20 minutes – it was unexpected and unique. Breakfast the following day was a standard fare of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, pancakes, grits, juice, and coffee.
A llama train is used for re-supply
You can’t help but think about how they managed to get all the supplies needed to run the Lodge and feed the many guests there. Well, I asked. I was told they use a helicopter to drop off the larger quantity of non-perishable supplies at the beginning of the season. To supplement that, and for perishable items, they use a weekly Llama pack train (yep, Llamas!). We were lucky to have the Llama train arrive during our stay. It was cool! The Llamas were docile and very friendly. We were allowed to take as many selfies with the Llamas as desired. The Llama keeper fed all the Llamas leftover biscuits and pancakes from breakfast. While passing out biscuits, she sang soothing melodies to them. They were spoiled, Llamas!
Clouds part for a brief late-night view
The views are some of the best in Great Smoky Mountains National Parks as you hike up to LeConte Lodge on the Alum Cave Trail. And the views from the Lodge itself are every bit as good. That is if you happen to be there when the weather is clear. We hiked in the clouds and rain the entire time during our stay and had no views. We were completely socked in with clouds while at the Lodge. But in one of those miraculous moments, the clouds parted, and the skies cleared just before we were heading off to bed. All the guests walked over to the outside porch of the Office Building to soak up the evening view of the mountains and Pigeon Forge below. The hustle and bustle at Pigeon Forge was quite a contrast to the peaceful setting at the Lodge.
Conclusion – LeConte Lodge
I feel remarkably fortunate to have experienced a stay at the LeConte Lodge, and I will never forget my night there. A stay at LeConte is not a luxurious experience by any measure, and it takes a bit of effort to get there (ok, a LOT of effort!). Still, it is also a wonderfully unique adventure that you can’t get anywhere else on earth. I highly recommend it. Stay a night at the LeConte Lodge if you can pull it off.
