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Great Smoky Mountains National Park at sunrise, as seen from Clingman's Dome, Tennessee. -- Photographer: Adam Jones, Getty Images

If nature's attractions appeal more than most things man-made, you'll understand my looking forward to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Particularly after I spent two days dutifully inspecting a muscle-car museum, a noisy video games arcade and a sprawling shopping centre.

I was staying in Sevierville, in southeastern Tennessee. Not only can you see the mountains from there, you can be in them in a matter of minutes. You and a pile of others. The park is free and gets almost 11 million visitors a year, making it America's most-visited national park.

The park's name comes from the translation of a word the Cherokees used to describe the mountains. It meant blue, like smoke. If the mountains appear smokier today it's probably because of air pollution from outside the park. In less than six decades, average visibility has been been reduced 40 % in winter and 80% in summer.

Still, when we visited in mid-April after two days of rain it looked good.

The dogwood and redbud lining the drive into the park were in bloom. Flashes of colour in forest shade proved to be trilliums, and not just the white so common in southern Ontario but a yellow variety I'd never heard of.

The park boasts 1,500 flowering plants and more tree species than northern Europe. It's designated both an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.

The landscape changes as the elevation increases. "From Georgia to Canada in 5,000 feet (1,525 metres),'' as our guide, Jim Jenkins of Smoky Mountains Tour Connections, put it.

"It takes spring six weeks to climb the mountains,'' Jenkins explained, so by the time we neared the top, the trees were just starting to bud.

At Morton overlook, where we stopped for photos, there was a strong odour of oranges. Jenkins had the answer: A nearby stand of red spruce.

We got as far as the parking lot at Newfound Gap, elevation 1,539 metres, where you can stand on the North Carolina-Tennessee state line. Two groups of young men, with wind-burned faces and wearing bandanas, were sprawled beside a pile of backpacks. They were "through hikers,'' meaning they were attempting to do the entire 3,487 km of the Appalachian Trail, part of which goes through the park.

One, from Halifax, said he and his American buddy had started their trek in mid-March and figured it would be September before they finished.

Just off the parking lot is a 3-km stretch leading to Indian Gap that less ambitious visitors might want to try so they can claim they've hiked on the Appalachian.

Any should start at Sugarlands visitor centre, where there's a video and information on programs and activities. Ask about "bicyclist and pedestrian only'' hours on Cades Cove Loop Road, where, a brochure says "you cycle on the 11-mile (17 km) road through open fields encircled by mountains.''

Wear sturdy footwear. The temperature can drop 6C from the park entrance to the top. A warm layer and a waterproof windbreaker are recommended. For more information, visit nps.gov/grsm. For campground reservations (other than back-country), call 1-800-365-CAMP.

FOLLOWUP

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On a tour bus in Saskatoon: "If you're smoking, you'd better be on fire.''