GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — The only inn inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is getting ready for its next season. The LeConte Lodge is accepting requests to stay at the lodge during the 2023 season which runs from March 20 through November 21.
Written requests submitted by fax, email, US mail or online form will be accepted through 4:00 pm EDT on September 26, 2022. The requests received during this period will be held until Monday, October 3, 2022, when they will be processed simultaneously with phone calls. According to the lodge, the submissions will not be processed in the order in which they are received.
No requests will be accepted by phone until October 3 at 8:00 am EDT. In addition, written requests received after the submission period will be processed after all the requests submitted on time are processed.
For those submitting written requests, the lodge shares a number of guidelines to know:
- Each party may only submit one request, but you can list as many dates as possible on the request.
- The lodge added that if multiple requests are received they may not be honored or will be processed last.
- For the initial submission period, those who submit written requests will not be told if the dates requested are not available.
- In addition, the lodge says that you won’t be added to a waitlist for unavailable dates.
- Those who get an invoice are asked not to try and call during the first week of October to pay as they expect the phones to be very busy.
After the initial booking process for 2023, cancellations that occur or dates not booked will be offered on a first come first served basis. A wait list for 2023 will be started in early December.
Le Conte is the highest peak that is completely within Tennessee and the Le Conte Lodge is also the only inn inside the national park. It is only is accessible only by foot and hiking routes to the lodge vary from 5 to 8 miles.
The lodge itself predates the creation of the park in 1934 as it was established by Paul Adams, Jack Huff and several other hikers in the 1920s.
To submit a request or find out more information about staying at the LeConte Lodge, click here.