Where To See Snow In Tennessee
While snow is possible in the other parts of the state, your best bet is concentrated in a small area in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the far southeastern part of Tennessee.
For most of the Volunteer State, because of the lower elevations and humid subtropical climate, you don’t have a great chance of seeing snow during your visit. Many cities only get several inches of snow during the year.
Your chances start increasing at higher elevations, and our guide concentrates on that for the best chances.
- Pigeon Forge snowfall per year: 6
- Clingman’s Dome snowfall per year: 84″
Where To Find Snow
All our top choices are located in a small area of eastern Tennessee, focused around Gatlinburg.
While Gatlinburg itself doesn’t get as much snow as some of the other places on our list below, it’s a great central location to start.
You’ll have a much better chance of finding snow in Gatlinburg than you will in Knoxville, which sits in a valley.
It’s also a great place to stay on vacation, and during winter, hotel rates are much lower than in summer!
As you head into the mountains from Knoxville after some snow, you’ll often start finding it around the Wears Valley area.
4. Gatlinburg
East Tennessee weather is unpredictable, and the snow can be hard to find on specific dates.
Our first visit to Tennessee before moving here on spring break in March. During that week, we saw 70 degrees, and three inches of snow!
Gatlinburg makes a great base camp, but the city itself isn’t guaranteed to have snow.
While Gatlinburg gets around 8 inches of snow per year, there are only a few times of the year when you’re likely to see snow downtown.
This picture below was in April, when Gatlinburg was around 50 degrees but there’s snow visible on the mountains behind it. Those mountains are where you’ll find the higher altitude locations listed below.
Visiting on Christmas? It may be 60 degrees. Or you may be lucky and get a winter storm like we did in 2020, with snow on Christmas!
Gatlinburg is in a valley, and the mountains around the city are more likely to have snow.
The small mountains immediately surrounding the city aren’t much higher, but they give you a better chance and are accessible via cable car or ski lifts.
At Ober Mountain, you’re almost guaranteed to see it, thanks to manmade snow machines. Several other chair lifts, including Anakeesta, go from downtown up the mountains.
You’re also a short drive from some higher-elevation areas, which we’ll list below.
3. Ober Mountain (Above Gatlinburg)
Ober Mountain (formerly Ober Gatlinburg) is a ski resort and amusement park in Gatlinburg. It’s accessible from a cable car that leaves from downtown Gatlinburg.
There are plenty of things to do in the snowy season, like ski slopes, snowboarding, tubing, and an indoor ice skating rink.
We reviewed Ober Mountain shortly after it had been sold. Since then, we’ve seen some improvements, and it’s a good option on a snowy day.
Being the only ski resort in Tennessee, it’s almost guaranteed to have snow from snowmaking machines.
The machines have even been upgraded since our visit earlier in the year, and you can see the difference.
In the picture above, there is a mix of machine-made and natural snow (only 1-2″).
In the picture below, the temperature was in the 50s during our February visit and it doesn’t look quite the same.
SNOW ALERT: Ober Mountain is only about 1,000 feet higher than downtown Gatlinburg. With it being 2-3 degrees colder temperatures than Gatlinburg, it’s not much more likely to have real snow. However, when it gets close to freezing or starts snowing in Gatlinburg, the snow totals can be bigger up here!
Ober Mountain is the only place in Gatlinburg for snow tubing, though Pigeon Forge has several other choices.
2. Kuwohi (Formerly Clingmans Dome)
This would be our number one choice, but road to Clingmans Dome is closed to vehicles during the winter. If you’re up for a long hike you can still hike up, but that’s not a realistic option for many people.
The reason it’s on our list is you can still find snow here outside of the seasonal closures. We’ve seen snow here in October, and as late as April. Both in 2024.
When it’s not closed for the winter, you can continue a short distance past Newfound Gap (our #1 pick) to Kuwho (Clingmans Dome), the highest point in Tennessee.
At over 6,000 ft, Clingmans Dome gets nearly 100 inches of snow annually.
This picture below is from mid-October 2024, the year’s first snowfall.
We visited last in late April; the temperature in Gatlinburg was in the 50s, but Clingman Dome was in the upper 30s.
We got about 10 minutes of heavy snow there, not something you’d expect that late in the year.
This picture was taken on the trail leading up to the observation tower.
Of course, the snow means you won’t have some of the amazing long-distance views that Clingmans Dome is known for!
If you are lucky enough to catch some snow at Kuwohi/Clingmans Dome while it’s open, keep in mind the road up to it isn’t plowed.
The picture below from October (first snowfall of the year) is about an hour after the snow started.
It doesn’t take long before access is closed via a gate in the road. Shortly after we left the picture below, the road was closed for the day.
1. Newfound Gap
Want the best chance at seeing snow? Head south from Gatlinburg on Newfound Gap Road.
The best chance is right as the snowfall starts, before any road closures.
But before you go, check the National Parks road closure website; it does close due to snow.
The picture below is just south of Gatlinburg, by the Sugarlands visitor center, and shows the road closed after we got 2-3 inches of snow in Gatlinburg.
The picture below is around 4,000 ft elevation during the year’s first early snowfall, in mid-October.
At an elevation of approximately 5,046 feet, it’s one of the highest points accessible year-round by car in the area. It’s often 10 degrees cooler up here than it is in Gatlinburg.
And Newfound Gap gets over 5 feet of snow yearly, much more than the 9″ Gatlinburg averages.
The gap offers stunning views year-round. It’s on our list as one of the best free things to do in Gatlinburg.
In the winter, it offers amazing views of the snow-covered mountains, making it a great spot for photographs.
Recap
Consider the Gatlinburg area if you’re seeking a fun winter holiday spot. While you’re not guaranteed to find real snow like you would be somewhere like Colorado or Utah, you can still find machine-made snow somewhere like Ober Gatlinburg.
Driving up to a higher altitude increases your chances too.
