BIKE
• Ride the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road through the pristine forest of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 865-436-1200; www.nps.gov/grsm.
• For stunning views, bike all or part of the 20-mile section of the Foothills Parkway from Walland to Chilhowee.
• Join the Smoky Mountain Wheelmen Bicycle Club and enjoy the benefits of the club’s 250 yearly rides on the back roads of East Tennesse. www.smwbike.org.
• Use your fat tires on the logging roads, singletrack, downhills and climbs at Panther Creek, Norris, Lone Mountain and Haw Ridge. http://ambc.serversolutions.com.
• Take a guided or self-guided road or mountain bike tour from Smoky Mountain Bicycle Tours. 865-981-8125.
• Head north or south out of downtown Maryville on the 9-mile asphalt Maryville/Alcoa Greenway Path. Get set at Mountain View Bicycles. 865-977-4200.


HIKE/CAMP
• Start with some easy to moderate day hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 865-436-1200; www.nps.gov.
• Explore the Abrams Creek area of the national park and find some great backcountry campsites within miles of the trailheads. Get maps, gear and tips at Maryville’s Little River Trading Company. 865-681-4141.
• Experience the thrill of leaving footprints on the Appalachian Trail. Build your endurance for a weeklong backpacking trip on the national park’s 70-mile stretch. 865-436-1200; www.nps.gov.
• Get active with fellow East Tennessee folks. Bike, hike, run, walk or backpack on trips organized by Foothill Striders Club. www.foothillstriders.org.
• Avoid the national park crowds at Big South Fork National Recreation Area. Hike gorges, valleys and steep cliffs on more than 150 miles trails and camp at designated sites. 423-569-9778; www.knoxville-tn.com.


RUN
• Get your runners high up the national park’s 4.9-mile Alum Cave Bluff Trail to breathtaking views atop Mount LeConte. 865-436-1200; www.nps.gov/grsm.
• Get out on the 9-mile asphalt Maryville/Alcoa Greenway Path. Get your kicks and tips at Knoxville’s Runner's Market. 423-588-1650; www.runnersmarket.com.
• Connect the Neyland Greenway, Third Creek Greenway and Cherokee Boulevard path for a 17-mile roundtrip run around downtown Knoxville. www.ktc.org.
• Glide through meadows and woods on 3.5 miles of paved and unpaved trails in the 80-acre Ijams Nature Center. 423-577-4717; www.ijams.org.
• Run the rolling hills of the 11-mile Cade's Cove Loop Road. 865-436-1200; www.nps.gov/grsm.


PADDLE
• Bring a picnic for the 7-mile, self-guided trip down on Little River’s easy, mellow waters. 865-982-0793; www.blountweb.com/riverjohns.
• Make the TK-hour trip for paddling instruction at North Carolina’s Nantahala Outdoor Center. 800-232-7238; www.noc.com.
• Tour the French Broad, Little Pigeon or the West Prong rivers with Mountain View Canoe Rentals in Pigeon Forge. 865-428-6112; www.mountainviewcanoes.com.
• Get wet in some of the country’s best whitewater on the nearby Ocoee, Tellico, Nolichucky, Natanhala or Conasauga Rivers.
• Canoe and camp along an 11-mile Class III and IV stretch down the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. For info, contact the visitors center 931-879-3625.