I just returned from the GSM and the fall colors were absolutely amazing. We were trying to take in as much of the trails as possible during our stay, but being a hour outside of Gatlinburg, traffic was the worst I've ever seen it. At one point it took us 55 minutes to drive 2 miles. A friend told me that when they were at Cades Cove this past weekend that it took them nearly 4 hours to just drive the loop. Beware if you are heading that way, it is very congested.