YYou can rent bicycles and helmets for a bicycling tour at the Cades Cove Campground Store found, appropriately enough, in the Cades Cove Campground. The bicycle equipment is available beginning in April for the minimal price of $3.25 an hour. Helmets are also available. You can reach the Cades Cove Campground store from 865-448-9034.

Some Smoky Mountain vacationers find the 11 mile Cades Cove Loop Road too grueling for part time bikers. If so, Sparks and Hyatt Lane cut across the cove to shorten the journey. The shortcuts can also eliminate most of the hills on the loop, however, they also cut out many of the points of interest. Some people bike the cove using one of the short cuts and then visit the cove again by car. You can only use bicycles on the Cades Cove loop road or other paved areas of the tour. You may not take bicycles off road or on trails.

Drinking water and restrooms are always issues to bikers. Both are available near the Cades Cove Campground Store and at the Cable Mill area inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is recommended that bikers bring a water bottle with them along with a bike friendly bottle holder. Though the Cades Cove Campground Store is at the beginning of the loop, the Cable Mill area is six miles away.