The "smoke" in the Great Smoky Mountains comes from the mystical blue mist (from water vapors) shrouding its peaks. Most visitors will view the park from their cars, hence the park's status as the most visited in the nation, but a more intimate approach would be to hike any of the 800 miles of trails to discover log cabins, waterfalls and elk. Fishing, camping, bird watching (more than 240 species of bird), biking, wildlife viewing (1,600 bears call the park home) and camping are also popular pastimes.