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Great Smoky Mountains Fall Trip 2025 - Wildlife

Great Smoky Mountains Fall 2025. My two day trip capturing fall colors in America's most popular national park and some wildlife.

Brian Teryek

Brian Teryek

November 13, 2025

1 min read

Elk, lots of Elk

I have not visited Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the early morning and never seen Elk. If you want to see Elk, go here in the morning or evening, especially in the morning. This short trip didn't disappoint with me landing some "dream shots" of a bull elk crossing the creek.

"The Dream Shot"

Bull elk crossing the creek
Bull elk crossing the creek
Bull elk about to cross the creek
Bull elk crossing the creek
Elk in the Smoky Mountains
Elk in the Smoky Mountains
Elk in the Smoky Mountains
Elk in the Smoky Mountains
Elk in the Smoky Mountains
Elk in the smokies
Elk in the smokies
Elk in the smokies

Turkey

I stumbled upon lots of Turkey near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Cherokee, NC. They were roaming the open field acting a little crazy. I was able to get shots with my 70-200 then towards the end used the 16-35 to get more environmental shots.

Turkeys near Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Turkeys near Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Turkeys near Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Turkeys near Oconaluftee Visitor Center

Checkout my nature and landscape shots

If you want to see my landscape shots from this trip, checkout this blog post.

Brian Teryek

About Brian Teryek

Photographer specializing in wildlife and landscape photography based in Atlanta, GA.

Great Smoky Mountains Fall Trip 2025 - Wildlife