SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — October is the second busiest month at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, following July.

Fall foliage at the park reaches its peak color in October, drawing in visitors from around the U.S.

Brandon Hong has been traveling around the country for a month, recently visiting Glacier National Park in Montana. He made sure to make a stop in Tennessee to see the fall colors.

“The foliage is much nicer here than in Glacier, but the amount of people here is also very nice too. You can talk to great people from North and South Carolina, or Georgia,” Hong said.

He said being in nature is a great stress reliever.

“I do it because I need to unplug from my work, it keeps me grounded and it keeps me at peace,” he said.

For Chuck Reider, the Smoky Mountains were at the top of his travel list.

“We retired from the postal service last year, so we wanted to travel and this was the first place we picked,” he said.

He and his wife traveled from Philadelphia to see the park at it’s peak colors.

“We’re nature lovers, we love hiking the trails, hopefully you don’t run into any bears but there’s bears here, and the wildlife are all nice. All pretty neat to see,” he said.

Heather Weatherford recently moved to the area from Detroit, giving her friends a great reason to come visit.

“I had been visiting for 20 years and decided two years ago to settle in Knoxville. Being an hour from the park was a huge draw, I love fall, I love the foliage. Karen also does too, so we thought that this would be a great girls trip,” she said.

She echoed Hong’s reason for exploring nature.

“Really just taking in nature and seeing the fall colors and seeing everything that nature has to offer. It’s very peaceful and it really gives you a sense of mindfulness and grounding,” she said.

The park is open 365 days a year, and there’s still time to see the fall colors.