College Visit Guides

Drive guide · 2 days, 2 campuses

Tennessee and Western Carolina in 2 Days: A Knoxville and Cullowhee College Trip

A parent-first plan for seeing two Southern Appalachian universities in two days: a University of Tennessee, Knoxville tour on day 1, an afternoon drive through the mountains, then a Western Carolina University tour in Cullowhee, NC on day 2 before flying home from Asheville or driving back to Knoxville. Official visit sign-ups, where to park, four hotels from budget to upscale, drive times and seasonal weather, every fact sourced.

The red-brick Collegiate Gothic clock tower of Ayres Hall rising above autumn trees under a blue sky, with an American flag in front
Ayres Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Oct 2022). Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).

The short version

Trip at a glance

Schools
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, TN) · Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC)
Days
2 weekdays: UT on day 1, Western Carolina on day 2. Arrive the evening before.
Fly into
McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), about 32 minutes from our Knoxville pick with no traffic. Fly home from Asheville (AVL), about 1 hour 17 minutes from WCU, or drive back to TYS, about 3 hours.
Best base
Cumberland House Knoxville on White Ave., a 2-minute drive from UT's free tour garage, then a second night near Cullowhee.
Car or transit
Rent a car. Knoxville to Cullowhee is about 2 hours 30 minutes and 118 miles with no traffic, over I-40 through the mountains.
Registration
Both schools take tour sign-ups online. UT requires registration before you arrive, and WCU runs campus tours Monday through Friday.

1. Who this guide is for

This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to compare a big SEC flagship with a mountain campus in one trip: the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

The two campuses are about 118 miles apart, roughly 2 hours 30 minutes by car with no traffic, so the plan puts UT in the morning of day 1, drives to the Sylva/Dillsboro area that afternoon, and saves WCU for the morning of day 2.

Why this order

  • Day 1 morning: UT's first-year campus tours begin with a 30-minute admissions information session, followed by a 90-minute walking tour led by UT Ambassadors. Book it on UT's campus tour sign-up page.
  • Day 2 morning: WCU's campus visit starts with a presentation by an Admissions Counselor, followed by a two-hour campus tour, with a limit of 12 students plus their guests per tour.
  • UT's campus covers 910 acres, and WCU's mountain campus covers 600 acres, just over 50 miles west of Asheville and near Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Two campuses, two places to park
  • UT: complimentary tour parking is in the Vol Hall Garage (1545 White Ave.). Take a ticket at the public entrance, then have it validated at the Visitors Center in the Student Union (1502 Cumberland Ave., Suite 282, upstairs).
  • WCU: visitors pay at metered lots or with the ParkMobile app. Monday through Friday, WCU asks visitors to park in baseball lot 8A, and visitors staying more than 8 hours should get a visitor pass from the meter at the parking office entrance in the Cordelia Camp Building.
Tour availability varies by season.
  • UT's Spring 2027 event details were listed as coming soon when we checked, so watch its Tours and Events page. WCU holds Saturday Open Houses on Oct. 31 and Nov. 14, 2026 and on March 6 and April 3, 2027, with check-in at the Ramsey Regional Center entrance.
  • Home football weekends are blackout dates for the visitor rates UT arranges at nearby hotels, and the McClung Museum closes during home football games, so a weekday visit outside football season is easier in Knoxville.

2. The suggested 2-day plan

  • Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, using addresses geocoded with OpenStreetMap Nominatim. The Knoxville–Cullowhee drive crosses the mountains on I-40, so add a cushion for weather and work zones.

Arrival evening: fly into Knoxville and check in near UT

  1. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) → Cumberland House Knoxville (1109 White Ave., Knoxville)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~32 min, 16.5 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Rent a car at TYS
  • UT says Knoxville is a 15-minute drive from McGhee Tyson Airport; OpenStreetMap routing puts the hotel about 32 minutes away with no traffic, so allow the longer figure.

Day 1: University of Tennessee, then drive to the mountains

  1. Cumberland House Knoxville → Vol Hall Garage (1545 White Ave., UT tour parking)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 min, 0.6 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Or walk to the Student Union, ~11 min, 0.5 mi

  2. Vol Hall Garage → UT Visitors Center (Student Union, 1502 Cumberland Ave.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    Walk
    Driving
    ~6 min walk, 0.3 mi

  3. Student Union → McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture (1327 Circle Park Dr.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    Walk
    Driving
    ~8 min walk, 0.4 mi

  4. Knoxville (Cumberland House) → Best Western Plus River Escape Inn & Suites (248 WBI Dr., Dillsboro, NC)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 hr 28 min, 117.1 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Car required
  • Register before you go: UT requires every visitor to register for a tour, limits each family to the student plus two guests, and may not be able to take walk-ins. Check in at the Visitors Center before your tour time.
  • Need a school excuse? UT hands them out only in person when you check in on the day of your visit.
  • Leave Knoxville by mid-afternoon so the mountain drive on I-40 happens in daylight; WCU's directions from Knoxville follow I-40 east to Exit 27, then US-74 west to Exit 85 at Sylva and NC-107 south.

Day 2: Western Carolina University, then fly home

  1. Best Western Plus River Escape (Dillsboro) → WCU Office of Undergraduate Admissions (H.F. Robinson Building, Cullowhee)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~17 min, 9.7 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Car required

  2. H.F. Robinson Building → Bardo Arts Center (199 Centennial Dr.)

    Driving (no traffic)
    Walk
    Driving
    ~5 min walk, 0.2 mi

  3. WCU → Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) or back to McGhee Tyson (TYS)

    Driving (no traffic)
    AVL ~1 hr 17 min, 56.7 mi; TYS ~3 hr 1 min, 129.7 mi (no-traffic estimates)
    Driving
    Car required
  • Book a weekday tour on WCU's sign-up page. If someone in your group needs walking assistance, call 828-227-7317 at least 10 days ahead; the tour route is wheelchair accessible, but WCU doesn't provide wheelchairs.
  • Students interested in education or engineering can book a college-specific visit on WCU's college campus tours page.

3. Campus by campus

The red-brick Collegiate Gothic clock tower of Ayres Hall rising above autumn trees under a blue sky, with an American flag in front
Ayres Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Oct 2022). Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

Where visits start
  • First-year tours begin with a 30-minute admissions information session, followed by a 90-minute walking tour with UT Ambassadors. Transfer tours follow the same format with a transfer information session. If your tour is full, the sign-up form puts you on a waitlist.
  • Check in at the Visitors Center in the Student Union (1502 Cumberland Ave., Suite 282, upstairs) before your tour. Families are limited to the student plus two guests, and walk-ins may not be accommodated.
  • Accessibility: give two weeks' notice for accommodations such as a wheelchair and three weeks for ASL or a language interpreter, using the registration form.
Visitor parking
  • Tour parking is complimentary in the Vol Hall Garage (1545 White Ave., Knoxville, TN 37916). Use the public entrance, take a ticket, and get it validated at the Visitors Center.
Getting there
  • Plan to drive: UT is about 32 minutes from McGhee Tyson Airport with no traffic. From the Vol Hall Garage, follow the sidewalk signs to the Student Union, about a 6-minute walk.
What to know
  • The McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture is on campus, free, and about an 8-minute walk from the Student Union.
  • Academic colleges from business to engineering and nursing run their own in-person tours, listed on UT's Tours and Events page.
Contact
UT Undergraduate Admissions campus visits: tours@utk.edu, 865-946-TOUR (8687), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: UT: Tours and Events · UT: Visit (includes virtual tour) · UT: Visit Knoxville

A green mountain valley under big summer clouds, with Western Carolina University campus buildings spread along the valley floor
Cullowhee and the Western Carolina University campus from Airport Road (Sep 2019). Photo: Warren LeMay · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC)

Where visits start
  • In-person campus tours run Monday through Friday in Cullowhee. Each visit starts with an Admissions Counselor presentation, followed by a two-hour campus tour, limited to 12 students plus their guests.
  • Call 828-227-7317 at least 10 days ahead if you need walking assistance. The tour route is wheelchair accessible, but WCU doesn't provide wheelchairs. Animals aren't allowed inside buildings, except service animals.
Visitor parking
  • Visitors pay at metered lots or with the ParkMobile app, and on weekdays WCU asks visitors to park in baseball lot 8A. If you'll be on campus more than 8 hours, get a visitor pass from the meter at the parking office entrance in the Cordelia Camp Building. Check WCU's visitor parking page for current rates.
Getting there
  • WCU is in Cullowhee, 5 miles south of Sylva on NC-107. From Knoxville, take I-40 east to Exit 27, then US-74 west to Exit 85 (Sylva) and turn left at the third light onto NC-107 south.
  • Visitors may ride WCU's Cat-Tran shuttle around campus.
What to know
  • The WCU Fine Art Museum in the Bardo Arts Center is a 5-minute walk from the admissions office and opens Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Contact
WCU Office of Undergraduate Admissions, 110 H.F. Robinson, 1 University Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723; 828-227-7317 or toll-free 877-928-4968, admiss@wcu.edu; Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: WCU: Visit WCU (includes 360° virtual tour) · WCU: Open House · WCU: Visitor Parking

4. Where to stay: a block from UT's free tour garage, then near Cullowhee for the second night

Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Hotel · Our pickMid-range

Cumberland House Knoxville, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

1109 White Ave., Knoxville, TN

Why here

  • It's on UT's own list of hotels near campus, a 2-minute drive from the free Vol Hall Garage or about an 11-minute walk to the Student Union.
  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateUpscale

Graduate by Hilton Knoxville

1706 Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's on The Strip, about a 6-minute walk from the Student Union and 8 minutes on foot from the Vol Hall Garage.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateBudget

Hampton Inn & Suites Knoxville-Downtown

618 W. Main St., Knoxville, TN

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's downtown, on UT's list of nearby hotels, about 3 minutes by car from the Vol Hall Garage or a 16-minute walk to the Student Union.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateBudget

Best Western Plus River Escape Inn & Suites

248 WBI Dr., Dillsboro, NC

Why here

  • Our second-night stop near WCU: about 17 minutes by car from the admissions office in Cullowhee, and about 1 hour 13 minutes from Asheville's airport with no traffic.
  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Split the trip across two hotels: Knoxville the night before UT, then the Best Western in Dillsboro after the afternoon drive, so WCU is a 17-minute hop on day 2 instead of a 2½-hour pre-dawn drive. UT also lists nearby hotels with special visitor rates (details come in your tour confirmation email), except on home football weekends.

5. Meals between tours

Hours change, so check before you go.

Around UT

The Graduate Knoxville sits on The Strip along Cumberland Ave., about a 6-minute walk from the Student Union, an easy place to look for lunch after the tour.

Cullowhee and Sylva

WCU's Bardo Arts Center points visitors to WCU Dining Services on campus and to downtown Sylva, about 10 minutes away by car.

6. Things for siblings along the route

With siblings

McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture

1327 Circle Park Dr., Knoxville, TN

UT's museum is free and open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It follows UT's holiday closings and closes during home football games. It's about an 8-minute walk from the Student Union, and ten free museum visitor parking spaces sit directly in front, first come, first served.

Official page →

With siblings

WCU Fine Art Museum, Bardo Arts Center

199 Centennial Dr., Cullowhee, NC

Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., a 5-minute walk from WCU's admissions office. Two visitor spaces in the Bardo Arts Center lot are available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Official page →

7. Practical tips

Driving and parking

  • UT: free tour parking in the Vol Hall Garage with validation at the Visitors Center. WCU: metered lots or ParkMobile, with weekday visitors asked to use baseball lot 8A.
  • Knoxville to Cullowhee is about 118 miles and 2 hours 30 minutes with no traffic, following I-40 east, US-74 west and NC-107 south.

Flying in and out

  • Fly into McGhee Tyson (TYS), about 32 minutes from our Knoxville pick, and home from Asheville (AVL), about 1 hour 17 minutes from WCU. Returning to TYS instead is about 3 hours from WCU, so a one-way rental can save the drive back.

Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport)

  • Spring: April averages about 71°F highs and 48°F lows, with about 4.7 inches of rain.
  • Summer: July averages about 88°F highs and 69°F lows, with about 5.3 inches of rain.
  • Fall: October averages about 72°F highs and 49°F lows, with about 2.8 inches of rain.
  • Winter: January averages about 48°F highs and 30°F lows, with about 4.8 inches of precipitation and about 1.7 inches of snow.

Parent checklist

  • Register for both tours online: UT for day 1 (registration required, student plus two guests) and a weekday WCU tour for day 2.
  • Book Cumberland House in Knoxville for the first night and the Best Western in Dillsboro for the second, plus a rental car (one-way TYS to AVL if you fly home from Asheville).
  • Bring your Vol Hall Garage ticket to the UT Visitors Center for validation, and have the ParkMobile app ready for WCU.
  • Pack comfortable walking shoes and a rain layer: WCU's tour runs two hours on a mountain campus.
  • After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.

8. Student-athlete recruiting visits

For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.

Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.

Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.

2 Division I

NCAA basics for parents

  • Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
  • Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
  • Division I (University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Western Carolina University): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
  • Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.

Planning around the season

  • Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
  • Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.

Student-athlete sources

All checked Oct 26, 2026.

  1. NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete (pp. 3, 21–25)
  2. NCAA.org: NCAA Recruiting
  3. NCAA: Division I and II Recruiting Calendars and Guides
  4. NCAA Directory: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  5. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Athletics (official site)
  6. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Athletics: Compliance Home
  7. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Athletics: Staff Directory
  8. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Athletics: schedule of events
  9. NCAA Directory: Western Carolina University
  10. Western Carolina University Athletics (official site)
  11. Western Carolina University Athletics: Compliance
  12. Western Carolina University Athletics: Staff Directory
  13. Western Carolina University Athletics: schedule of events

Trip planner

Plan this trip

Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.

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Sources

All checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.

  1. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Undergraduate Admissions: Tours and Events
  2. University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Campus Tours (official sign-up)
  3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Undergraduate Admissions: Visit
  4. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Undergraduate Admissions: Visit Knoxville
  5. McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture, University of Tennessee: Visit
  6. Western Carolina University Undergraduate Admission: Visit WCU
  7. Western Carolina University: Campus Tours (official sign-up)
  8. Western Carolina University: College Campus Tours (official sign-up)
  9. Western Carolina University Undergraduate Admission: Open House
  10. Western Carolina University Parking and Transportation: Visitor Parking
  11. Western Carolina University: Directions to Campus
  12. Western Carolina University Undergraduate Admission: Contact Admission
  13. Western Carolina University: Main Campus (Cullowhee)
  14. Bardo Arts Center, Western Carolina University: Plan Your Visit
  15. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), driving profile
  16. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), foot profile
  17. OpenStreetMap Nominatim geocoder
  18. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Monthly Normals, Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport, TN (USW00013891)
  19. Expedia listing: Cumberland House Knoxville, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Knoxville-Hotels-Cumberland-House-Knoxville.h1312719.Hotel-Information)
  20. Expedia listing: Graduate by Hilton Knoxville (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Knoxville-Hotels-The-Volunteer-Hotel.h36049999.Hotel-Information)
  21. Expedia listing: Hampton Inn & Suites Knoxville-Downtown (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Knoxville-Hotels-Hampton-Inn-Suites-Knoxville-Downtown.h1460365.Hotel-Information)
  22. Expedia listing: Best Western Plus River Escape Inn & Suites, Dillsboro (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Cherokee-Hotels-Best-Western-Plus-River-Escape-Inn-Suites.h895469.Hotel-Information)
  23. McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture: Visitor Information