No...the roads are not very steep. Cades Cove is in a valley area.

It depends on when in October. Fall colors are usually not at peak until the end of October of course it depends a lot of on how hot the fall is. Cool weather will change the colors a bit earlier. October is EXTREMELY busy. Hyatt cuts off about 4 miles of the 11 mike loop which means you will not see the visitor center and Cable Mill that is located there. I think traffic will be better than on the weekends but just be prepared for long and slow lines of cars. Have a full tank of gas before going to Cades Cove. Pack some water and snacks. Visit restrooms at the picnic area before entering the one way loop just in case as the only other restrooms are at the visitor center halfway around the loop. Plan on several hours for your visit. Hope that helps

As far as entrance/exit... Laurel Creek Road is the only entrance. You can exit Rich Mountain Road which I think takes you into Townsend. I have never taken it since the road condition seems like there are some rough spots. There are 2 shortcuts in Cades Cove... Sparks Lane Hyatt Lane Just know that if you access either of these before getting to the visitor center, it will shorten your drive through the cove. If you take either of these roads after the visitor center, you will end up back in the early sections of the loop again. The short cuts are 2 way gravel roads. I went to Cades Cove in late afternoon and ended up not getting through the loop before it got dark. The drive back on those curvy roads in the park in the dark was not a pleasant experience. Cars were driving down the middle of the road.

The access to Cades Cove is currently closed due to work on the tunnel. It will reopen March 1st if there are no construction delays. Cades Cove opens at sunrise which would be the best time to see wildlife with less traffic. Late afternoon before it gets dark is another good time for wildlife but you may encounter more traffic. From early May to late September, the one way loop is closed to vehicles on Wednesday and Saturday until 10AM. Weekdays are much better than weekends as far as traffic goes. Hope that helps.

It took us 4-5 hrs to see it all. Cuz of the roads and the slight traffic within the loop road.

We brought our dog and even walked at the reception center. No problems at all.

Don't have any idea

Due to hearing about the congested traffic that can occur during the day, we got to Cades Cove around 7:00. We saw a mama bear with two cubs munching around in the weeds fairly shortly after our arrival. Then about a half hour later, we saw a bear up in a tree munching on leaves. Of course, there is no guarantee of when and where the bears will be but this was our experience. We were there this past week and that early in the day there were a few other cars but it was comfortable not crowded and we enjoyed our trip here very much. I don't think we would have liked it at all past 9:00. Thats when we left and it was starting to fill up.

The loop road is closed Wednesday and Saturday mornings for only foot and bike traffic. This year the best time to see the bears is is in the evening. So the best time to get there is about 6:30 to 7 PM. The max speed on the road is 20 mph in the area. Bu be aware that when a bear is seen a lot of people will NOT pull off the side of the road to park. So there will be traffic backups. Please remember to treat all of the animals as WILD LIFE for your safety.