Just booked a last minute trip for the last week of July for the family. We've never been before and haven't traveled much, but the kids are finally starting to get a little bit older to where we can start going places (ages 5 and 9). We are staying 4 nights in a cabin on the east side of Gatlinburg.

What are some things to do that are family friendly? I'm looking more to do outdoor stuff and sight seeing, but I'm sure the kids will want to do some of the touristy things in the area like Dollywood or putt putt/ go karts.

I definitely want to make the drive to Bryson City, NC and take the train ride thru the Smoky Mountains. What does everyone else recommend? And should we buy tickets or make reservations for anything? Any particular parts of the National Park that are better than others?

We will be driving from CS. Any stops along the way worth checking out would be appreciated as well. Wife wants to go to Graceland so I'm sure we'll stop in Memphis. BBQ recs?

Wooden roller coaster down the mountain- A must

Plan all of your meals out and call to make reservations everywhere. We are in Asheville right now and just came from Nashville. If you don't have reservations, your out of luck. Aside from that, it has been a blast and the mountains are beautiful.

Took our kids to Dollywood years ago, one day at the amusement park the next at the water park. Two of the nicest and cleanest amusement parks we have been to outside of Disney. Hopefully they are still nice.

Just got back from a wedding there.

Holy freakin moly the amount of people and traffic. Also, it's probably the most touristy place I've ever been to.

Looked to be a lot of stuff to do - we just did the wedding and hung out at the cabin.

FYI. It still gets pretty damn hot up there. Not that much elevation.

Pack a lunch, wear swimsuits, drive into the park and find good spots to pull over and play in the mountain streams.

My only advice would be to avoid Gatlinburg as much as possible. The park and surrounding areas are beautiful, but the town itself might be my least favorite destination type town I have ever been to.

Yeah like I said I'm not really into doing a lot of the touristy stuff in town. We may take the kids to the aquarium or wax museum for fun, but other than that would rather be exploring the National Park and surrounding areas we don't get back here in Texas.

Any food recommendations for the area or along the route? Plan on going through Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, etc to get there.

Eat at Shoney's

I will give a few spots that aren't quite as crowded as most of the park.

Max Patch - https://ashevilletrails.com/appalachian-trail-north-carolina/max-patch/ Its just north of the park off IH40. Exit near the pigeon river raft trips and go north up that gravel road. Beautiful hike on top of a bald mtn. Always one of our favorites. You can go down the backside into the french broad drainage. Cool stuff there as well.

Midnight hole on Big Creek. Instead of being north of IH45, this is south in the park. Go to the put in for the pigeon river raft trips and head up the gravel road. At the end park and walk up the trail about 3/4 mile to the swimming hole. Beautiful waterfall dropping in and a cold swimming hole to dip in. Can even jump off the rocks as it is about 20 feet deep. https://blueridgemountainlife.com/midnight-hole/

Greenbriar - cool area of the park with few visitors. Greenbriar is a river fed by Ramsey creek and Porters creek. There were a bunch of communities up there so you can find old cabins, cemeteries, etc. Ramsey cascades is a hard hike for kids but the confluence of ramsey and porters is a cool area.

Fireflies. Take the kids up to the woods near West Prong/Picnic Area at nightfall. They tell everyone the synchronized fireflies are only early June but the firefly show is incredible all summer. Watch for bears here, they are aggressive. Saw 11 in one night here, closest got within about 5 feet before I yelled at him.

Road to Nowhere. On the fontana lake/Bryson City side there is a road that they started building and abandoned. Take it to the end and hike/play around the creeks there. They do not get much action.

Cades Cove. Its pretty but too crowded.

Clingman's dome - same thing.

Abrahms creek - too busy, boring trail, nice waterfall at the end.

Tremont Institute - its a cool research facility near the Y on the tremont side of the little river. See if you can get a tour/educational thing going. They do good work.

Hope that helps, I know the smokies pretty well if you have any specific questions.

55 years ago it was a beautiful, quaint little village nestled in the foothills of the Smokies.

As for Memphis BBq...it is different then Texas so beware

Central is probably the most famous really liked the pulled pork there go to the one mear the Civl Rights museum and Lorraine Motel

Cozy Corner was my favorite the one time we stayed for a few days

Aand R i heard was pretty decent and Corky;s was pretty good the one time we drove thru years ago

was not a fan of Interstate BBQ but that was when we were stuck in airport for 11 hours coing back from Disney and not the main or initial location

upper scale place to eat Flight is a top 100 in USA love the concept

To piggyback off knoxtom, we've been in Pigeon Forge since Monday. Leaving tomorrow to head to Asheville for a few days and then 4 days at Myrtle Beach.

The Greenbriar area was our favorite. We were headed to Porter's Creek and made a quick bathroom break at the picnic area. We ended up exploring the Little Pigeon River for over an hour. Got back on route and made the mile or so hike to Porter's creek. Along the way we found an old family cemetery with about 15 or so grave sites. We also followed an old stone wall a ways but the grass was a little thick and we weren't equipped to go too far. At the loop (again, about a mile in) hang a right. I won't spoil the find but there is a sign pointing the way.

We did Dollywood Tuesday. It was good, however, we feel like we lost a day that could have been better spent hiking or touring the national park. To each their own. Again, nothing wrong with Dollywood, we rode everything and spent all day there. They have a drone show at closing time that was pretty good. Tell Dave, one of the janitors, that I said hi. We spent quite a bit of time chatting one day while the wife and I were waiting on our kids to ride one of the roller coasters.

Today we went rafting down the Pigeon River. It was one of the best, and least expensive things we've done. We went with Smoky Mountain Outfitters. It is about 30 minutes or so from Gatlinburg. We lucked into it but they have the longest trip. It was about 3 hours start to finish. Had some fun, easy Class 4 rapids. Nothing too difficult. Our 11 and 12 year old rode at the front and set the pace.

I think Gatlinburg is better than Pigeon Forge. They have a lot of the same stuff but Gatlinburg is smaller and homier, I guess. There is also a Craftsman's fair going on in Gatlinburg until the 19th I think.

Have fun. We wish we had more time to spend here but are looking forward to our weekend on Asheville.

Just some ideas if you're into the outdoors stuff.

I've been to the Smokies a bunch of times as a kid and again as an adult. We've taken our kids there 3 times in the past 5 years and they absolutely love it. I typed up this list of things to do for a friend at work last year. I hope this is helpful.

Rafting:

• Pigeon River Two choices, Upper and Lower Pigeon, Upper river is the more exciting option, open 4 days a week (Link goes to the company we used.), about 45 minutes east of Gatlinburg in Hartford, TN. The Upper Pigeon is supposed to be ages 8 and up, but our then 6 year old handled it just fine last summer.
• Ocoee River Larger rapids, home of the 1996 Olympics river rafting course, only open on weekends, about 1-1.5 hours south of Gatlinburg

Hiking:

• All Gatlinburg Area Trails
• Grotto Falls Wooded hike up to a waterfall. Really enjoyed this one.
• Laurel Falls Hike up a mountainside to a waterfall.
• Kephart Shelter Wide, wooded trail along a river with four bridge crossings. Very relaxing with the river running along the length of it.
• Clingman's Dome Highest point in the Smoky Mountains
• Appalachian Trail - Accessible from Newfound Gap in the middle of the park. Fun to walk a half mile or so on this trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine.

Scenic Drives inside the National Park:

• Newfound Gap Road Main road that runs north/south through the national park. Lots of hiking trails available off this road. Access to Newfound Gap, Appalachian Trail, Clingman's Dome and Kephart Shelter trail from here.
• Roaring Fork Motor Trail 8-10 mile driving trail through the national park. Our favorite area to drive through in the park. This trail has its own entrance (you'll see signs labeled "Motor Trail"). Access to Grotto Falls from here.
• Little River Gorge Rd 18 mile road through the northern edge of the national park between Gatlinburg and Townsend. Runs alongside a river most of the way. Access to Laurel Falls trail from here. Usually, once or twice per trip, we will put on bathing suits and stop at one of the pullovers along the way to swim/play in the river.

Scenic Drives outside the National Park:

• Foothills Parkway 33 mile scenic road in TN, north of the national park. Has great views looking south into the national park. Officially this is part of the National Park, but it's more of an extension.
• Tail of the Dragon 11 mile mountain road near TN/NC border with 318 curves, connects between Cherohala Skyway and Foothills Pkwy
• Cherohala Skyway 41 mile scenic road in NC, south of the national park
• Blue Ridge Parkway 469 mile scenic road from NC to VA, begins in Cherokee, NC near the south entrance of the national park. Highly recommend driving at least a section of this one day. Can visit Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock on the same day.

Attractions:

• Gatlinburg Arts & Crafts Community 8 mile loop on the east side of Gatlinburg with various artisans/craftsmen making anything from paintings to candles to woodworking, etc.
• Gatlinburg Sky Lift Chair lift from downtown Gatlinburg up the mountain to a scenic overlook. This burned down in a fire a few years ago. They have rebuilt and expanded since the last time we did this in 2016. Check the website for more details.
• Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies Cool aquarium in downtown Gatlinburg. May not be something to do while Covid is going on, but it's a fun visit at another time.
• Tuckaleechee Caverns Cave system in Townsend, TN, about 30 minutes west of Gatlinburg (45m)
• Cherokee, NC Native American town at the south entrance to the national park (1hr)
• Rock City Gardens Tourist attraction built atop a mountain in Chattanooga, TN, about 2 hours SW of Gatlinburg. Can visit this on the way to Pigeon Forge.
• Looking Glass Falls Large waterfall in NC, a few minutes off the Blue Ridge parkway. Very simple to park and walk down some steps to the falls. There are areas to swim/splash.
• Sliding Rock Swimming Hole with a waterfall down a large 'sliding rock', very close to Looking Glass Falls, off the
• Biltmore Estate Large mansion built in late 1800s in Asheville, about 1.5 hours from Gatlinburg

Restaurants:

• Pancake Pantry Original pancake house in Gatlinburg
• Three Jimmy's Restaurant with live music and varied menu
• Crockett's Breakfast Camp Fun, themed breakfast place with a huge frying pan at the entrance.
• The Park Grill Nice restaurant close to the national park entrance.

Take the I-55 bridge into Memphis (I think I-40 is still closed, so you probably have to). Take the first exit and find a side street to park on below the bridge. There's a pedestrian walkway along side the highway you can walk out across the Mississippi River. My kids loved watching the barges go under them.

Gatlinburg is a massive tourist trap as others have said. The Aquarium of the Smokies was rather impressive though.

Go white water rafting on the Pigeon River (several outfitters east of town off of I-40). There are options available for kids as young as 5.

erin2003 said:

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Gatlinburg is a massive tourist trap as others have said. The Aquarium of the Smokies was rather impressive though.

Go white water rafting on the Pigeon River (several outfitters east of town off of I-40). There are options available for kids as young as 5.

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I agree with both of these statements 100%. There are a few fun things to do in Gatlinburg itself (mentioned in my earlier post), but we really enjoy the outdoor activities much more. Also, I personally try to keep out of Pigeon Forge as much as humanly possible. The good thing is there are so many options that you can make the trip what you want it to be.

Rafting the Pigeon River was my kids favorite activity we did last summer. It is the #1 item on their to-do list the next time we go back there. Enjoy!

If your youngest was older, I'd highly recommend ClimbWORKS or Foxfire Mountain ziplines. Both are fantastic, with ClimbWORKS getting the nod since they opened their dual course.

Keep it in mind if you make a return visit.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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To piggyback off knoxtom, we've been in Pigeon Forge since Monday. Leaving tomorrow to head to Asheville for a few days and then 4 days at Myrtle Beach.

The Greenbriar area was our favorite. We were headed to Porter's Creek and made a quick bathroom break at the picnic area. We ended up exploring the Little Pigeon River for over an hour. Got back on route and made the mile or so hike to Porter's creek. Along the way we found an old family cemetery with about 15 or so grave sites. We also followed an old stone wall a ways but the grass was a little thick and we weren't equipped to go too far. At the loop (again, about a mile in) hang a right. I won't spoil the find but there is a sign pointing the way.

We did Dollywood Tuesday. It was good, however, we feel like we lost a day that could have been better spent hiking or touring the national park. To each their own. Again, nothing wrong with Dollywood, we rode everything and spent all day there. They have a drone show at closing time that was pretty good. Tell Dave, one of the janitors, that I said hi. We spent quite a bit of time chatting one day while the wife and I were waiting on our kids to ride one of the roller coasters.

Today we went rafting down the Pigeon River. It was one of the best, and least expensive things we've done. We went with Smoky Mountain Outfitters. It is about 30 minutes or so from Gatlinburg. We lucked into it but they have the longest trip. It was about 3 hours start to finish. Had some fun, easy Class 4 rapids. Nothing too difficult. Our 11 and 12 year old rode at the front and set the pace.

I think Gatlinburg is better than Pigeon Forge. They have a lot of the same stuff but Gatlinburg is smaller and homier, I guess. There is also a Craftsman's fair going on in Gatlinburg until the 19th I think.

Have fun. We wish we had more time to spend here but are looking forward to our weekend on Asheville.

Just some ideas if you're into the outdoors stuff.

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Glad you are having fun.

Couple things on your notes...

Pigeon is not class 4. They say it is to drum up biz, but the hardest rapid on the river (lost guide) is Class 3 and not even 3+. The rapid was harder 20 years ago but the main trouble spot blew out in a flood. The dries (the de-watered section) upstream is solid class 4 and way upstream of the lake, the east fork and west fork are both class 5.

Gatlinburg is WAY better than Pigeon Forge. The Burg has charm, PF has pancakes and putt putt.

I kayaked most every creek in the smokies back when I did that stuff. Porter's creek was interesting. We went there in a HUGE storm and the whole park was raging. Porters is pretty small so we started on it then ran Greenbrier in the dark at a monster level. Porters only had one rapid of note and as I started into it I noticed a momma bear on one side and her cub on the other. While that wouldn't be that big a deal on a normal river, Porters was only about 15 feet across. Nothing I could do so I split the two of them and that momma looked at me like "you understand you aren't supposed to be between me and my baby, right?" Scared the hell out of me.


So near Asheville, go to Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock. LGF has a longish hike to the top but seeing LG Rock is totally worth it. Friend of mine kayaked over LGF wearing a batman mask a long time ago. Sliding Rock is a natural butt slide in a creek that your kids will love. Both are real close together.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5188439

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sliding+Rock/@35.3114973,-82.804744,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8859a2523def43a9:0x4c4544ce9e602395!8m2!3d35.3114991!4d-82.7872344

CA on LGF

We got back from Gatlinburg late last Thursday. We had a BLAST and the views were incredible.

Here's a short summary of our trip:

- Drove from CS to Little Rock Friday night just to rest and stay the night.

- Got up and went to Memphis Saturday morning. We had lunch at Charlie Vergos Rendezvous and got Memphis style ribs. Ehh.... I honestly feel like what I make on my smoker at home is better. But maybe that's because I am used to Texas style BBQ. It wasn't bad, but definitely won't be going out of my way to go back.

- After lunch we went to Graceland. My wife is a big Elvis fan. I was hoping we would get out of it, but I figured we probably won't be back to Memphis anytime soon or ever, so when in Rome. I actually ended up enjoying it.

- When we left Graceland we drove to our next hotel in Brentwood, just south of Nashville. The next morning we got up and explored the area. Walked around Vanderbilt's campus, the Parthenon, and went to Broadway to see all the action. We didn't stay long as we were ready to get on the road and to our cabin. Nashville seems fun for the most part, but we will wait to go back without kids. We proceeded to stop in Knoxville along the way to the cabin to see Neyland Stadium. It was nice, but after seeing and living next to Kyle Field, it was rather unimpressive. Same can be said about Vanderbilt's stadium, which I have been to bigger high school stadiums in Texas.

- Our cabin was east of Gatlinburg in the arts/crafts community (Elk Springs). There were plenty of cabins in this area, but it was still quiet and hardly ever saw anyone outside. The cabin was very clean and had a private swimming pool and hot tub downstairs. The boys enjoyed the pool as there was a projector and screen for them to watch movies while swimming.

- Gatlinburg was a cool little town. It was very busy and touristy as others here mentioned, but seemed to get less busy each day we were there. We only went into town one day and that was to ride the lift and walk across the Sky Bridge (and do a Moonshine tasting at Sugarlands). It was expensive, but we all enjoyed it and they allowed you to go up and down as much as you wanted.

- We drove to Pigeon Forge one day to see what it was all about. We didn't stay long. We got Chic-fil-a and other than that, I don't think we got out of the car. I felt like I was at a carnival in that town. I'm glad we didn't end up staying in this area, because we personally didn't care for it.

- We spent most of our times in the National Park. Our first hiking experience was Laurel Falls. It was a decent hike with some ok views. Once we reached the waterfall, we couldn't really enjoy it because there were a TON of people just hanging out up there. We did see a momma bear and her cub on the way back down, so that was cool.

- Cade's Cove: We ended up going Monday afternoon. A good storm had just rolled through town, so I told my wife we would drive out there and hope it wasn't busy. We were lucky as it wasn't very busy. It was very easy to stop and get out wherever we wanted and walk some trails, and these were some of the best views we experienced. We also saw two bears in a tree on part of the route.

- Clingmans Dome: We went later in the evening to watch the sun set as recommended by someone I spoke to a few weeks ago. The drive up the mountain was gorgeous with plenty of places to get out and take in the scenery. Once we got to the parking lot, we hiked up to the top. It's only a half mile hike, but very steep and not the easiest with children. However, this was one of my favorite stops. It was a little cloudy so not much sunset to look at, but being at the highest point and surrounded by other tall mountains, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

- Greenbrier Cove: We spent our last day in here walking around and playing in the river/stream. It was a nice relaxing day and we saw lots of wildlife out here and it wasn't busy at all. And I don't think I have ever seen as many butterflies in my life as we saw in the few hours we were out there. The nature and wildlife is unlike anything here.

All in all, we will definitely visit the park again in the future. When the boys are older, we want to do the white water rafting and zipline courses.