"I don't need therapy, I just need to go to the Smoky Mountains."
Our first significant, and much-needed, trip of the year was last week to Gatlinburg, Tennessee! We haven’t been able to reschedule our trip abroad (to the U.K. and Amsterdam) due to the continued lockdown craziness, but we really wanted to visit a new place closer to home to celebrate the baby in our family graduating high school! As North Carolinians, it was surprising that we hadn’t ventured to Tennessee. Especially since we visit the North Carolina mountains pretty often!
By the end of the trip, we started calling Gatlinburg “mountain Myrtle!” If you haven’t been to Myrtle Beach, every touristy activity you can think of is available there. We were surprised by how similar Gatlinburg was (think all things Ripley’s), but it sure made for some fun times!
We are going to break down where we stayed, what we did, and where we ate, so read on for some recommendations for your future Tennessee trips.
Our mountain-worthy log cabin
A huge part of a great vacation is where you stay, of course! When we go up to the mountains, we love to experience the peace of quiet of staying in a log cabin away from it all. We came across this beautiful cabin in Gatlinburg that was only 10 minutes from all of the fun downtown attractions, but still felt secluded. The owners were kind enough to let us stay during our trip and it made such a huge difference!
Here are some of our favorite features:
· Three floors each with a bedroom and bathroom so that everyone had their own space
· Three beautiful balconies to lounge on, an outdoor fireplace, and a hot tub
· A huge game room on the bottom floor that had a pool table and an old-fashioned arcade machine
If you are considering a trip to Gatlinburg, we highly recommend checking this cabin out and saving the listing on VRBO!
Dollywood Day
The second day of our trip was filled with fun thanks to our visit to the Dollywood Theme Park! We heard a lot of great things about Dollywood, including it being ranked one of the top 10 theme parks in the WORLD, so we had pretty high expectations. Here are some things that did hit the mark for us:
· Amazing roller coasters for thrill-seekers! We tend to try a new ride at least once before we make a decision about it. Even as experienced theme park visitors, some of the rides at DollyWood were the craziest we had ever been on! These top three rides are not for the faint of heart, but they were the best in the park: Wild Eagle, Lightning Rod, and Mystery Mine. There are plenty of attractions for smaller children as well, so the park is entertaining for all ages
· Unique food options! Keep an eye out for the Grist Mill! That is where Dollywood serves it’s famous cinnamon bread. Think of it as a cinnamon roll in loaf form (yum)! We had lunch at Reds Burgers and Shakes, and while the food was good, the line during the lunch rush was insane. Keep that in mind and consider eating outside of peak-times.
· The park’s general layout and beauty! Dollywood is set-up as a circular layout, so it is hard to miss anything important. The park is also full of beautiful flower displays and cool rustic, southern-themed architecture. No shortage of nice photo spots! Something that surprised us was that it was easy to forget that the park has anything to do with Dolly Parton.
Extra Tips:
· Consider buying your tickets ahead of time online. During COVID, Dollywood was allowing fewer visitors, so you’ll want to monitor changes to their policies! It was very easy to purchase tickets on their website.
· You can bring your furry friends. Dollywood has a convenient boarding place for dogs on-site called “Doggywood!”
· Dollywood has many festivals throughout the year such as the Harvest Festival and Smoky Mountain Christmas (which includes beautiful light displays).
· Get there early to do popular rides or purchase a TimeSaver Pass. The lines didn’t get too long until later in the day because we went early and on a Thursday, but some lines got up to a 2+ hour wait. If you want to guarantee you can ride all of the big ones, consider this pass that allows you to skip the lines.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
You can’t go to Gatlinburg without visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! It is actually the most visited National Park in the country and is free to enter. The park entrance is right past all of the hustle and bustle of Downtown Gatlinburg which a very stark contrast! We did two hikes during our time in Gatlinburg that we would highly recommend for those looking for easy to moderate length and difficulty with some great views.
· Laurel Falls Hike: This hike is a little over 2 miles in total length and ends with a beautiful waterfall. You climb roughly 314 feet in elevation before arriving at the main 80-foot waterfall.
· Andrews Bald Hike: This hike is about 3.6 miles in total length and treats you to amazing mountain views after you climb about 1,000 feet in elevation.
Tuckaleechee Caverns
If you like exploring natural wonders, a visit to Tuckaleechee Caverns may be worthwhile to you! It is a huge system of underground caverns known as the “greatest sight under the Smokies!” This wasn’t our first visit to caverns like this, so we weren’t quite as awed as others may be if it is their first visit to something like this. When you visit the caverns, you will have a tour guide who leads you on the roughly one hour and a half tour. You will be treated to huge open areas, rivers, and small waterfalls. Don’t forget your walking shoes because the tour is about a mile long and includes 400 (sometimes slippery) steps. Overall, it was a fun experience!
Downtown Gatlinburg/Sky Bridge
We visited downtown Gatlinburg multiple times to walk around and explore because there was so much going on! It’s a long street of restaurants, shops, and tourist destinations, so there is plenty to do. At the end of our trip, the guys braved the Gatlinburg Sky Bridge. It is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America (complete with see-through panels in the center) that offers stunning views of Gatlinburg. We are a tad ashamed that we didn’t go up with them, but the ski-lift up there made us nervous. Something to look forward to next time!
FOOD
Last but certainly not least, we enjoyed some delicious meals during our time in Gatlinburg! These were our three most noteworthy meals:
· No Way Jose’s Mexican Cantina. Located in downtown Gatlinburg, this huge Mexican restaurant has all of the usual favorites including some delicious margaritas. It’s worth a visit if you are looking for reasonably priced Mexican food in the busy downtown area.
· The Old Mill Restaurant. This is one of the most popular restaurants in the Smokies for good reason! The authentic southern cooking was delicious and the area had many nice shops as well. We enjoyed the chicken and dumplings and chicken-fried steak!
· Cherokee Grill. A classy steakhouse spot in downtown Gatlinburg. This place we a bit of a mixed experience for our group. The steaks were delicious, but some of the other menu items didn’t meet expectations. We would recommend this place if you want to treat yourself to a nice steak dinner!
That just about covers it! We hope that this Gatlinburg blog post gives you some helpful ideas for your future travels. We definitely have a lot left to do in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the surrounding areas, so we look forward to visiting again in the near future. Drop your must-do’s in Tennessee in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
Nikki + Pam
