I spent most of the summer traveling with my kids to many national parks around the country (USA). Our last stop before going back to school was the Smoky Mountains. Here are the tips and places we visited during an extended weekend of our "girl's-trip" or maybe I should say "mom-daughters-trip"; me and my two little girls (6 and 12 years).
Note: There are a ton of things to do at Smoky Mountains that it can get overwhelming quickly. Make sure you have a plan ahead of time of what you would like to see and do.
Where did you stay?
We stayed at Under Canvas Smoky Mountains.
We did not want to stay just in a regular hotel. We were looking for an experience rather than just book a room. This is a glamping experience where people can enjoy the outdoors, meet other people and enjoy some of the activities they provide. I have done Under Canvas before with my kids, and they absolutely love it!
What was your itinerary?
We did quite a lot in three days. Here is what we did.
Day 1
(Skybridge and Anakeesta)
Tip: The cellular signal is weak around Smoky Mountains, so make sure you download the maps and names of the places you want to visit just in case. Also, make sure you pack rain coats and umbrellas because it gets rainy quite often.
AM: We went to the skybridge at Gatlinburg in the morning. Parking is pricey in the main road, but if you drive around the side streets, you can find decent prices, you just have to be willing to walk a little. We are early risers and love to visit places early because you never get the crowds, so I recommend to go early if possible. We bought tickets at the window and paid about $30 for an adult and $19 for each kid under 12. The girls loved the glass floor and the lift up.
PM: We went to Anakeesta in the afternoon. One of my daughters was celebrating her 12th birthday and wanted to do the zipline at Anakeesta so badly. Anakeesta gets crowded in the summer and over the weekends, so I recommend to book online (the line was huge). We booked her zipline and that included an entry that allowed us to skip the line, which was great. They also allowed her to do the zipline alone since she was 12. I had to stay with my younger daughter while she did the zipline. Anakeesta is super kid friendly and it was beautiful ($30, $20 for kdis). To go up you use the lift, then inside, they had music, rope bridges, rail runner coaster for a fee ($13 single $15 tandem), a high tower for a view of the mountains, etc.
Tip: I recommend only to do Anakeesta and skip the skybridge. Anakeesta has way more to offer and they are virtually across from each other.
Day 2:
(Sugarland Visitor Center, Clingmans Dome, Grotto Falls)
For day 2, we decided to go hiking around the park.
Tip: Make sure you have plenty of gas in your vehicle and also have a map of the park
AM: First, we took a picture at the National Park Sign (this is a must for us at the National Parks). Then we headed to the Sugarland Visitor Center to get the maps and papers for the day (the National Park sign is on the way to the visitor center). The signal is horrible, so the maps are a important.
Then we drove to Clingmans Dome (about 40 minutes from where we were). Clingmans Dome is probably one of the signature places for Smoky Mountains because of the look of the observation tower. The hike is about 1.2 miles out and back and it is located on the North Carolina side of the mountains. Personally, I think this is a must in this National Park. It is a steep hike, but since it is so short, it is absolutely doable! My kids loved it because they kept saying that it looks like we were so close to the sky and we were within the clouds. This is the highest point of the Smoky Mountains.
PM: For the afternoon, we came back to the Tennessee side and decided to visit Grotto Falls. The drive to the falls parking area is very narrow but also very beautiful. We stopped in the middle of the road (and so did many people around us) because we spotted bears on the side of the road.
The hike to Grotto Falls is about 3 miles round trip. It is considered moderate because it has steps up and down and gets wet and slippery. My kids had no issues with the hike and we saw a ton of kids doing it too. We spotted bear scat and that made them excited to hike around (i was not so excited to see it but we had no issues).
Tip: there are many waterfall choices in the area. We picked Grotto Falls because we wanted to walk behind the waterfall, at least that was the appeal for us.
Tip: We used google maps and downloaded the maps and had no issues getting to the parking area.
Day 3:
(Horse Back Riding and Go Karts and games)
AM: My kids really wanted to go horse back ridding. I decided to go to Big Rock Dude Ranch at Ponderosa which was just outside of Under Canvas. We did not book this ahead of time. We just showed up there with close toe shoes and jeans ready for it. We did the cheapest pricing which included an hour of the riding, a water and a bag of corn to feed the pets at the entrance (about $60 each at the window, I believe it is cheaper online). We enjoyed the ride, and the people there were nice.
Note: they do not allow people to take photos during the ride (they try to sell them).
PM: It was overcast and I was a little afraid to go on a hike with the kids and have a terrible time just me and the kids, so instead I changed the plans and did what the kids kept asking me the most, to go in the go karts! Yes i know, they saw it on the road and could not stop asking for it, so I caved. It was hard for me to decide which one to try, since there are so many of them, so we went to "The Track" in Pigeon Forge. Why did I go to that one? Well, it looked fun and also I only had to pay for what we wanted to ride. We only did it twice, so it was economical that way.
Later on, the kids wanted to do the events at Under Canvas so we ended up doing all the events at the glamping site that evening.
Tip: Lesson learned with the kids in the car, be careful driving in Pigeon Forge because it is sensory overload looking at all the attractions on the road!
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