Vacation Ideas

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are two towns located next to Great Smokey Mountain National Park that are filled with exciting attractions, shows, and restaurants. If you’re looking for a trip that mixes natural beauty and enjoying the great outdoors with theme parks and attractions, this may be a perfect fit!

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  • Dollywood! This is a fantastic theme park with great rides, great shows, and a mountain theme.
  • Hike to a waterfall or play in a mountain creek in Great Smokey Mountain National Park
  • Ride a mountain coaster
  • Ride a ski lift up a mountain to enjoy gorgeous views of the Smokies
  • Go see a dinner show like Dolly’s Stampede or The Pirates Dinner Show or one of the many other family-friendly shows
  • Visit Ripley’s Aquarium
  • Stroll the shops on the main street of Gatlinburg
  • Play minigolf, visit an adventure park, or try one of the many other tourist attractions
  • Tube or raft down a river
  • Ride a chair life up a mountain and do some fun activities at the top at Annakeesta
  • Wilderness of the Smokies – A waterpark resort! There are a variety of room types to choose from and they all come with access to the outdoor AND indoor waterparks making this place fun year-round! If you enjoy water parks – pick this one!
  • Dollywood Resorts – There are two Dollywood hotels – HeartSong and DreamMore. The biggest perk to these hotels is you get TimeSaver passes included with your stay so you can skip the regular lines at Dollywood. If Dollywood is your main priority and you’re visiting during a busy time, this perk alone might make this worth it. They are also lovely hotels!
  • Rent a Cabin – There are a lot of cabin rentals in the area. SO so many that it’s hard to recommend a few in particular. Look around on AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com and find one that works for your family. You’ll find cabins with mountain views, cabins by streams, cabins with hot tubs and pools, cabins that can fit large groups, and much more.
  • Other Hotels/Resorts – you can find cheaper places to stay than the hotels above if you want to keep your budget smaller. If deciding between what area to stay in, we prefer the quaintness and mountains of Gatlinburg over the busy highway of Pigeon Forge.
  • PRO-TIP: Consider a split-stay. It can be a pain to pack-up and switch hotels, but you could do a Dollywood hotel for a night to get the included TimeSaver passes, then switch to Wilderness for a few days to enjoy the waterpark, then stay somewhere cheaper in Gatlinburg for a few days so you’re closer to the National Park. It could help maximize your time, your fun, and your budget.
  • Lodging: You can find many affordable lodging options in the area if you need to stick to a smaller budget.
  • Attraction Costs: The biggest budget-busters in this area can be attractions and food. There are SO many attractions and restaurants that you can easily end up doing more than you anticipate. Try to stick to a budget and don’t forget that the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is right next door and offers so many free (after the small park fee) activities. The most expensive attraction is also the best bang for your buck, especially if you do a 2-day ticket, and that’s Dollywood. But we have done trips to the area where we have skipped Dollywood and all the other attractions and only focused on National Park exploring and had a great time for much less money!
  • Flying: The closest airport is the McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, TN. You could also fly into Asheville, NC and drive across the mountains on I-40, but it is temporarily closed for repair.
Gatlinburg: Pigeon Forge:
Dinner Shows:
  • You don’t need to do all the attractions! There are so many and many of them are overpriced tourist traps.
  • Don’t skip visiting the National Park! It’s the most visited National Park in the U.S. for good reason! It’s beautiful and there are many kid-friendly hikes and activities you can do. Even if you aren’t “outdoors people” – try something new! It’s good for kids to be outdoors. Some good outdoor activities for kids: – Cataract Falls – a short and easy hike to a waterfall that starts at the Visitor’s Center – Head to the Greenbriar section of the park and play in a mountain creek – The Roaring Fork Motor Trail is a beautiful drive with several spots you can get out to enjoy views, see waterfalls, and see old mountain cabins. – Drive the Cades Cove Loop around dusk and look for deer and beer – Drive to Clingman’s Dome, hike up the paved trail to the observation tower and enjoy 360-degree views of the mountains! – We have many other kid-friendly hiking and activity recommendations in our itinerary >
  • Annakeesta – if you do this attraction with littles, I recommended getting a gondola instead of a traditional chair lift so you aren’t worried about little kids falling out. Look at their website to see what activities are included in your ticket and what are an extra fee. We personally feel this place is overpriced for what you get but some love it. The best thing is the view, which you can also get for free in many other places.

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