Day 1: Road Trip to Gatlinburg
The Smoky Mountains surely showed us why they're 'The Smokies'! We started our adventure down to Gatlinburg, TN from Cleveland in July 2022. It was about an 8 hour drive for us. We were heading down to Clearwater, Florida and we wanted to stop somewhere new along the way. We have wanted to check out the Gatlinburg area and The Great Smoky Mountain National Park so we decided that would be our destination. We planned to stay there for 3 nights so that we could see/do all the things we wanted to do. After the drive in, we got settled in the AirBnb and then headed out for dinner and drinks.
Night 1: Gatlinburg Dinner & Drinks
The skies cleared and we decided not to bring the umbrellas - 20 feet out the door the clouds rolled in and we were caught in a monsoon. After hiding under an awning for 5 minutes, we decided to run into a nearby store and grab some (more) umbrellas. We had dinner at #OleRed and enjoyed great live music and great food and drinks! We walked around downtown #Gatlinburg to different breweries - Gatlinburg Brewing Company, Tennessee Cider Co., and Ole Smoky Moonshine.
Day 2: Smoky Mountain National Park - Cade's Cove
We started our adventure into The Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Cade's Cove -an 11 mile one-way scenic loop road through the valley of the Smoky Mountains. They say to plan 4-5 hours to make your way through this loop (we thought that was a joke - it is not.) It is literally a one-lane road with a full line of cars going 5-10 mph. There are historic houses, churches, and buildings along the way. They say it is a great area to see wildlife through the valley - we did see one black bear in the woods.
We were about halfway through the loop and enjoying the peaceful drive talking about our plans for the rest of the afternoon, when all of a sudden, we were slammed forward and coffee and sunglasses went flying. Neither of us knew what happened. We composed ourselves and realized that the car behind us slammed into us. We were in the line of cars at a dead stop and the car behind us went to hit the brake and instead slammed on the gas. Luckily, we were all ok, just very shaken up. It really could have been a nightmare - in the middle of a one-lane loop road that no emergency vehicles could get to, with no cell phone service! We just kept saying how it could have been so much worse. Luckily, the car was still drivable - seeing as we still had 1,500 miles to drive to Florida and back.
As if that adrenaline wasn't enough - we decided to face our fear of heights and ride the chair lift up to #Anakeesta! Although we feared for our lives for the 15 minute ride up to to the top, it was well worth the ride! (Pro Tip - There's also a bus that you can take up and down!) We enjoyed excellent BBQ from The Smokehouse and cocktails overlooking the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We walked around the Vista Gardens, through the Treetop Skywalk, up to the Anavista Tower. We saw 2 black bears - almost too close for comfort! The sunset from up at Anakeesta was amazing.
Day 3: Pigeon Forge - Titanic Museum
We drove up to #PigeonForge to the #Titanic Museum. It was a really neat experience. Ben is a history buff so he really wanted to visit. They give you a Boarding Pass with an actual passenger's story. You make your way through the boarding process to the Grand Staircase and through the different areas of the ship. They actually have an area that you can touch the 28 degree water to get a feel for what it would have actually felt like that night. At the end of the tour, you can find your passenger's name to learn more of their story and their ultimate fate.
Smoky Mountains National Park - Clingman's Dome
The clouds cleared in the afternoon, so we made our way through Newfound Gap - crossing the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, walking on The Appalachian Trail, and stopping at many scenic overlooks, up the mountain to Clingman's Dome - the highest mountain in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We hiked the 0.5 mile, very steep walk up to the observation tower. I'd like to think I'm not in horrible shape - but this walk kicked my butt. (Note: 3 days later I tested positive for COVID, so I think that may have had something to do with it!) It was so worth it to see the views from the observation tower. You are literally up in the clouds. You can see why they call them the 'Smokies' - the clouds and fog hang down through the mountain tops. (Pro Tip: Check the webcam for the current conditions at Clingman's Dome before heading up!)
Trip Takeaways:
Mountain weather is unpredictable. Bring umbrellas - it rains A LOT!
Moonshine tastings are really fun! It's $5 a person for about 10-12 small tastings. There are 3 locations in downtown Gatlinburg that you can do one testing per day at each location. They each have different flavors available - some of the flavors were amazing - we bought the Salted Watermelon!
Highly recommend Anakeesta - good food and beer and great views. Lots to do for families also.
The Titanic Museum was really cool. You drive up to a literal Titanic ship on the street and it was a great experience. We liked the setup and audio tour so you can go at your own pace.
Clingman's Dome is a must see. The hike up to the observation tour was not a walk in the park, but the view from the top was amazing how far you can see. Like I said - check the webcams though. We were going to go up on Day 1 and the Park Ranger recommended to go the next day because the weather was clear.
We wanted to go to The Skybridge also, but we ran out of time we just couldn't stomach another ride up the mountain on the lifts.
We look forward to sharing our next adventure with you!
-Steph & Ben
Love the traveling tips!