Heading that way this summer, any recommendations? We have never been to that area and looking to spend 5-6 days exploring the area.

I recommend staying in the Townsend area if you haven't picked a spot. Beautiful area with park access but can drive to Gatlinburg if you want.

not sure your accommodations or preferences, but we stayed here

https://magicalmountainresorts.com/stay


It was totally cool if you have kids. A good spot too, and out in the middle of nowhere in haysville NC
We stayed in the caretaker cabin.

Check out these ziplines, they are great. Amazing views.
https://www.climbworks.com/smoky_mountains/

Go rafting, great way to spend an afternoon
https://www.smokymountainrafting.com/

Take a hike to Midnight Hole Waterfall & go for a swim.


Hike up Clingman's Dome.

We went to Gatlinburg because the kids wanted to go. It is a horrendous skidmark of typical American tourist trap garbage upon the otherwise beautiful Smokey Mountains. If you want to buy a t-shirt and keychain on your way to the Landshark Bar & Grill to pound some schooners of bud light & eat a Chicken Sandwich prior to getting overpriced ice cream & an old timey Western Photo all while dodging overweight white trash on the crowded sidewalks, then it's for you.

That said, the Aquarium is actually quite nice and is the only reason I saw to stop there.

I stayed in a pretty neat AirBnB with a heart shaped tub during COVID.

Be prepared for some great people watching in Gatlinburg

Seemed like every attraction was owned by Ripley's Believe it Or Not

Most crowded/active National Park in the US, so be prepared for that

Beautiful scenery and some wonderful hikes. My favorite part was hiking a little stretch of the Appalachian trial off the Clingman's Dome Observation Point

If you hike, here is my list for next time we go....

Clingman's Dome (on NC side; 1.3 mi RT)
Laurel Falls (near Gatlinburg; 2.4 mi RT)
Elkmont (near Gatlinburg - very close to Laurel Falls TH; .8 mi loop)
Abrams Falls (Cades Cove; 5.5 mi RT)
Trillium Gap (near Gatlinburg, take to Grotto Falls, 6.8 mi RT)
Grotto Falls

We are heading there in June. Looking forward to seeing all the recommendations. We definitely want to do the white water rafting and hiking. We have 3 teenagers so any recommendations of which entertainment options are worth it and which are overhyped are appreciated.

We stayed in Little Arrow RV resort last May and loved it. It has to be the nicest rv park in America and they rent cabins if you don't have a camper. We loved cades cove and seeing all the bears. Townsend has a great brewery that we really enjoyed. I also agree that Gatlinburg is huge skid mark and add trump maga hat to the possible souvenir purchases there.

We discuss the GSMNP quite a bit. This comes up a lot.

It would help if I knew which side you are staying on and what the age makeup of the group is. Also, do you want touristy things or to actually see some stuff with no people.

Let me know and I can tell you some cool stuff few know about

knoxtom said:

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We discuss the GSMNP quite a bit. This comes up a lot.

It would help if I knew which side you are staying on and what the age makeup of the group is. Also, do you want touristy things or to actually see some stuff with no people.

Let me know and I can tell you some cool stuff few know about

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Taking 3 kids, youngest is 11. Likely staying in the Townsend area. Avoid as much of the touristy stuff as possible.

We were there last year on a big road trip.

Every year the lightening bugs synch up and flash in unison. We happened to be there. Very cool to experience natural phenomenon like this. It wasn't jaw dropping but very fun for us.

I think its 1 or 2nd week of June and you have to be relatively close to water and within a certain altitude. Not too many spots to find them .

The park is amazing. Do not overlook the Nantahala Gorge area on the NC side.

We were there for a week this past Thanksgiving. What to say…I grew up in Alabama and vacationed there as a kid so it's a little nostalgic factor for me that keeps us going back regardless of how awful of a tourist trap it has become. We did discover a gem this time in the Westgate Resort. Condo was extremely nice, but the best part is there was a road out of the back of the resort that got you to Gatlinburg without having to get on the dreaded Parkway. It was amazing. It was on the side where the arts and craft community is….some great restaurants off the strip. I hate for people to miss out on the beauty of the park because of the crowded mess Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have become. It just takes some effort to maximize your time and sanity…kinda like planning out your trip to WDW. I will agree with other posters that Townsend and the Wears Valley area is quieter and very beautiful…but if you have young kids they will probably enjoy all of the varied things to do in town. It's not a quick drive from there. Just depends on your preference. The entire area has so much to see and do. With all of this being said, my husband absolutely hates it…as much as he hates going somewhere like NYC. It tests your patience. He said after this time he'll never go back…we'll see. Have fun!

Waiting on a plane in long Beach so I have time to respond.

3 kids, youngest is 11. That puts the max hike at around 3 miles and you don't want it to be too boring. You are probably staying in Townsend. Got it

If you want go karts, mini golf, and pancakes then you got it yourself.

Clingmans is the worst trail in the park by far.
It is a half mile paved trail with a thousand people on it. Abrams falls isn't much better. The most exciting part of either is trying to pass wheelchairs in a sea of people. No one does it twice.

I would recommend Ramsey cascades instead.

I recommend tubing the little river in Townsend. The bigger rapids are upstream so you wont be on them, very kid friendly.

Go to the picnic area an hour before sunset. It is by the sugarlands visitor center, about 5 miles uphill. The gate will be locked so park on the street and walk in. Stay for the fireflies, there will be millions. There will also be bears everywhere. Need a red tinted flashlight.

Alum cave and Charlie's bunion are incredible hikes but harder. The hike to the porter creek settlement and graveyard is also great. Just north of the park is the max patch trail, it is fantastic. If willing to drive 1.5 hours, honey creek is one of the best trails anywhere. Views, ladders, cliff dwellings, waterfalls, squeezes... all in about 4 miles.

Drive the dragon on the south side of the park, look at the fontana dam, famous from the fugitive movie, then go up to the Joyce kilmer forest. Old growth forest with ancient hemlocks. Slickrock trail is right there also and about 150 swimming holes on santeetlah creek.

11yo is old enough to raft the pigeon River on the north side. They will tell you it has 10 class 4s or something but it is really an easy class 3 river. Gotta be 13 for the Ocoee so don't waste your time

All the pigeon forge restaurants are the same except the old mill. It is still way touristy... but you are a tourist.

If you want to ramp it up I recommend the se side of the park, the looking glass region and Linville. All are way harder and way fewer people

Mingo Falls outside of Cherokee, NC was cool. My Dad and I hiked it when Dad was 73 years old, so most folks could handle the hike.

Cades Cove is something you need to check out, as well.

Watch for people pulled over on the side of the rode. 9 times out of 10 that means there is a bear about. People get out of their cars and take pics. I did it, too, because I figured I just needed to be able to outrun one of the idiots.

knoxtom said:

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We discuss the GSMNP quite a bit. This comes up a lot.

It would help if I knew which side you are staying on and what the age makeup of the group is. Also, do you want touristy things or to actually see some stuff with no people.

Let me know and I can tell you some cool stuff few know about

---

My turn Knox. We are looking to go to the area the first week of August.

I have two boys 19 and 15. It will be my wife and I that will be the physical laggers. I would max our hikes at 3-4 miles. It would be nice to have some easy ones close that my wife and I can do before the kids wake up.

First, accommodations. Where do we stay. We don't mind dropping a few extra bucks to get a place where our kids will have fun. They are night creatures, so maybe a resort that will have a place open late or a cabin where they can make a run somewhere late.

From reading all the past post on the area, we would like to go rafting, Dollywood and a hike or two. It will be a quick trip (probably 4-5 nights). Flying into Knoxville and renting a vehicle.

Bearskin Lodge in Gatlinburg is cool. It is the closest to the park entrance, and you do all the Gatlinburg stuff by walking if you like. Or you can just avoid Gatlinburg pretty much entirely because of the location.

Plus, they have a lazy river. It's short and cold, but they do have one.

Troglodyte said:

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knoxtom said:

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We discuss the GSMNP quite a bit. This comes up a lot.

It would help if I knew which side you are staying on and what the age makeup of the group is. Also, do you want touristy things or to actually see some stuff with no people.

Let me know and I can tell you some cool stuff few know about

---

My turn Knox. We are looking to go to the area the first week of August.

I have two boys 19 and 15. It will be my wife and I that will be the physical laggers. I would max our hikes at 3-4 miles. It would be nice to have some easy ones close that my wife and I can do before the kids wake up.

First, accommodations. Where do we stay. We don't mind dropping a few extra bucks to get a place where our kids will have fun. They are night creatures, so maybe a resort that will have a place open late or a cabin where they can make a run somewhere late.

From reading all the past post on the area, we would like to go rafting, Dollywood and a hike or two. It will be a quick trip (probably 4-5 nights). Flying into Knoxville and renting a vehicle.

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15, 19, mom, and dad. Pretty good stuff.

For accommodations it doesn't really matter. Pigeon forge is a million rednecks without jobs, Gatlinburg is a hundred thousand rednecks with jobs, and townsend is ten thousand redneck families. If you want pancakes and go karts stay in PF, if you want the aquarium stay in GBurg, and if you want to ride a tube stay in Townsend.

The kids are old enough to do the Ocoee so don't mess around with the Pigeon, Nanny, or Hiwassee. This is not even worth debating, just do the Ocoee.

It is going to be hot. Real hot. Ten years ago it was mid 90s in GSMNP in early August, now it is low 100s


Midnight hole is nice. Boring hike but great swimming hole. That was a good recommendation


Gotta go, I will try to add more later

Couple more thoughts...

They opened Ober Gatlinburg for DH mountain biking a couple years back. The trails are not hard by mountain biker standards but they are decent enough and a ton of fun. You can rent bikes at the resort. Your kids will really like that. They also have an alpine slide there that is fun and touristy.

Given your kid's ages, I would probably skip the aquarium, Ripley's, and things like that. The go karts are pretty fast and given their ages, your kids will probably enjoy walking the strip in Gatlinburg.

Skip any visitor center, skip Clingman's, skip Cades Cove. Those just aren't for teen boys.

Tube rental in Townsend will be fun and will cool everyone down.

ClimbWorks for ziplining.

The following is not in the Gatlinburg area but it is in Cherokee Nat Forest, just a little south of that.

Ocoee river rafting. Its where the kayaking competition was held during the '96 Olympics and is considered some of the best whitewater on the east coast. My 15 yr old son and I went this June for the second year in a row. We did the full river trip, which included Class 4 and 5 whi****er sections. We both had a blast (hence why we went back this year) and my son actually laughed out loud from pure joy in one of the rapids sections (if you can get a 15 yr old to show unbridled amusement you know its good).

You obviously won't have the nightlife of Gatlinburg. We go for camping, fishing, and the rafting. But you don't have to camp, there are cabins, etc. And if you like fishing the Hiawassee River nearby is stocked with trout literally on a weekly basis. Plenty of fishing guide services too if you don't want to take your own gear or set it up on your own.

Lol, why the heck is "tewat" censored from white water? Ohhhh, take out the e from tewat. Lol

FL_Ag1998 said:

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The following is not in the Gatlinburg area but it is in Cherokee Nat Forest, just a little south of that.

Ocoee river rafting. Its where the kayaking competition was held during the '96 Olympics and is considered some of the best whitewater on the east coast. My 15 yr old son and I went this June for the second year in a row. We did the full river trip, which included Class 4 and 5 whi****er sections. We both had a blast (hence why we went back this year) and my son actually laughed out loud from pure joy in one of the rapids sections (if you can get a 15 yr old to show unbridled amusement you know its good).

You obviously won't have the nightlife of Gatlinburg. We go for camping, fishing, and the rafting. But you don't have to camp, there are cabins, etc. And if you like fishing the Hiawassee River nearby is stocked with trout literally on a weekly basis. Plenty of fishing guide services too if you don't want to take your own gear or set it up on your own.

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Just to set expectations correctly, there is nothing close to class 5 on the Ocoee, even in the Olympic section. The olympic section is low level class 4, the rest of the river is class 3 and 3+.

knoxtom said:

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FL_Ag1998 said:

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The following is not in the Gatlinburg area but it is in Cherokee Nat Forest, just a little south of that.

Ocoee river rafting. Its where the kayaking competition was held during the '96 Olympics and is considered some of the best whitewater on the east coast. My 15 yr old son and I went this June for the second year in a row. We did the full river trip, which included Class 4 and 5 whi****er sections. We both had a blast (hence why we went back this year) and my son actually laughed out loud from pure joy in one of the rapids sections (if you can get a 15 yr old to show unbridled amusement you know its good).

You obviously won't have the nightlife of Gatlinburg. We go for camping, fishing, and the rafting. But you don't have to camp, there are cabins, etc. And if you like fishing the Hiawassee River nearby is stocked with trout literally on a weekly basis. Plenty of fishing guide services too if you don't want to take your own gear or set it up on your own.

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Just to set expectations correctly, there is nothing close to class 5 on the Ocoee, even in the Olympic section. The olympic section is low level class 4, the rest of the river is class 3 and 3+.

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Yeah, my bad, you're correct. Just checked the website of the company we rafted with and the upper section has some Class 4 rapids, but no Class 5s.