great smokey mountains national park.
I often get asked what is the easiest National Park to visit. Another follow up question is, which park should we take our kids too? The answer to both of these questions is easy, Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
Of all the national parks I have been too, Smokey Mountains is the most accessible. Most parks feel like they are in the middle of nowhere, near no major airports, and require hours of driving just to get to the park entrance. Great Smokey is literally right in downtown Gatlinburg, it couldn’t be easier to access. Though there are strenuous hikes in Great Smokey, there are many kid friendly hikes and activities, alongside the very family friendly town of Gatlinburg. I couldn’t recommend this more to a family seeking a national park adventure.
From where we live in Indiana, Gatlinburg is about an eight hour drive. When we went to Gatlinburg, in typical Scherer fashion, we drove to Gatlinburg, then cut West three hours and spent time in Nashville. We also drove about an hour east from Gatlinburg and went white water rafting near Asheville, North Carolina. All this to say, there are many other bigger cities near Gatlinburg as well.
To start, I would highly recommend staying in Gatlinburg - not the neighboring town of Pigeon Forge. In my opinion, Pigeon Forge is much more touristy (Gatlinburg is touristy tour, so don’t be alarmed) and the accommodations are not nearly as welcoming. Gatlinburg will have nicer hotels and restaurants and provides the close proximity to the park entrance.
Unlike other parks, since Great Smokey is so easily accessible, we did not feel the rush to wake up before the sun and head towards the park. Gatlinburg allowed us to have slower mornings and enjoy breakfast downtown before heading into the park. Gatlinburg has an awesome free transit system via trolleys. Though you have to drive yourself to the park, the entire city of Gatlinburg is easily accessible for free via the trolleys. Keep in mind, the trolleys only run so late into the evening, one evening while we were there, we got stuck without a trolley and had to walk quite a ways back to our hotel.
Downtown Gatlinburg is very walkable, the main street, also known as the Parkway, has everything you could want. Restaurants, activities, and shops line the street. Other than the national park and our hotel (just a short trolley ride away), we never left the Parkway.
Where We Stayed: We stayed at the Park Vista hotel that overlooks all of Gatlinburg. The hotel sits on top of a hill looking down on Gatlinburg. The hotel is walking distance from the main street, but there are also free trolley’s that come and go from the hotel. I highly recommend staying here. I liked that the hotel was off the beaten path but still within walking distance, not to mention the views!
Where We Ate: Some of the best barbecue I have ever had was at Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que. You also have to make sure to get pancakes at the Log Cabin Pancake House.
Hikes: Rainbow Falls is 5.4 mile round trip hike that takes you to a waterfall you can actually walk behind! This was a super neat experience to walk behind the roaring falls! The terrain was a big rocky and required attention to your foot work but I would say it’s definitely family friendly as long as the kiddos can make it 5.4 miles! Logan and I both brought our swimsuits and there were plenty of natural pools along the way to dip into the freezing cold water!
Rainbow Falls, June 2016
Chimney Tops is a steep and strenuous 3.3 mile round trip hike. I would absolutely not recommend this for families. Logan and I were dumb and started this hike with no water, not a good idea. The first half of the hike is all uphill. The steps to the top do not stop until you reach an elevation of almost 5,000 feet. Once you make it to the “Chimney Tops,” the view is outstanding. However, once you get to the top, there really is no longer a trail, you simply climb out onto these rocks that overlook all of the grandeur of the Smokies. The problem is, if you fall off these rocks, there is nowhere for you to catch yourself. There have been multiple deaths on this hike over the years. Please be very careful climbing out over the rocks.
On our second day, we decided to give our legs a slight rest and rent bikes instead of hike. We rented bikes from Cade’s Cove Bike Rentals. Cade’s Cove is an eleven mile loop that weaves up and down beautiful valleys throughout the mountains. Keep in mind, cars can drive Cade’s Cove as well so be careful of the traffic that may appear. If you rent bikes super early in the morning, cars are not allowed on the loop, this would definitely be an ideal time to bike the cove. I recommend renting the bikes for 2-3 hours. When we rented, the bikes were $8.50 per hour. The loop takes you through large meadows which is a perfect spot to sight a bear. We saw two bears while on the ride! I’m a big fan of riding through national parks as opposed to driving. I think it gives you such a different view and appreciation of the park.
Cade’s Cove, June 2016
Breweries: Believe it or not, we didn’t go to any breweries while in Gatlinburg. We really didn’t get into breweries until moving to Southern California and this trip was before our big move. Our trip to Gatlinburg was actually the very first trip Logan and I took together! Anyways, Ol’Smokey Moonshine is a must when in Gatlinburg. There are actually two locations on the Parkway in Gatlinburg. The first location is at the beginning of the street and the second is towards the end. They say you can start your night at Ol’Smokey and end your night at Ol’Smokey! Good luck getting home...this may or may not be the evening we missed the trolley ride back to our hotel! Anyways, Ol’Smokey is kid friendly. There is a tasting bar you can walk up to and have 10 free samples. Yep, you read that right, ten! The tasting experience is like no other, the bar tender will walk you through a story as you try all ten different flavors. It’s a very interactive, fun, and memorable experience. The two Ol’Smokey locations actually have different flavors too, so it’s worth it to visit both locations. My favorite flavors are Black Raspberry and Oatmeal Cookie.