Mount LeConte Lodge is the only backcountry lodge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it’s famously hard to book. There are no roads to the lodge — every guest hikes in on one of five trails, and every reservation is fought over the moment the booking window opens. This guide covers exactly when and […]
Newfound Gap Road (US 441) is the only road that crosses all the way through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, climbing from about 1,300 feet in Gatlinburg, Tennessee to 5,046 feet at Newfound Gap before descending into Cherokee, North Carolina. Because it gains more than 3,000 feet in under 20 miles, a single drive can […]
You just finished a tasting flight at a Gatlinburg distillery, grabbed a jar of apple pie moonshine, and now you’re wondering if you can just mail it home instead of hauling it through airport security. It’s a fair question — and the answer isn’t as simple as walking up to a shipping counter. Here’s what […]
Walk into any distillery on the Gatlinburg strip and you’ll hit the same question at the counter: are you doing the tasting? It costs money, which throws people off in a town full of free samples and freebies — but there’s a simple reason behind it, and it changes how you should think about the […]
A cabin listing tagged “handicap accessible” can mean anything from a full roll-in shower and zero-step entry to a single grab bar next to a regular tub. In a mountain town where most rentals are built into hillsides with stairs, decks, and lofts, that gap matters. This guide walks through where to actually search, which […]
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a 5.5-mile, one-way loop road just outside Gatlinburg that packs old-growth forest, tumbling mountain streams, preserved 1800s log cabins, and one of the most photogenic waterfalls in the Smokies into a drive you can do in under an hour, or stretch into a half-day with stops. This guide walks […]
Gatlinburg’s Parkway is lined with working moonshine distilleries where you can watch copper stills bubble away, sample dozens of flavors, and hear the story of how illegal backwoods liquor became one of the region’s biggest tourist draws. Several of them sit close enough together that visitors string them into an informal walking route locals and […]
Every Gatlinburg trip itinerary seems to include a stop for “free moonshine samples,” but the truth is more nuanced than the marketing suggests. A city ordinance changed how tastings work at every distillery on the Parkway, and the number of samples you get depends on which shop you walk into. This guide breaks down exactly […]
Most cabin rental sites in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge advertise themselves as “pet friendly” — until you read the fine print and find a 50-pound cutoff or a list of banned breeds that includes German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and anything that looks vaguely like a pit bull. If you’ve got a mastiff, a husky, or a […]
Not every cabin that claims to be “near downtown Gatlinburg” is actually walkable. Gatlinburg sits in a steep river valley, and a listing that’s technically a mile from the Parkway can mean a flat five-minute stroll or a lung-busting climb up a mountain road with no sidewalk — depending entirely on which street it’s on. […]
If you’re trying to decide between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge for a family trip with young kids, the honest answer is that you’re comparing two different kinds of fun. One is a walkable mountain town built around an aquarium, easy trails, and a slower pace. The other is a sprawling entertainment corridor built around a […]
Downtown Gatlinburg’s parking spots vanish fast, especially on weekends and during peak leaf season, but you don’t need a car once you’re in town. The Gatlinburg Trolley is a fare-free public transit system that loops through the Parkway, River Road, the Arts & Crafts Community, and other key spots, and it’s one of the easiest […]
The Parkway backs up fast in Pigeon Forge, especially in front of Dollywood and around the Island, and circling for parking only makes it worse. The Fun Time Trolley system is the easiest workaround: park once at Patriot Park and let a driver deal with the traffic while you watch out the window. This guide […]
If you showed up in Gatlinburg expecting to hit the trail with your dog, you probably already got the bad news at the trailhead: Great Smoky Mountains National Park bans pets on almost every trail in the park, including famous ones like Laurel Falls, Chimney Tops, and Alum Cave. It’s one of the strictest pet […]
Every spring, thousands of people apply for a handful of vehicle passes to watch Photinus carolinus, the synchronous firefly, put on its famous flash-and-pause light show at Elkmont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The odds aren’t great, and if you didn’t win the Recreation.gov lottery, it can feel like the show is closed to […]
If you’re traveling with a baby or toddler and want a waterfall payoff without a real hike, Cataract Falls is the one locals point you toward. It starts right at Sugarlands Visitor Center on the edge of Gatlinburg, covers well under a mile round trip, and ends at a pretty little cascade on Fighting Creek. […]
The Smoky Mountains are the perfect place to design your own self-care and wellness retreat. Whether you’re planning a girl’s getaway, a bachelorette party with a wellness twist, or a rejuvenating solo vacation, here are our top 5 suggestions to create the perfect itinerary of healthy activities for your most relaxing experience yet. 1. Stay […]
Listen to Podcast Episode 5 Aaron: Hello and welcome to another podcast from Explore The Smokies. Are you planning this trip to the Smoky Mountains? Are you too busy to spend hours playing in search and sites for the best activities? Find all your answers at explorethesmokies.com. Let us take the guesswork out of planning […]
The Smoky Mountain area can get CRAZY crowded at certain times during the year. Since COVID started it seems to stay crowded almost year-round. My family is not a lover of huge crowds or traffic jams, but we do love our Tennessee mountain home so here are some spots we visit that are off the […]
Listen to Podcast Episode 4 Aaron: Welcome to Explore The Smokies podcast. If this is your first time joining us, welcome! I’m your host Aaron. April: And I’m your other host, April. Today, we’re going to dive into a bit of the history of Pigeon Forge to talk whisky and moonshine. Aaron: I love history […]