We want to take a trip to the mountains. We'll be driving from FL, we can go for 1 full week. We're thinking about sometime in April, so we need to make plans ASAP.
Gatlinburg and Helen have come up as options. Can you tell me about them? We'd like to relax and do some outdoor activities like light hiking. We'll have our 2 year old son with us. Ideally, we can find a nice cabin to rent for the whole time. Any recs? Is a week too long? Do you think we'll get bored?
Thanks! and if you have another town that you think would be better, I'm open to suggestions!
UPDATE: Interesting turn of events - My coworker just offered us the use of her vacation house in Morristown TN. It's about an hour and 20 minutes away from the main entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park. It looks like a really nice house on a lake and it will save us a decent amount of money. Now we just have to decide if we want to stay there the whole week or get a place closer to the park for a couple nights.
Helen is awful. It is so cheesy, and you can literally see it all in about 2 hours. If even that long. There is hiking around there but I would not stay there for a week. Go to Gatlinburg, you are close to also Pigeon Forge and Dollywood and all that cheesiness, but it is better than Helen. I would also consider Asheville.
Post by caddywompus on Mar 12, 2015 22:31:22 GMT -5
Gatlinburg is very touristy, so beware. We like to go to Blue Ridge Georgia. We have rented a cabin several times. There is a cute little downtown area, with lots of shops and restaurants. We went to a neat Apple orchard place (Mercier?) Amicalola Falls is nearby, and so is Brasstown Bald mountain.
OK, Helen is off the list then! lol. caddywompus I will go look up more about Blue Ridge. Thanks for the advice all and if anyone has more thoughts on Gatlinburg or another town I'm still listening.
Post by RoxMonster on Mar 14, 2015 17:09:36 GMT -5
We did the Smoky Mtns last summer and loved them. You can definitely go there for the National Park and limit your time in G'Burg if you don't like the toursity-ness of it. We rented a cabin up in the mountains and it was SO peaceful. OMG I didn't want to leave. We had to drive through Gatlinburg to get to the park, but that was it. We did go into dinner at night in town, but otherwise we spent our time hiking, driving and exploring. We took a day to drive part of the BRP. It was beautiful.
There are plenty of short, easy hikes--there was one near the Sugarlands Visitor Center that went out to a nice waterfall called Cataract falls that was pretty much flat the whole way. If you drive down Highway 441 (the main road through the park) there are also little paths called Quiet Walkways off the road that are typically flat and very peaceful. The idea is if you see a car at one, keep driving so you can have it to yourself. There are also all sorts of things to do in P.Forge/G'Burg for kids.
Post by spunkarella on Mar 17, 2015 19:43:30 GMT -5
I have never been to Helen. I have enjoyed trips to Gatlinburg, but you just have to roll with the cheese and tourism for it to be fun IMO.
I'm planning a trip to Blue Ridge this summer and I'm really looking forward to checking it out. Reading about other people's trips really helps get me excited. Here's the blog post that made me want to go to Blue Ridge. I bet your son would love the train!
Interesting turn of events - My coworker just offered us the use of her vacation house in Morristown TN. It's about an hour and 20 minutes away from the main entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park. It looks like a really nice house on a lake and it will save us a decent amount of money. Now we just have to decide if we want to stay there the whole week or get a place closer to the park for a couple nights.
Definitely look at Asheville, NC, or consider going a bit farther north and staying in Blowing Rock, NC. (near Boone) From Blowing Rock, it's a quick trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Grandfather Mountain, where your son might enjoy the animals and nature habitats. You can hike along the parkway.
If you want a ton of activities and choices, Gatlinburg would be a good choice, but the town itself can be really touristy and cheesy.
I just want to second that Blowing Rock is really nice. I have been through there recently and would love to go back to spend more time exploring. The town has a really nice feel and stunning scenery.