Smoky Mountain Travel Blog

Six lighter dining options in Gatlinburg — Chesapeake's seafood, Smoky Mountain Trout House, Mellow Mushroom, Whole Earth Café, and tips for cooking in the cabin.

Five working pottery studios near Gatlinburg — Alewine, Buie, Fowler's Clay Works, Judy Jones, and Old Mill Pigeon River Pottery, most in the Arts & Crafts Community.

Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland at Soaky Mountain Waterpark — a drive-through holiday light show running mid-November through January in Sevierville, TN.

At English Mountain Trout Farm in Sevierville, you fish for your meal in a stocked pond and eat it minutes later. Family-owned since 1962, no fishing license required.

Ober Gatlinburg's bike park has 11 downhill-only trails — green to double black diamond — accessed by chairlift, with rentals and lessons available.

Seven outdoor dining spots in the Smokies — Howard's creekside patio, Azul Cantina's rooftop, Anakeesta's mountaintop terrace, Jason Aldean's, and more.

Ruby Falls — the tallest underground waterfall in America — is 2 hours from Gatlinburg on Lookout Mountain. Here's the story, what to expect, and how to plan.

The Buc-ee's at I-40 Exit 407 near Sevierville is 74,707 sq ft — the world's second-largest and the closest full-scale Buc-ee's to the Smoky Mountains.

Three places to forge your own knife in the Smoky Mountains — Iron Mountain Metal Craft, Circle Bar T Forge, and Dollywood's Valley Forge Blacksmith.

Six ideas for a Smoky Mountains return visit — Cades Cove, Roaring Fork Trail, the Arts & Crafts Community, a different season, Wears Valley, and a cabin upgrade.

Gatlinburg SkyLift Park has run up Crockett Mountain since 1954 — and the 680-foot SkyBridge at the top is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America.

Ten real facts about Pigeon Forge — the 1830 Old Mill, Dollywood's visitor numbers, the Rod Run, a town that barely existed 60 years ago, and the park next door.

Five of the best Pigeon Forge shopping destinations — The Island, Mountain Mile, Dollywood's craft shops, Three Bears General Store, and the Old Mill District.

Three farm-to-table restaurants in Pigeon Forge — Local Goat's scratch New American kitchen, and two Old Mill restaurants using stone-ground grain from an 1830 mill.

Six of the best Southern restaurants in Pigeon Forge — Old Mill, Mama's Farmhouse, Bennett's BBQ, Paula Deen's, Huck Finn's Catfish, and Local Goat.

Great Smoky Mountains requires a Park It Forward parking tag ($5/day, $15/week, $40/annual) for any vehicle parked inside the park for more than 15 minutes.

Five lesser-known Cades Cove stops — the Pearl Harbor Tree, Henry Whitehead Place, Gourley's Pond, a cantilever barn, and Gregory's Cold War fallout shelter cave.

Seven Pigeon Forge activities well-suited for older adults — accessible national park trails, Dollywood's Craftsmen's Valley, Dolly Parton's Stampede, and more.

Six Sevierville attractions worth the stop — NASCAR SpeedPark, Sevier Air, Tanger Outlets, RainForest Adventures zoo, and mini golf, all off the main Parkway.

Six public golf courses within 35 minutes of Sevierville — from Island Pointe's river island holes to Gatlinburg Golf Course's 200-foot Sky Hi drop.