Is visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on your bucket list? If so, check out some fun activities that my family and I did when we visited! There are so many fun and unique things to do in the area, it can be hard to narrow it down. There are also multiple cities that you can access the National Park from and therefore multiple cities that you can visit for activities. We stayed in the Gatlinburg/pigeon forge area but also visited Townsend when we went to Cade’s Cove. Townsend is completely different from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and is much quieter and less touristy. If this is what you are looking for, Townsend would be a great place to stay! Now, lets dive in to the activities that we did on our first visit!
Gatlinburg
Hike the Gatlinburg trail and Cataract Falls
The Gatlinburg trail is the perfect trail for all ages! It goes from Gatlinburg to the Sugarlands Visitor Center and vice versa. You can bike on this trail as well as bring your dogs. This is rare for trails in the Smoky Mountains, making this one great for animal lovers! We also saw many people with strollers and hiking backpacks. The trail is a bit longer at just under 4 miles if you hike it there and back but we saw all ages hiking and the trail was very busy. For more insight into this trail, check out my blog here:
Eat, Eat, and Eat some more!
There are SO MANY food options no matter where you are around the Smokies. You will certainly not go hungry! You can start your day with some of the best doughnuts and pancakes and end it with any variety of food you can imagine. We checked out quite a few of the places to eat around the Great Smoky Mountains. If you want more info on this and to see what we thought about them, look here: https://suitcasesandsalt.com/10-restaurants-you-cant-miss-in-gatlinburg-tennessee/
Hillbilly Mini Golf
Hillbilly mini golf was the most unique mini golf we have ever done. It is on the side of a mountain, you have to be on the lookout for bears, and you get to take a cart to the top! What else could you ask for? See our full experience here: https://suitcasesandsalt.com/experience-hillbilly-golf-in-gatlinburg-a-unique-family-adventure/
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
I was hesitant to go to Ripley’s Aquarium because the price was more than I was wanting to pay and did not initially have it on our itinerary. At the time that we went in 2025, the cost was $40 a person for adults and there was also fees attached to the order. Thankfully my daughter was younger than 2 and was free to get in.
When we ended up changing plans and going to the Aquarium it was because of the large amount of rain during our visit. The aquarium was a fun experience and we had a lot of fun exploring the different exhibits. There were also multiple activities that you can add on for an additional cost, but we did not participate in any of those. Our favorite part of the Aquarium was the underwater tunnel with the moving sidewalk. It was truly amazing! Most underwater tunnels I have seen are great but they are fairly short. This one felt like it just kept going and going! I loved getting to see the sea creatures from all different angles. This part of the experience is something you will not want to miss!
Another fun thing we enjoyed while at the aquarium was a dive show in one of the tanks. It was fun hearing facts about the fish in the tank. We also got to see the diver feed the fish and then interact with the crowd when he was finished. This was another activity at the aquarium that I recommend.
There was also a fun looking playground in the middle of the aquarium. My daughter was a bit young to enjoy this part but it would have been great for older kids, especially on a rainy day like the day we visited.
Hike to the top of Kuwohi
Kuwohi (formally called Clingsman Dome) is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains. To get to the Kuwohi trail, you will have to drive to the top of the Kuwohi mountain and park in the parking spaces at the trailhead. When you reach the top, there is also a visitors center before you begin the hike. One thing to remember about this hike is that it is often too cloudy to be able to see the amazing views from the top. When we visited, we made it to the trailhead and when we got out of the car, it was FREEZING! It was not that cold in Gatlinburg so we were not completely prepared for how cold it would be when we arrived. We expected it to be cold, just not THAT MUCH colder.
At the top, despite the cold, the parking lot was still completely full! We got out of our car and we had to decide whether we wanted to venture to the top or stay inside out of the cold. We visited the visitor center and then make our decision. When we reached the visitor center however, we found that it was closed and the trail was actually closed as well! The trail looked icy, making it to hard to climb it.
Visiting the Gatlinburg visitor center before we went up the mountain, might have been a good idea. It takes awhile to get up to the trailhead, so it would be a good idea to know the conditions before going up and to ask a park ranger if the trail is currently open. This would most likely not be an issue in the summer, but we went in late October and the weather was getting colder.
Anakeesta
Anakeesta was our favorite activity in Gatlinburg! There was so much to see and do. The views were unmatched as well. I could have sat in one of the rockers around Anakeesta and just watched the views all day! I wrote an article on our full experience here: https://suitcasesandsalt.com/14-reasons-why-you-cant-skip-anakeesta/
Arts and Crafts community
The Arts and crafts community in Gatlinburg has many fun small shops, where you can explore unique handmade products, made my those in the area. We enjoyed a delicious cinnamon roll at Olga’s Yodel Cinnamon Rolls, bought some great smelling soap from Misty Mountain Soap company, and explored different shops in the community.
We took the Gatlinburg Trolley to the community as it seemed the easiest option at the time. This is not what I would choose if I were to go again. It was a nice option to not have to bring our car, but it is also very time consuming and you have to carry your purchases with you all day. There were multiple sections that you could stop at for shopping along the trolley’s path. The problem we encountered was that it takes about an hour before the trolley finishes its route and comes back to pick you up. If you stop at each section, depending on how long you shop, you will have to wait for the trolley to come back and then drop you off at the next group of stores. If you are wanting to see the whole community, this process would take you quite a long time. We ended up stopping at just one of the group of shops due to this time constraint.
Hike and hike and more hiking
There are so many different types of hikes and places to hike. You can do long or short hikes, strenuous or easy and everything in between. The great smoky mountains are so large that it is hard to narrow down which ones you want to go on! One of our favorite hikes was the Spruce Flats Falls waterfall. It is a bit out of the way and closer to the Townsend entrance but it was a less crowded trail with a beautiful waterfall at the end! Definitely worth the hike! They also have a small visitor centers and an indoor restroom that you can use! We did lose cell service in this area so you will want to be prepared for that. While we did not have GPS, we still had the map available on our phones, so we used that to navigate our way back out of the area.
The Gatlinburg Trolley
The Gatlinburg trolley is how we got around the city when we visited. While some trips would have been better to drive to if you are going downtown, the trolley was easier and cheaper to take. You will want to plan ahead and make sure you have enough time because depending on where you are going, it can take awhile. It also can get very crowded, especially on nights and weekends. We carried our stroller with us, which was nice but was a bit more challenging when the trolley was very full.
We parked at the top of the Gatlinburg welcome center and took the trolley into the city. When we were stopping at locations between the welcome center and the aquarium, it was fairly fast! These stops included hillbilly golf, the aquarium, Anakeesta, and several restaurants. The aquarium is the hub where all trolleys end at. This is great, but it can also be challenging if you miss the line you were wanting to take. The wait can be 30-40 minutes. Sometimes it would come at the perfect time and sometimes we had to wait. They also have an app you can download that tells you when to expect the next trolley. This was wonderful as at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center, there are no signs with arrival times telling you when the next trolley will arrive. At the aquarium they did have a sign with this information which was very helpful. I will say that it was not always accurate, but it was usually pretty close!
The drivers were also all really great! They were really helpful and we were able to ask them
questions about our routes and which lines we needed to take. I recommend sitting close to the front if you need to ask questions as the trolleys can become quite full depending on when you are using it. It can also be a great way to see Gatlinburg without having to walk it all! Early one morning we got on a couple different lines and we were able to see the city and some places we did not realize were there.
There is also a Pigeon Forge Trolley that connects at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. We did not use this one so I do not have any experience with it. It seemed like quite a few people were using it though so if this could be of use to you, it would be worth checking out.
Pigeon Forge
Visit The Christmas Place
The Christmas Place has so much merchandise to look through and it all relates to Christmas! When you walk in, there is a whole section dedicated to ornaments you can personalize. There are groups of ornaments that start with a single space to add one name, then they go up from there! There were some ornaments that you could add up to 17 names! After you select your ornament(s), they have a personalization desk that you can bring them to. Here you can add names or whatever commemorative message that you would like. They had ornaments that had hobbies and interests, family ornaments, and ornaments that depicted the outdoors to name a few! We loved exploring and picking out a few ornaments for ourselves!
The next part of the store has so much! Many of the sections are organized by color, which makes it easy if you have a specific style you are looking for. They also have areas with themes such as the grinch, gingerbread, angels, cardinals, or nativity scenes. Towards the back of the store they have Christmas trees and Christmas villages along with all kinds of signs that light up. No matter what time of year you visit the Great Smoky Mountains, you will not want to miss shopping here. It is so much fun to explore!
Visit the Island in Pigeon Forge
I was initially hesitant to go to the Island as it seemed a bit touristy to me and I try to find the more local and unique things to do when we travel. We were not planning on going but we ended up deciding to go to Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen for dinner. I have previously been to Paula Deen’s in Branson and had a good experience there. What I did enjoy about going to this restaurant was that you eat on the second floor. This allows for nice views of the water show and the center of the Island during dinner. On the first floor is the Paula Deen store with all kinds of fun kitchen decor and gadgets. I loved perusing the store and seeing all the unique items.
After dinner we ventured out to look at the stores located on the Island. We went to several souvenir stores and found an item or two that we brought home with us. There is also an area where you will find a ferris wheel and other rides that you can pay to enjoy. We were there at night so the lights on the rides were fun to see. We also sat for awhile and watched one of the water shows at the fountain. While watching the water show, we noticed that there was lodging that overlooked the Island and fountain. They had nice balconies to sit and enjoy the surroundings. This might be a nice option if you want a centrally located place to stay in Pigeon Forge.
The parking here is a good walking distance away from the center of the Island, but you can also wait for a cart that will come around and drive you closer. While I personally would not plan to spend a lot of time here, it was a nice place to enjoy for a couple hours.
Visit the Three Bears General Store
The Three Bears General Store is only a few minutes away from the Island. We saw that they had ice cream while we were driving to the Island and we decided we wanted to come back after our time on the Island. We did not realize how large of a store this would be! When we drove up, we saw that you can walk up and order ice cream from the outside, but we were intrigued and wanted to see the inside as well. We walked in and there was almost everything you can imagine from clothing, to souvenirs, to homemade fudge and sweet treats. They even had Christmas decor! The store had 2 weeks full of merchandise. There was also a bear exhibit that you could pay a few dollars to see them but we did not do this so I am unsure of the experience. If you need anything or want to look for a souvenir, you should check out this store! Their ice cream was pretty good as well.
Visit the Old Mill
The Old Mill was a fun and delicious experience that we had when visiting the Smokies. We loved eating at the Old Mill restaurant, grabbing ice cream, and exploring the shops. Check out my article here for more details on our experience: https://suitcasesandsalt.com/check-out-why-i-would-go-back-to-the-old-mill-in-pigeon-forge-tn/
Other areas around the Great Smoky Mountains
Antique shop
We had a lot of rainy days when we were in the Great Smoky Mountains and we had to rearrange a lot of our outdoor activities that we had planned. While looking for some inside activity options we realized that there were a lot of antique stores throughout this region. We went to several shops throughout Sevierville and enjoyed perusing the selection. I found an item I had been looking for at a great price so that was a win for me!
Rent a cabin
One of the experiences I believe you should have when visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is to stay in a cabin. No matter where you stay, you will have great views, but staying in a cabin just adds that extra special feeling of being in nature. There are SO MANY options for cabins you can stay in. We stayed at one we found off of Airbnb. It was beautiful, had a hot tub and a full kitchen so we could make some food ourselves while vacationing. It also had the most amazing back patio with chairs to enjoy a spectacular view. I loved sitting outside eating breakfast and watching the gorgeous sunrise. There are so many companies that you can rent cabins from and they are all over the Great Smoky Mountains area. You can’t go wrong with choosing to stay in a cabin!
Cade’s Cove
Cade’s Cove is a scenic one way loop that is about an hour away from the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. This is a beautiful scenic drive with the high probability of seeing wild animals including bears! I loved that they have historic churches and homes along the route that you can stop and explore. You can also learn the history of the town that used to be in this area.
Since this is a one way loop and everyone is on the look out for wildlife, it can be a very slow process moving through it. It is truly enjoyable though to experience this part of the park and to see wildlife. There are also several nature trails that you can hike and a close by campground. There are a couple places that you can take a “shortcut” if you wish to not stay on the loop for the entire way.
A little over halfway through, you can stop at the Cade’s Cove visitor center. This is a great stop to get out, use the restroom, and explore the historic buildings located next to the visitors center. I enjoy going to each visitors center as they all have unique items or cancellation stamps available.
When we left the visitors center, we finished the remainder of the loop a bit quicker. When we got close to the exit however, I looked over and there was a family of bears! Two giant bears and a cub. They were close to the road and they were working their way deeper into the woods. It was majestic to see these beautiful animals up close, while still being in the safety of our car! Be aware that if you see animals that you want to stop and see, move over to the side of the road to let other cars continue to move on. Also, always be respectful of the animals and their space. You can find great safety suggestions on the national parks website here:
fhttps://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm
We had a wonderful vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains and I would highly recommend you taking a trip there. There is so many wonderful things to do and so many we have yet to explore! We can not wait until we get to go back and enjoy many more aspects of this amazing national park and the cities that surround it!
Thinking about visiting Hawaii? Check out one their national parks here: https://pepperandpassports.com/is-the-sunset-on-the-summit-of-haleakala-worth-the-trip/
Want to make your own bucket list of places to go and things to try? Grab this free printable here – https://seasonedtravel.kit.com/793556e6a0
