When many hear of a Smoky Mountain Vacation they may picture rustic cabins, hunting or animal watching, perhaps a lazy walking trail or two, and a whole lot of peace. While peace is plentiful in many areas of the Great Smokys, there is also a plethora of highly active entertainments that will leave you with a thirst for adventure long after you make your way back home.
Affordable Smoky Mountain Family or Solo Fun
If your family is on a budget and perhaps not able to splurge on a more luxurious vacation this year, that doesn’t mean you are condemned to creating a stay-cation to appease the family unit. Activities that could cost nothing, or very little can include:
- Biking on some of nature’s most beautiful trails
- Fishing
- Hiking lovely trails made safe for pedestrians and bikers
- Tubing
In addition, frontcountry and backcountry camping, as well as group campgrounds are available all throughout the Smoky Mountains. So if you live in a region nearby, a Smoky Mountain Getaway may not take so long to get away to. Camping fees in all campgrounds are affordable beginning at $14USD for frontcountry camping and starting around $35USD for group campsites.
Rentals for equipment such as bikes or tubes are also relatively affordable but you do have the option to bring your own. This much free outdoor entertainment in one locale reduces fuel cost and time spent much more appropriately on a hiking trail instead of a highway.
Luxurious Great Smoky Mountain R & R
If you are looking for that ultra-relaxing vacation, and the need for some self-imposed cabin fever, you can find cabins all over the Great Smoky Mountains that can house the most basic of necessities, to the most lavish amenities imaginable.
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are both quite famous for their cabins that can accommodate a romantic couple’s generous requirements to entire group’s abundant needs.
If you are planning to live it up, be sure to include on your itinerary a few of these awesome vacation activities:
- ATV Trail Blazing
- Boating
- Golfing
- Horseback Riding
- Kayaking
- Whitewater Rafting
- Wineries and Breweries
- Zip Lines
- Auto Tours
Although indulging in these activities may come with a bit more cost than the Great Smoky’s more affordable options, the experiences will supply you with a limitless feeling of excitement, and long lasting memories of outdoor adventure that will last for years.
A Smoky Mountain Wedding Affair
Second to Vegas in choices of places to marry, the Great Smoky Mountains offers the chance to tie the knot in beautiful chapels all over the area. Couples can also marry in the National Park or even the privacy of their own cabin or cottage.
There are many locations in the National Park that are popular for Smoky Mountain Weddings.
- Primitive Baptist Church
- Methodist Churches of Cades Cove
- The Mountain Top of Your Choice
It is important to remember to always request an application for a permit to have a ceremony in one of the natural churches or any historic structure in the park. If you are considering a Great Smoky Mountain Wedding, make sure to call the Park Rangers Activities Division at 423-436-1266.
All visitors should keep in mind that the structures in the park are all natural. These wooden structures do not allow any usage of candles or lamps for your ceremony.
Live Entertainments
You can expect to find live musical entertainment in places like Bryson City, Cherokee, Stecoah, Dillsboro, and Franklin. Live bands playing everything from blues, jazz, and country entertain crowds every night with top performers such as Trace Adkins and others who enjoy their Smoky Mountain tours as much as those who choose it as a vacation destination.
Dining and Shopping in the Smokys
The Great Smoky Mountains offers dining and shopping opportunities like no other place on earth. The Native American Craft Shop in Cherokee, North Carolina offers visitors the chance to view the Southeast’s largest collection of crafts hand-fashioned by Native American Cherokees who own and operate the establishment.
Regardless of the length of your vacation here, you will surely treasure every moment spent in the Great Smoky Mountains for a lifetime. Unforgettable beauty and adventure await you around every turn, and over each soaring majestic mountaintop.