My husband’s family and I recently took a visit to Gatlinburg. It is a quick 4 hour drive from Cincinnati and it ended up being exactly what we needed. I had not been to Gatlinburg since I was a child, and I honestly didn’t know why I needed to go back until I finally did.
What an experience as an adult, and I could only imagine the experience taking your children to this magical place. Check out why a visit to Gatlinburg is exactly what you need in a vacation.
1. The Smoky Mountains
The Smoky Mountains are home to some of the most diverse plants and wildlife in the Midwest. Honestly, I was hoping we were going to see a bear in Cade’s Cove because we went during the season in which they forage. Unfortunately we did not, but we also did not explore or hike, we spent most of our time in the Cades Cove loop taking in the beautiful views around us.
However, if you go, I highly recommend you get out and take a look around! We saw a bear when we went as children, but my dad had us hop a fence to check out everything around us… that’s just how we rolled.
Whether you are daring and ready to go searching for bears, or looking for a relaxing drive with amazing scenery around you, The Smoky Mountains offer a beautiful, educational, and FREE experience.
2. Time to Unplug
You can’t tell me there is never a time in your life where you just want to put your phone on airplane mode and never look back. Being in the mountains gives you the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Being a blogger… a lot of time of mine is spent online. Well, you don’t typically have service in the mountains so it kind of forced me to put the phone down and just enjoy quality time.
3. Delicious Food
No matter where we went, whether a hole in the wall burger joint, or huge bbq restaurant, the food was absolutely phenomenal.
I feel like that is a thing though, right? The further south you go, the better the food gets? We had bbq, burgers, wings, sweets and literally anything else you can imagine. Check out these amazing bbq brisket nachos we had at Corkys in Pigeon Forge.
4. Downtown Gatlinburg
Downtown Gatlinburg is a perfect place to spend the day when you are wanting to go out and do fun stuff (it is also some of the best people watching you can get).
We spent our last day in Downtown Gatlinburg. There are so many shops, restaurants, museums, and activities. We decided to check out Anakeesta because of the beautiful treetop photos I kept seeing in the Gatlinburg location on Instagram.
But trust me, you could spend everyday in downtown Gatlinburg and still not get to do and see everything it has to offer. Check out an amazing list of things to do here.
5. Something for Everyone
I believe there are three types of vacationers – people who want to relax, people who want to be on the ‘go, go, go’ and see everything, and then those who need a little mix of both.
Gatlinburg truly has a little something for everyone, beautiful hiking in the smokies, tourist attractions that include an amazing aquarium and museum, mini golf (of course), shows, amusement parks, and of course cabins in the middle of nowhere.
We stayed with American Patriot Getaways. They have locations all around the area. If you call to book your stay, you can tell them exactly what you are looking to do and they will find you the perfect cabin. They were so helpful when it came to finding the perfect location!
Absolutely everyone will have the vacation they are craving.
6. Dollywood
Dolly is the Queen of Gatlinburg, and for good reason. She has given so much to this place, and honestly, made it into what it is today. I am not expert on Dollywood, but let me point you to my favorite blogger who is, Phoebe from Milk With No Sugar.
We are already planning our trip back to Gatlinburg, and you better believe it will include Dollywood. I went as a kid and remember it being an absolute wonderland. It is even more so now.
What is your absolute top reason to visit Gatlinburg? Comment below!
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