Rented a cabin in Gatlinburg for mid September. Would like to do some tourist stuff as well as a couple shorter waterfall hikes. My kids will be 2 and 5 at the end of the year, so not looking for a 5 mile hike lol. Would like to take them up to Anakeesta. Any must see places or anything you thought was overrated? Restaurant recommendations?
Thanks
Laurel Falls Trail isn't super challenging. It's all uphill on the way to the falls and all downhill back. Saw a few people with strollers on it. I wouldn't do that, but they seemed to be managing.
If you like mini-golf, you HAVE to do Hillbilly Golf. We did it twice while there in the Spring. Was fun. You have to take an incline funicular to the top and then you golf your way most of the way down.
I wasn't overly impressed by any restaurants there.
Forbidden Caverns was about a 30 or 40 minute drive but was really neat, too.
Gatlinburg is a weird town, like Ocean City, Maryland moved to the mountains. We hiked some other trails but with 11 year olds.....I wouldn't recommend them for younger kids (mine barely managed them).
Edit to add: The Gatlinburg Pinball Museum is kinda cool if you like that sort of thing. You can buy a day pass and play for a bit and then go back later and play more. Lots of pinball and classic video games (PacMan, Asteroids, etc.).
One more edit: I have never seen so many pancake places in one town. Apparently it's the cottage industry there, and probably explains why I was the most "in shape" person I saw there over the 4 days or so that we spent there.
Last edited by 43Under; 08-29-2022 at 07:55 PM.
If you like muscle cars and assorted paraphernalia of the era: https://musclecarmuseum.com/
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
My kids are around the same age and enjoy Dollywood.
There’s a Bud’s Gun Shop with an indoor range in Sevierville. Smokey Mountain Knife Works is next to Bud’s and is pretty cool.
There’s a Warbird Museum at the airport there, if you’re into that sorta thing.
That being said, I hate going to that area. The traffic sucks.
Sheez, what do I pay @blues for?
Have you considered confronting your father in a bar regarding him naming you Sue?
#RESIST
Introduce your kids to Johnny Cash's music..
"A Boy Named Sue"
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue".
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue".
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue".
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said, "My name is 'Sue'! How do you do!
Now you're gonna die!"
Yeah, that's what I told him!
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said, "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said, "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son of a bitch that named you 'Sue'."
Well, what could I do, what could I do?
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
Originally Posted by LittleLebowski
I've been everywhere, man...
...but I still avoid Gatlinburg...(for the other side of the divide).
There's nothing civil about this war.
The first short section of the hike to LeConte via the Alum trail is kid friendly. Takes you to a little bridge and and a passage through a rock. Probably won't want to go much further unless you intend to carry the kids. It's also pretty busy so there are plenty of folks there if you don't start really early. That can be a plus because it generally keeps curious bears away.
You can drive over the mountain to Cherokee and see the elk, stopping on top at the state line for the views, right off the highway or at Clingman's Dome.
Smoky Mountain Knife Works is almost a required stop. Lots of kid friendly stuff in the area.
Gatlinburg has a neat little aquarium.
Smoky Mountain Knife Works. There’s a really nice gun store next door as well as the one in the basement of SMKW.
Ober Gatlingburg is nice and fun (more so during the winter with snow). Walking around Gatlinburg is fun and there are a lot of fun little shops.
There’s some lifts into different places that are cool.
The state park nearby has elk that were relocated into them and we drove through a herd of them on the way. It was amazing.
Dollywood is fun for kids - we enjoyed it.
God Bless,
Brandon
In the words of Mario Puzo, I was the stiletto and you were the club, way to miss our subtlety play
#RESIST
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