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Gatlinburg

Tennessee Smoky Mountains Vacation

Smoky MountainsMore Photos
  • by jmhook
  • An August 2005 travel journal
  • Last Updated: March 7, 2006
Journal Usefulness Rating 2 out of 5
Journal Usefulness
12
Reviews
21
Photos

Our trip started from Williamsburg, VA. We stayed the first night in Roanoke, VA. The next couple days we stayed in Pigeon Forge, and then Gatlinburg after that, while taking in the nature, city, and crafts areas.

Smoky Mountains
Roanoke, VA:
Natural Bridge, which is a rock arch a couple hundred feet above the walk path below. There is a small hike that continues on the path.

Gatlinburg, TN:
Smoky Mountains, hikes or drives
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community
Ober Gatlinburg and Sky Tram
Ripley’s Aquarium
Dollywood

Quick Tips:

See http://www.gatlinburg.com.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you're sightseeing in town, park in a garage and walk everywhere. The Gatlinburg downtown is very small. There is also a cheap trolley that will, for or less, take you around Gatlinburg as well as Pigeon Forge and the Arts and Crafts Community.

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Oakmont Resort

Best Things Nearby:
** Dolly Parton Theme Park is just up the street. http://www.dollywood.com
** Pigeon Forge is next to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.

Best Things About the Resort:
** Same great amenities as other resorts, with lower Points cost for not being in Gatlinburg.
** Great children activities sponsored by the resort.

Resort Experience:
http://www.oakmontresort.com

It looks like a 1970s apartment complex surrounding a central pool area. The rooms are cleaned well. There are several family activities sponsored by the resort throughout the week. There is a good-size outdoor pool as well as an indoor pool, sauna, and whirlpool hot tub. There is a large community room where you can get and play board games, and where the kids have their crafting activities. Outside there are two playgrounds, swings, a shuffleboard, a putting green, and many barbecues. It is worthy of another visit.

  • Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
  • Activities: Very Good
  • Amenities: Very Good
  • Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
  • Family Friendliness: Excellent
  • Service: Excellent
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 19, 2006

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Oakmont Resort of Pigeon Forge
2735 Middle Creek Road Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37863
(865) 453-3240

Tree Tops Resort

Best Things Nearby:
** Smoky Mountains.
** Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community.
** Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail ends on the same road as the resort.
** Ober Gatlinburg. Winter skiing. Summer amusement rides, hill slide, and indoor skating.
** Ripley’s Aquarium.

Best Things About the Resort:
It's centrally located, so it's not too far to go anywhere in Gatlinburg or the Smoky Mountains.

Resort Experience:
http://www.treetopsresort.com

When first entering the resort, you see that it is surrounded by trees, with a nice atmosphere. There are several buildings that make up the resort, and they are divided into three sections, each surrounding a different-shaped swimming pool. There is also an indoor pool and sauna, exercise rooms, racquetball, outdoor shuffleboard, putting green, darts, table tennis, and a playground. The facility and rooms are very nice.

Although, when we first arrived, I had to wait 10 minutes with no one else in front of me while the desk clerk finished her previous paperwork and was ready to talk to me. There was no high chair or crib in the room, which I had asked for several weeks before, so I asked for it again when we arrived. Four hours later, at 8pm, my 1-year-old's bedtime, it was still not taken care of, and I had to call the desk a third time for the crib and high chair, which was then taken care of.

The playground equipment was heavily covered with leaves, pine needles, swarming ants, millipedes, and other insects, making it difficult for my toddler to play.

If it wasn't for the bad customer service and the bad upkeep of the playground, we might consider coming back.

  • Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
  • Activities: Fair
  • Amenities: Very Good
  • Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
  • Family Friendliness: Fair
  • Service: Poor
  • Member Rating 1 out of 5 by jmhook on January 19, 2006

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Tree Tops Resort
290 Sherman Clabo Road Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 436-6559

Hard Rock Cafe

Restaurant

Hard Rock Cafe

http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes/Cafes.aspx?Lc=GATL

Just like any other Hard Rock Cafe, there is music memorabilia covering the walls, music videos playing on the wall-mounted televisions, and different themed rooms for the varying rock eras.

The food tasted great and the service was great as well. They were very accommodating to our child.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Hard Rock Cafe
515 Parkway Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 430-7625

Log Cabin Pancake House

This place was huge and constructed with large old timbers. They offered more varieties of pancakes than I had ever imagined. I am not a pancake-loving person, but their pancakes were delicious! Their other dishes needed some work. Basically you go there for the many varieties of pancakes.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Log Cabin Pancake House
327 Historic Nature Trail Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 453-5748

Bennett's BBQ

Restaurant

Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que

http://www.bennetts-bbq.com

This was one of the best barbecue restaurants I have ever been to. There so many superb-tasting meals. We also took advantage of the morning buffet.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Bennett's BBQ
714 River Road Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 428-6328

Natural Bridge

Activity

View of Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge

http://www.naturalbridgeva.com

This is a paid attraction for $12 (kids under 5 are free), and there are other discounts for the other attractions (caverns, wax museum). You can take the free bus ride or walk down several scenic steps to get to the Natural Bridge.

The rock formation is 215 feet tall and 90 feet wide. As you continue on the trail, you'll pass through the small Monacan Indian Village, where they have reenactments and you can ask them questions. Farther along the trail you'll follow Cedar Creek and pass Saltpeter Cave, where they mined for nitrates to make gunpowder during the Civil War. There is also The Lost River, visible through a low arch in the side of the mountain, its sparkling waters flowing from an unseen cavern above to one below the creek. And at the end of the hike is Lace Falls, with small cascades along the 50-foot drop.

  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 19, 2006

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Natural Bridge
15 Appledore Lane Gatlinburg, Tennessee 24578
(800) 533-1410

Arts and Crafts

Activity

Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community

http://www.artsandcraftscommunity.com

This is an 8-mile loop of shops, studios, galleries, cafes, and lodging just outside downtown Gatlinburg. There is supposedly a trolley that you can take along the loop, stopping or walking to each shop, but we did not see it frequently enough, so we drove. Driving the loop is not bad if you don't want to go to all the shops. A list of shops and map is provided at most shops and tourist locations.

Our favorite was the ALEWINE POTTERY, which is worthy of another visit.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 19, 2006

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Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts Community eight mile loop Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Clingman's Dome

Activity

View from trail base

Clingman's Dome

This is the highest point in the Smokies at 6,643 feet. It is a 1-mile round-trip steep incline to the top, where Clingman's Dome observatory is.

There were several folks who made use of the few benches along the steeply paved trail.

Unfortunately for us, when we reached the top, it was surrounded by clouds, so we couldn’t see past 100 feet.

It is still worthy of another visit.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Clingman's Dome
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 436-1200

Hiking with my one-year old daughter

Laurel Falls Hike

Laurel Falls is the easiest waterfall hike on the Tennessee side of the park. It is 2.5 miles round-trip and follows a paved trail. The trail cuts through the middle of a series of cascades. Laurel Falls is 60 feet high.

We chose this hike because of the moderate terrain. We went with our 1-year-old daughter.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/gsmsite/home/index.html is a link to other Great Smokey Mountains National Park activities and information.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Laurel Falls Trail
Great Smoky Mountains Gatlinburg, Tennessee

One of the homesteads you can tour

Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

You can buy a guided tour map at the ranger station when you enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The one-way 5.5-mile drive begins and ends near downtown Gatlinburg. The drive takes you to where people used to live before the area was made a national park. There is plenty of scenery and places to stop the car and tour the old homesteads.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 436-1200

Ski lift up to Alpine Slide

Ober Gatlinburg

http://www.obergatlinburg.com/info.htm

The cost is $9.50 for a round-trip on the tram to get to Ober Gatlinburg from Gatlinburg. The tram car can carry 120 passengers and climbs 1,335 feet to the mountain station.

It resembles a carnival in the summer, with amusement rides that take tickets costing $2.50 each. My favorite was the Alpine Slide (two tickets), where you take a ski lift up the mountain and toboggan down the hillside. My 1-year-old daughter's favorites were the car and train rides (two tickets).
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Ober Gatlinburg - Ice Skating
1339 Ski Mountain Rd Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 436-5423

Children area

Ripley's Aquarium

http://www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com

Ages 12+ are $18, 6-11 are $10, 2-5 are $4, and under 2 are free. Our 1-year-old daughter loved this place. It is worthy of another visit.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by jmhook on January 20, 2006

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Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
88 River Road Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
(865) 430-8808

About the Writer

jmhook
jmhook
Williamsburg, United States

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