16 Must-Dos in Gatlinburg, TN

The story of how I ended up in Gatlinburg, TN is a very relatable one to anyone who had anything remotely exciting planned for 2020. In my case, I was one of many brides who had to cancel, postpone, or adapt their honeymoons because of safety regulations and travel bans.

My husband has never been out of the country and I have never been anywhere more exotic or tropical than Florida. Therefore, naturally, we were planning to melt away the wedding stress (can I get an amen Corona brides?) at an all-inclusive resort with a swim-up room in Cancún, Mexico.

While that still sounds like exactly the slice of heaven we needed to kickstart our lives as Mr. and Mrs., my husband and I had no choice but to cancel our reservations and make other plans.

Determined to get the closest that we could to a “normal” honeymoon experience, I researched drivable places from our home in Charlotte, NC where we could practice social distancing and off to the Smoky Mountains we went! Post-wedding depression is real and as the sentimental creature that I am, we traveled back about five weeks later over Memorial Day weekend to relive our honeymoon and cling to the memories. It is from these two trips that I share some “heads up” pointers on things that you should know before booking your trip and must-dos of the area by category, for your convenience.

Things You Should Know

1. Traffic is BAD.

Contrary to what you might expect when you think of an isolated cabin in the Smokys, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are actually high-tourist areas. The speed limit along the strips is really only 35-45 mph and it’s very difficult to get to the other side of the divided highway or drive much of anywhere without sitting at a bit of a stand still.

2. Gatlinburg, TN= Pigeon Forge, TN= Sevierville, TN

Well, not exactly. However, when planning your trip, it’s safe to assume Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville, TN are fair game, meaning the best things to do are spread out between them and you will likely visit them all at least once. It’s really only 7.4 miles and 14 miles from Pigeon Forge and Sevierville to Gatlinburg, respectively; however, as mentioned in point 1, traffic is horrible and it can easily take an hour to get from your cabin in one area to dinner or an attraction in another. That being said, it’s probably best to have a car as I would assume that Ubers could get pricey.

Must Dos- Lodging

3. Stay in a Cabin!!!

My husband and I chose this area because we envisioned a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods. Let me be clear, this is not that. While you can definitely find cozy cabins with gorgeous mountain views that feel secluded, you are really only a short distance from a strip of tourist attractions, remniscent of Myrtle Beach. While this definitely isn’t a bad thing because there is lots to do, my advice for getting the best of both worlds is to connect with nature and stay in a cabin versus a hotel. The closer to the woods the better!

You can easily find a cabin via a quick Google search, which is what we did for our honeymoon; however, the second trip we booked one a bit farther out from VRBO. Click here to see the blissful views from the deck of our second cabin- perfect for relaxing, reading, and sipping coffee.

4. Spend Time in Your Cabin

Provided you have a few days in the area, this is not one of those trips where you will have so much to see that you should feel bad for staying in your room. If you are staying in a cabin, enjoy it! There are tons of cute features in the cabins that will make you want to stay in, the most common being hot tubs overlooking the mountains. We made sure to have nights in reserved for the hot tub, air hockey table (which sadly didn’t work well), and heart-shaped tub… ooh la la! If you go in the winter, I definitely recommend cozying up by the fireplace that you’re sure to have!

We did a wine tasting and were partial to the wine slushies. We bought ourselves a freeze mix and bottle of Concord and had a yummy treat for a few different nights!

Must Dos- Attractions

5. Titanic Museum

One thing that we definitely didn’t know prior to visiting, is that Pigeon Forge is home to the world’s largest Titanic museum attraction! The museum itself is created to look like the Titanic and is actually half-scale to the original ship.

Upon arrival you receive your “boarding pass,” which is complete with the name of an actual Titanic passenger or crew member. On the back, you learn about them and then at the very end of the museum, you learn your fate.

Some favorites of ours included walking the $1 million exact replica of the Grand Staircase and feeling 28-degree water, which is how cold the water was the night the Titanic sank.

6. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This is where you really get to experience the Smokies in their most authentic form. The National Park is full of hikes with varying lengths and levels of difficulty. We specifically sought out the ones with waterfalls.

Two of the hikes we did were Rainbow Falls and Grotto Falls. Grotto Falls is a 2.6 mi. round trip hike that is is expected to take 2-3 hours to complete and ends with a 25 ft. high waterfall.

Rainbow Falls is a 5.4 mi. round trip hike that is rated moderate in diffulty. However, I will say that the the trek up to the waterfall is entirely uphill and we were asked multiple times on the way down if the view was worth it.

While we may not have thought so while we were struggling to breathe on the way up, the views of the 80 ft. high waterfall removed any doubt.

The hike was expected to take 3-5 hours to complete; however, we hiked it in slightly under 3 hours as we practically ran down so that I could pee and we could get dinner. Hey, staying hydrated will do that to you, my friends.

7. Rent Side-by-Sides

As mentioned earlier, the local speed limits are typically 45 mph so riding ATVs on the road is legal. There is no shortage of places to rent cool Side by Sides and Slingshots so finding one is easy. You can cruise through various trails in the Smoky Mountains National Park, go on the streets in Pigeon Forge, and ride through the Gatlinburg Strip.

We rented a Side by Side for 5 hours and rode up through the mountains, stopping every once in a while at an overlook. When we reached the top, we hiked Clingmans Dome (would definitely recommend!) before making our way back.

8. Gatlinburg Strip

Downtown Gatlinburg has a unique “old town” vibe, with lots hidden to do. My favorite part was to explore and walk through the Village Shops and smell all of the yummy food; however, the Strip is also home to some of the most famous attractions, including Ripley’s Aquarium, Skylift Park, and Anakeesta.

The Aquarium did not make this list as it was definitely not my favorite thing to do; however, if you are traveling with children or have a spare, rainy day I would say it’s worth a trip just to see these guys.

9. Gatlinburg Skylift Park

In the middle of the Gatlinburg Strip is the SkyBridge, which is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America. You ride a ski lift up to the bridge where you can enjoy beautiful views of the mountains and the Gatlinburg Strip. Walking across is fun and there’s a glass panel in the middle that you have to walk over to get to the other side.

10. Get a Massage

We went to Fox Salon and Spa and got the couples massage Face/Body Combo, which combined one hour of a signature massage followed by a one hour facial. It. was. incredible. It was my husband’s first massage and facial and both of our first couples spa experience. We both left feeling super relaxed and happy.

Also, I must say that the hot stones were a crazy experience! My husband an I both thought they used a hot oil until afterwards we asked and they explained it was actually just the stones! Highly recommend.

Another cool option in the area is to get a mobile massage, where they come to you and will do your massage right from your serene cabin deck!

11. Tanger Outlets 

This one is obviously not specific to the mountains, but shopping is always a fun addition if you have the extra time! On our honeymoon, we went multiple days because it was one of those times where the outlets are having really great deals. In fact, my husband and I kept joking that we felt like we robbed Under Armour because of how much we bought for such a reasonable price!

12. Dollywood

Many people are actually drawn to Pigeon Forge specifically for Dollywood, which is best known for its theme park, but also has a water park, spa, and lodging.

While it was open when we went, we weren’t thrilled with the idea of wearing masks on roller coasters so we opted out; however, I would definitely classify it as a “must-do” for the area and hope to go in the future.

13. Anakeesta

Anakeesta is another very popular tourist attraction in downtown Gatlinburg. Anakeesta is a “theme park” that is most famous for its tree top skywalk and zip lines. We were considering doing this the day we did the SkyBridge and decided we didn’t want to do both in one day, but from what we’ve heard this one is definitely worth your while.

Must Dos- Food

14. Big Daddy’s Pizza

There are three of these in the area, one each in Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Gatlinburg. All of them are consistently booming, and the quality shows for it. The pizza is pricey, but that didn’t stop us from picking up takeout to eat at our cabin on three different occasions… and I would go back.

15. The Alamo

The Alamo is a steakhouse chain, but what we were really impressed with was the salad. If you are a dressing lover like myself, order the wedge. It comes smothered with blue cheese and Catalina dressing. I got it with my steak on our first trip, but my husband and I loved it enough that we went back on our second trip specifically for it. Alone, the salad was only $7. This was enough to make me full; however, I also opted for the loaded baked potato ($4) because why not?

16. Ole Red

*Disclaimer, this is a must don’t for us!

Okay, let me preface this by saying that my husband and I LOVE Blake Shelton. In fact, I got him Blake Shelton tickets for Christmas in 2018 for his first concert and cried like a baby through two full songs because of the emotional connection and memories that flooded back when hearing certain songs live. With that being said, the man’s restaurant, Ole Red, is terrible. Honestly, we looked at the menu while on our honeymoon and were like “nah,” but made it a priority when we went back because we are such fans. Unfortunately, we left mega disappointed. The inside is nice, but the menu, prices, and food made us question if he has taste buds and if he’s ever used them to test the food he overcharges his fans for. We both still get nauseous thinking about it.

Have you ever been to the Great Smoky Mountains? Drop a comment and let me know if you’ve been to any of the places I mentioned or have any must-dos for my next trip.

Thanks for reading!