Glamping in The Great Smoky Mountains
Place: The Great Smoky Mountain National Park
State: Tennessee
Closest Cities: Gatlinburg, TN, Pigeon Forge, TN
Time of Year: October 2022
How we got there: Plane, Road trip
If you haven’t noticed, we have a goal to visit all 63 national parks in the US! This trip to the Great Smoky Mountain was extra special because we had two of our three boys join us! Our oldest isn’t available as much as I would like, but I guess we can give him a pass since his excuse is medical school. One day he will be free to join us!
Gatlinburg, TN
Our middle son Julian was living in Augusta, GA so we flew into Atlanta and then drove to Augusta to pick him up. I know, it seems a roundabout way of getting there. It would have been easier to fly into Knoxville, but we love a road trip. It’s almost a 5 hour drive from Augusta to Gatlinburg and we did it early in the morning as to not miss a day of sightseeing. We wasted no time getting into Gatlinburg, TN only to find smoke billowing from a building in town along the main street! This prevented us from going up to the SkyPark, which was the first activity on our list, as the chair lift to the park was right next door to the restaurant that was on fire! We opted to use this time to check out “the Parkway” which is the main street in Gatlinburg. There is so much to see here. Lots of shops, touristy museums, family entertainment spots, pancake houses and candy shops. We stopped in at The Donut Friar for a delicious treat and shopped for souvenirs. I am not one to purchase souvenirs normally but I found this super cute measuring spoon that I couldn’t pass up! It is a tablespoon on one side and a teaspoon on the other! I use it quite often in my kitchen and every time I see it, it reminds me of the quirky town of Gatlinburg.
Later in the day the SkyPark opened up! Tickets are about $40 each at the window or if you want to purchase online to avoid the ticket line it is $46.This includes the chairlift, SkyBridge and SkyTrail. We took the chairlift to the top of Crockett Mountain where the SkyBridge is located. This is the longest pedestrian cable bridge in North American and it sits 500 feet above Gatlinburg. It was early Fall and the leaves were beginning to change so the views from the chairlift were colorful! There is a SkyTrail which connects the bridge with a wooden boardwalk where you can take a stroll and enjoy the views of Gatlinburg and the views of the SkyBridge. Along the boardwalk there is a two rope bridge that takes you to the Tulip Tower. Cesar had fun making the rope bridge sway as the boys and I crossed. The Tulip Tower is a steel tower with 4 viewing platforms each with info about the surrounding area.
Some people thought the SkyBridge itself was a little scary, but it was pretty cool. You do not have to cross if you have a fear of heights. You can take the boardwalk back around to avoid it. Right in the center of the bridge is a glass window about 30 feet long which you must walk over to get across! It’s totally doable even if there were a lot of people up there at the time!
Video of the walk across the SkyBridge below!
Something that is really popular around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN is riding the mountain coasters! We rode a total of 3 and they were so much fun! We all agreed that the best one was the Goats on a Roof Mountain Coaster near Pigeon Forge. This ride was at night and since it was October the coaster was all decked out in a spooky theme making it that much more scary! The coasters aren’t that cheap but how often do you get to act like a kid again!
Our Super Cool Glamping Tent
After our fun day in Gatlinburg, TN we were ready to check into our Airbnb. We drove the short distance from Gatlinburg through Pigeon Forge, TN where we turned onto highway 321 to Wears Valley. Wears Valley is right outside one of the entrances to Smoky Mountain National Park. This is the quieter side of the park. We really got lucky finding this Airbnb run by StarGazer Glamping Village. I actually think we were one of the first people to stay here. This has to be the most thought out set up I have ever experienced! They thought of everything! Our two bedroom, one bath tent had a dining table, kitchen and living room compete with a chandelier. The décor was so cute and the tent was convertible! You could unzip it to open the kitchen to the porch with a pass through window. We had blue fluffy robes, all the supplies to build a fire in the outdoor firepit, the makings for smores and a $10 gift card to their coffee shop on the corner. They are pet friendly and even supplied a pet bed and toys! This was all nestled in a rural area with a small coffee shop and corner store in walking distance. All right outside The Great Smoky Mountains! Did I mention a fully furnished front porch? I am pretty sure that we got a deal at $120 a night. I am thinking they were new and wanted to build their repetition on Airbnb. I bet if I checked the price it will be different now! It would be worth it! I almost forgot to mention the nighttime sky! Stars galore! Hence the name Star Gazer Glamping Village! We stayed in one of 3 tents. Ours with the name Copernicus.
Here is a video of the inside of our glamping tent!
We stopped in at the coffee shop to spend our gift card and visited the corner store with it’s cute haybale art out front.
Pigeon Forge, TN
In the evenings we spent some time in Pigeon Forge, TN. It is only about 15 to 20 minutes from Gatlinburg and about the same from Wears Valley where we were staying. Talk about a quirky little town! The main street through town called Parkway(yes it is basically the same road that runs through Gatlinburg) is jammed packed with entertainment venues. I couldn’t get over how touristy it was! Every type of entertainment you can think of was there. Amusement parks, mini golf, mountain coasters, dinner shows, restaurants and shopping centers.
Our choice for entertainment was a dinner theater! We booked our tickets to The Hatfield and McCoy’s Dinner Feud over the phone so that we could take advantage of a military discount. It is about $60 per person without the discount. Although the show itself was cheesy and the dinner was ok, the overall experience was a lot of fun! The theater was packed and dinner was all you can eat southern style brought right to your table. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, rolls, gravy, corn on the cob, a yummy soup and dessert. We ate and laughed at the silliness of it all!
You cannot go to Tennessee without tasting some moonshine! Ole Smoky Moonshine is where we ended up. It is located at The Island which is a shopping center/amusement center right off the Parkway. This is a popular place and pretty crowded. Cesar and Julian had a great time tasting all the moonshine while I examined all the crazy moonshine products available for sale.
This town has it all from crazy upside down buildings to mamajuana shops! It is a sensory overload! You have to see it to believe it!
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This is the part I was so excited for! I just love the outdoors especially in the Fall! It took us under 10 minutes to get to the Wears Valley entrance of Smoky Mountain National Park from our Airbnb. After stopping at the ranger orientation center, we headed straight to the 11 mile one way loop of Cades Cove. There are certain times where you can rent and ride a bike through this loop but that was not the case on the day we visited. It was bumper to bumper and very slow moving. The road is a single lane with little room on either side. There is no passing in a car. You need to have an idea of which stops on the map you wish to visit because parking is limited and once you pass the parking lot you are unable to go back unless you start the loop all over again! We opted to stop to see one of the first churches in the area, the Primitive Baptist Church and we took the short hike to see Oliver Cabin. The boys said I could choose only one hike for the day so I choose the Abram Falls Trail! It turned out to be a good one! This was a 5 mile out and back trail through wet groundcover with wooden bridges, rhododendron, hemlock forests, and a creek all leading to a 20 foot waterfall. The hike is relatively easy and beautiful!
We picnicked on the rocks right beside the Abrums Falls and immediately noticed an otter swimming playfully. There were gorgeous red and yellow fall colors along the water. What a peaceful spot to sit and relax! On the hike back we spotted a small bear rustling around in the trees above us! Check out the bear video below!
Our next stop on the 11 mile loop of Cades Cove was the Cades Cove Visitor’s Center. Here we learned about the Cable Mill and watched a demonstration of how the grist mill grinds corn. Mill Creek runs beside the mill and other buildings dating back to the 1800’s. This is an educational stop.
Now We Know Why They Are Called The Great Smoky Mountains
It was time to head back to Georgia but we needed to make one last stop! We woke up super early the next morning and drove through the park, bypassing Gatlinburg, to Clingmans Dome which lies on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. Clingmans Dome is the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains and it is pretty easily accessible. You can drive almost to the top then hike 1.3 miles to the unique observation tower. The hike itself is on a paved road however it is pretty steep and we did it in the dark so that we could witness the spectacular sunrise over The Great Smoky Mountains! I have to say that the boys were not too pleased about having to hike in the cold that early in the morning! Their attitudes changed quickly once we got to the top of the circular observation tower. We could practically see the whole national park covered in what looked like fog. I wondered how we could possibly see the sunrise at all with the fog blanketing everything. Slowly but surely the sun started to peek up from behind the hills and the fog began to lift! This has got to be one of the most special sunrises we have ever witnessed! My next favorite sunrise was at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia NP which you can read about here: https://dawntillduskaz.com/5-days-in-acadia-national-park/.
Once the sun rose, we could see nothing but a patchwork of fall colors! Such a gorgeous place! We definitely need to go back to see more of the park and hike more of the trails! Hope you too get a chance to witness what makes The Great Smoky Mountains smoky! Please remember to hike responsibly and leave no trace!
