Family Friendly Travel Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains
Well we recently wrapped up a 3 day family trip to Gatlinburg and it was wonderful. I used to live in Tennessee when I was younger, but haven’t been back to visit in years. I was so excited to take my family to one of the most beautiful states I’ve been to. Here’s our family friendly travel guide to the Great Smoky Mountains.
self guided family friendly tour through the Great Smoky Mountains. This is at Chimney’s Picnic Area
Day 1 (Friday)
This was our “get acquainted with the area” and “mom needs to do some research on free things to do in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg” day… We also had a meeting with a “travel club” presentation (cue eye roll) that took a couple hours out of our day.
By the time we wrapped up with that, we were looking at exploring around 12pm. Thankfully the Foothills Parkway just happened to be on our way and near where we were.
We stopped at the Great Smoky Mountain visitor center to find the “toddler” friendly trails (there’s one right behind the visitor center - Cataract Falls) and verify we could see pretty scenic views if we just drove over the mountain.
We could. So we went to 2 look outs, the very first two you can pull off into.
The first one is called Gatlinburg Bypass Scenic Look Out. It features a beautiful view of downtown Gatlinburg.
Beautiful family photo opportunities at Gatlinburg Bypass Scenic Lookout
And a beautiful view of downtown Gatlinburg at Gatlinburg bypass scenic Lookout
The second one was a moody view of the mountains (not sure of it’s official name). It was an overcast and rainy day when we were there, which I think added to the ambiance and allure.
Plop the kids down and take some gorgeous pictures in Gatlinburg, TN on the Foothills Parkway
Then we went back to our room for a late lunch and naps. We also went out to eat with friends. There are tons of restaurants along the strip to choose from, but I would recommend going at least 30 minutes before you want to eat. All the waits were 45 minutes to an hour.
Day 2 (Saturday)
Our second day was our free day to do absolutely anything we wanted. “We” wanted to go exploring more look outs. (when I say we, I mean me. Lol)
They’re quick, kid friendly and gorgeous views. What more could you want when traveling with toddlers?
The hike from the visitor center to Cataract Falls was perfect for the kids. And several other trails along the way!
Unfortunately (or fortunately) for us, about ten minutes into our journey over the mountain, we were stuck in standstill traffic. There is only one lane, each way, over the mountain. After 45min of sitting in it and having no idea what was going on, we flagged someone down.
Apparently there was a little black bear in a tree and everyone was stopping or slowing down to look at it and take pictures. This caused quite the delay.
We were stuck in that line for close to 2 hours but we did get to see the cute little guy and also curse him for making us waste so much of our day.
We were able to hit quite a few more over looks before we had to call it quits for lunch (around 2pm)
Chimney Tops Trail: Where we very much needed to stretch our legs for the first time after that 2hr wait and get out some pent up energy.
We got stuck in a line for two hours while people were looking at a black bear in a tree. This is the first stop we got to get out and stretch our legs at Chimney Tops Trail look out.
Fall leaves and mountain views in Gatlinburg Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains is gorgeous!
Mountain Creek: cute little creek waterfall coming down the mountain. It was so cold, there were icicles and we all had a little frozen treat.
Our kid’s first experience with icicles! It will never be cold enough in South Carolina for them to enjoy this fun winter treat.
Morton Overlook: A very pretty view!
Morton overlook in the smoky mountains has such a gorgeous view
By this time (2pm) everyone was hangry and done pulling over every 5 seconds to unload everyone out of the car to take pictures. Whoops!
We finally got over the mountain and at the first intersection/light there was a herd of elk passing through. It was the coolest thing and probably something the locals see all the time.
A herd of elk crossing the road in Cherokee North Carolina right next to the Great Smoky Mountains
I’ve never seen so much unique wildlife, so up close before. It was AWESOME. And surreal… like, where are we?! Alaska??
We stopped in the cutest little town of Cherokee, NC (right over the mountain) for lunch. We ate right there because it seemed like that was the only thing open at the time.
Cherokee, North Carolina, right next to the smoky mountains, is an adorable little mountain town
In reality, if we would’ve gone a little further into town, we could’ve found more to eat. Just keep going straight once you get out of the mountain (don’t turn left at the light) and you’ll have more options than we did. ;)
The last scenic view we were able to see before we got stuck in MORE bear traffic on the way back, was Webb Overlook. Absolutely breathtaking and there are a couple stops for it. It’s the one with this really sturdy & kid friendly (haha!) bridge.
Webb Overlook has some gorgeous panoramic views of the Great Smoky Mountains. There are several different lookouts too.
The Great Smoky mountains in Gatlinburg, TN.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Our third day, the day we were also heading home, happened to be the warmest, upper 60’s. So we decided that would be the perfect day to explore/hike and get the kids all tired before we got back on the road.
We got a pretty early start since checkout was at 10am, so we went straight to the kid friendly trail by the visitor center.
The short hike to Cataract Falls was perfect. There were a couple different trails you could veer off of, but I don’t remember the mileage and I don’t think my kids could’ve lasted for more. But it’s an option if you’ve got older kids or more time on your hands.
Cataract Falls in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The perfect trail for toddlers and kids. People even had strollers!
Next we headed to Chimney’s Picnic Area for lunch and a view. We had all our food packed up (unlike the bear day) so it was perfect. They also have a trail there if you’re feeling adventurous before or after your meal!
We stopped at chimneys picnic area for a quick bite to eat and scenic views of a pretty river and babbling brook on our way back home.
After that we were able to hit one more overlook: Newfound Gap Road. I’m just going to warn you here and let you know that this place is PACKED. It’s got a bathroom and great photo op places, but at what cost?!?
Newfound Gap Road is a huge Lookout and beautiful views of the Great Smoky Mountains. It is packed though, so make sure you’re aware! They also have trails to hike even higher up the mountain side.
There are additional trails which I’m sure have even more amazing “top of the mountain” views, better from the rest stop, but it was another 3mi to get there and I know my kids would not have made it. Especially with everything we had already done.
If you’re going to stop here (other than to use to facilities), I would suggest making it THE stop for the day. It might take you forever to actually find a parking spot and the trails are pretty long.
Before we left, my husband had to pull over and get our gps working (no signal while you’re in the mountains!) and this view over Oconaluftee Overlook was stunning.
There were more trails and overlooks. There was even a cave (which was also insanely packed & people were super dangerous parking on the side of the road) but we only had 3 days. And we had two very young toddlers (2 & 4).
Pigeon Forge also has Dollywood! But it wasn’t on our list of things to do on this trip and it’s pretty pricey. But maybe in a couple years when they can both actually enjoy it and we have a bit more time.
I think we packed in quite enough adventures and saw a lot for our mere three day visit to Gatlinburg, TN. And everything we did was FREE!! You can’t be free!
Have you ever been to the Gatlinburg area? In the fall?? It’s so beautiful! I would love to hear about your experience/favorite things to do in Gatlinburg in the comments!
