Gatlinburg

We went to Gatlinburg in the Fall and loved it! The Fall foliage was on full display, we ate amazing food, hiked the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, got to see incredible sights and came across an abundance of wildlife. The trip packed basically everything we love to see and do all into one. We live in Florida and planned a road trip up to Tennessee stopping in St. Augustine, FL, Savannah, GA, and Hendersonville, NC along the way.   

Gatlinburg is unique because the town has a ton of tourist attractions, but the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where you can feel far from any civilization, is just minutes away! The seasonal nature of the area provides different options depending on what kind of weather you want. In the fall, we enjoyed crisp, cool nights, but in late December, the area begins its transition into a winter wonderland.

Logistics

Accommodations – We rented a cabin with a hot tub and would recommend doing the same if you’re traveling in a group. 

Food – Local Goat is one of our favorite restaurants ever! Go early and put your name on the list because we have recommended this place to people and have heard stories of walk-ins getting as much as a 2-3 hour wait. There were some other restaurants that we liked, but we’re not listing any  here so that we can make sure Local Goat gets on your list! Sidenote: breakfast spots might say fresh squeezed OJ, but we didn’t get any good orange juice the whole trip.

Transportation – Being that this was a road trip for us, we rented a car with unlimited mileage. The closest airport is Knoxville (about 50 minutes away) so even if you fly in, it’s ideal to rent a car. Since Knoxville is a small airport, flights are usually expensive; we recommend checking out flights to Charlotte, Nashville or Atlanta. All of these cities usually have much cheaper flights. The drive will be a few hours longer, but you could potentially save a ton of money on both the ticket and rental car – plus, you can make a trip out of these other cities!