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Smoky Mountain Vacation Must Do
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items The Smoky Mountains are our home away from home! It’s our favorite place to visit and I wanted to share some of our favorite places when we visit
Map
Sections
3
Restaurant/Food Stops
Attractions
Exploring Nature and Historical Sites
Restaurant/Food Stops
Our first and last stop every trip! The breakfast is soo yummy! I love their omelets! But the real show stopper is the apple fritters and apple butter! They also have a store next door filled with all things apple! Oh and not to forget the apple cide...
Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant
My husband always gets the all you can eat pancakes. They bring out a single pancake that is equivalent to 5 pancakes…it is MASSIVE! Their food is delicious and staff is always so friendly
Little House of Pancakes
Go back in time and visit Mel’s! What a neat place to see. Their food is good and love the atmosphere
Mel's Classic Diner
This hidden gem is a must every time we visit! They have the BEST chicken and waffles! The staff is always super friendly and we haven’t had a single dish we didn’t like!
Elvira's Cafe
Attractions
So much fun! Very interesting to see actual artifacts and you learn a lot! This was such a cool experience for us! Getting to feel the temperature of the water (the temp the water was when it sank) was chilling.
Titanic Museum
This is by far my favorite all in one! You get dinner (which was sooo good) and a show! I wasn’t expecting much to be honest, but I was pleasantly surprised! It was so much fun and entertaining. Well worth the money!
Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud
We try to make this a stop every time we visit! The kids love it so much and one of my favorite parts is the penguin parade! I also love the aquarium tunnel where you see sharks, fish etc swimming all around you
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
Moonshining tasting and store. My husband loves this place
Sugarlands Distilling Company
This is quite a neat area! They have the distillery and shops all around it. They do moonshine tastings at the distillery as well
Ole Smoky Distillery "The Holler"
They have everything you can imagine in this store and it is MASSIVE! From knives, to swords, old coins, war memorabilia, toys, you name it they probably have it! Definitely worth checking out
Smoky Mountain Knife Works
Wonderful amusement park and if you’re lucky, you might even see Dolly herself!
Dollywood
Unique attraction that has shopping, dinning and more! You will want to take your camera/phone for breathing views and plenty of photo opps
Anakeesta
Exploring Nature and Historical Sites
Going through Cades Cove is our favorite part of every trip! Beautiful landscapes, wildlife, breathtaking views, historic cabins and churches. This is a MUST!
Cades Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. ...
This was pretty cool to see. Walking through all of the old cabins and learning the history of Daisytown was pretty cool!
Daisy Town: The Birth of Tourism in the Smokies (U.S. National Park Service)
We have been here a few times. You have to hike to it but not very far at all. It’s really neat to see and explore
Hiking to the House of the Fairies in the Great Smoky Mountains
Some of the most beatable views I have ever seen! I’m not gonna lie, walking up to the tower, it’s a workout! But thank god for the benches so you can rest along the way! Pretty neat…you actually walk across the Appalachian Trail along the way! If yo...
Visit Kuwohi, Formerly Clingmans Dome | Great Smokies Trails
This was a neat find. You do have to hike to it but so cool to see in person!
A Hidden Gem in the Smoky Mountains: The Elkmont Troll Bridge
It’s not in Gatlinburg, but worth the drive to visit while you are there! In the evening you can see Elk in the fields surrounding the visitor center. They are massive! They have an area for you to explore various ways of life back then. Also trails ...
Oconaluftee Visitor Center – Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
This is not for the weak or those who get car sick! 318 curves in 11 miles! Beautiful scenery along the way and so much fun to ride this road!
Tail of The Dragon: Home
Waterfalls are one of my favorite things! You won’t want to miss this one. Located inside the Smoky ‘Mountains National Park.
Hike to Laurel Falls (U.S. National Park Service)