The Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located right on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina and is America’s most visited National Park! (And for a good reason!)

We had an amazing trip to the Smoky Mountains this past Thanksgiving! The kids got to experience amazing waterfalls, wildlife and an incredible scenic drive. We didn’t do to much hiking but did stop at a couple of waterfalls before entering the park. Mango falls was super easy and perfect for the kids. It maybe took us 15 minutes to get to the waterfall, snapped a couple pictures and jumped back in the car!

At first, I assumed that we would have to do some serious hiking to get the best views. The good thing is, thats not the case. We got to choose our drives and take our time, there were plenty of place to pull over and take pictures. There are stunning overlooks every few miles! We didnt get the fall foliage experience but the views are incredible. At the top of the mountain it was so cold that we got to experience rime ice! Rime ice happens when fog freezes, its like a winter wonderland, but not for long.

We headed down the mountain into Gatlinburg. The town is full of stores target at tourists like Ripleys Believe It or Not, Chain restaurants, and knick knack stores. I am sure there are plenty of people who love Gatlinburg, and im not saying we hated it but we could have skipped it. The traffic getting into the town was ridiculous and took about an hour, then to find parking was impossible. We had to park a mile outside of town, which wasn’t ideal with 6 hungry kids. We did do a moonshine tasting which made all the waiting worth it!