5 Gatlinburg Attractions For a Weekend Mountain Getaway

The Smoky Mountain region has no shortage of fun, adventurous things to do, but these Gatlinburg attractions make the perfect weekend getaway itinerary.

Gatlinburg, TN makes the perfect home base to explore all of the beauty the Smokies have to have offer. After my first trip to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area this fall, I was bitten by the mountain-life bug.

The breathtaking views, the scenic beauty, and the warm people made this one of my new favorite domestic destinations.

Whether you’re looking for a cabin or a traditional hotel, Hotels.com is a great place to find the best places to stay in Gatlinburg near the attractions. It’s what we used to find a great pet-friendly hotel for our weekend getaway.

I’ve partnered with Hotels.com to share with you the Gatlinburg attractions I recommend for an amazing itinerary! (Full Disclosures)

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Well, this was an obvious choice to make the list. The national park really is the best reason to visit this region. There is an abundance of trails from easy to difficult that will let you explore the forest at your own leisure.

On my visit, we hiked the 2 mile Gatlinburg trail both directions for a total of 4 miles.

This is a relatively easy trail that follows along the babbling cool stream of the river for most of the entire hike.

It’s a shaded hike, with a footbridge and I truly felt like I had escaped into an enchanted forest.

This is also one of the few trails in the boundaries of the park that allows dogs. Our good boy, Dallas, absolutely loved this trail and loved playing in the stream when we took little breaks along the shore.

We also hiked the other dog-friendly Great Smoky Mountain NP trail, the Oconaluftee River Trail. This is another beautiful shaded trail along a river that is popular for fly fishing and ends at Cherokee, a Native American Reservation town.

Clingman’s Dome is also worth the visit. This is the highest mountain in the Smokies and the highest point in Tennessee at 6643 feet.

2. Ober Gatlinburg
This is a well known Gatlinburg attraction but it’s a great way to have some mountain fun all year long. The aerial tram ride up to the mountain provides spectacular views.

You can do adventurous things like ride an alpine slide or a mountain coaster. They also have an indoor ice skating rink and ice bumper boats.

During the winter months, you can do snow tubing, skiing, or snowboarding.

It’s truly a great choice for those that like to add a little thrillseeking to their vacation.

OD Pro Tip: Buy tickets in advance for the activities you want to do. It will save you time and less waiting in line.

3. Waterfall Chasing
I could not begin to tell you how many waterfalls there are in this region. On this visit, we were limited because we had the doggo with us.

Many of the trails in the national park boundaries do not allow pets, so we had to stick to what we could do with him.

We saw The Sinks and Meigs Falls since those are 2 very easy ones that you can see from pulling off to the side of the road.

There are so many others. You can find the falls by using the Great Smoky Mountain National Park website to help you plan your hikes.

OD Pro Tip: I used AllTrails app to help me plan my hikes within the park.

4. Foxfire Mountain Adventure Park

Zip Lining is my jam! Yall know I love a good zip line. This place was at the top of my list of Gatlinburg activities for the weekend.

The zip lines look epic and I was really excited for the zipline that soars over a waterfall.

They also have a swinging canopy bridge that spans over 300 ft long.

If you’re feeling really outdoorsy you can do the bear crawl ATV tour offroad through the forest.

5. Crystelle Creek Resturant
After a day of hiking, we were eager to find a good meal that would have accommodations to allow us to bring the dog along.

Using Bringfido.com, we found the Crystelle Creek. What an adorable spot!

From the outside, it really looks like a really massive treehouse surrounded by its very own moat. They have the coolest water feature that makes it look like water is running off the roof off the side of the building.

When you’re inside seated on the patio, you hear the constant sound of falling water, just like you were eating next to a waterfall! I loved this feature.

They have a large screened in patio area where we could sit with the dog and they brought him a doggy bowl of water.

The portions for our meal were huge and my son and I both devoured our meals.

The owner came out to greet us (well mainly I think Dallas stole the show). He was so sweet and gave us other recommendations of things to do during our stay.

And if you do nothing else….EAT THE CAKE! They have freshly baked homemade cakes that the owner’s wife makes daily. The slices are giant and both of the flavors we tried were fantastic. I had hummingbird and my son had black forest.

Adding these Gatlinburg attractions to your itinerary is sure to provide a memorable and adventurous trip whether you go solo, with your boo, or with the family.

Bonus Gatlinburg Tips:

• Nearby Pigeon Forge has a ton of kid and teenager friendly activities, like massive, elaborate putt putt golf courses, go-carts, and arcades.
• Plan your day in the National Park so that you arrive as early as possible to minimize the crowds.
• Make your accommodation plans well in advance, especially around holidays.
• Be bear aware while enjoying the outdoors. Black Bears are in abundance in the area.

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