Fall Break in Gatlinburg (Part 3)

We spent a lot of time hiking and driving through the park. There is a beautiful 11-mile driving loop (Cades Cove), and we also did an on-foot hike to see Laurel Falls. The kids had such a great time finding "walking sticks" and climbing around the rocks.

Fall Break in Gatlinburg (Part 2)

After wandering around downtown Gatlinburg for a while, we took an aerial tram up to "Ober Gatlinburg". On top of the mountain, there were some delicious little food stands and a few activities for the kids. Their favorite was the "alpine slide" (which was really fun for the adults too!!)

Fall Break in Gatlinburg (Part 1)

For the kids' Fall Break, we visited Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee for the first time. I'm not really much for shopping, but the town was pretty cool. Waaaaay too crowded on Saturday, so we avoided it completely and just went hiking. Our good friends Chris and Shelley Padgett and their daughter Emily went along with us, and Chris was able to locate a really nice rental cabin for our stay.


Here's a look at downtown Gatlinburg -- the heart of the shopping! These views are all from the top of the Gatlinburg "space needle"





Although Gatlinburg is way commercialized, it is nestled beautifully in the heart of the Smoky Mountain National Park