WHY PEOPLE LOVE VISITING THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS AND KEEP COMING BACK
There are some vacation destinations you visit once, enjoy, take a few pictures, and check off your list.
Then there are places you start missing before you’ve even made it home.
The Smoky Mountains are one of those places.
People come here for all kinds of reasons. A family vacation. A weekend getaway. A honeymoon. An anniversary. A reunion. A birthday trip. A few days away with friends. Sometimes they simply need to get out of town, slow down and see something besides their regular daily routine.
But somewhere between seeing those first blue mountain ridges and packing the car to head home, something happens.
They start talking about coming back.
That’s probably one of the best answers to the question, “Why visit the Smoky Mountains?”
You can have a wonderful vacation here without doing the same thing twice, and the next time you visit, the experience can be completely different.
There’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park, of course. But there’s also Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, each offering its own personality and plenty of reasons to explore.
You can spend one day surrounded by mountain scenery and the next riding roller coasters. You can shop in the afternoon, enjoy a show that evening and wake up the next morning to watch fog drifting across the mountains.
You can make your vacation as busy—or as wonderfully unbusy—as you want.
And I think that’s a big part of why people fall in love with the Smokies.
- The Mountains Are Still the Star of the Show
Let’s start with the obvious.
The mountains.
There are plenty of attractions, restaurants, shops and shows throughout the area, but the Smokies are what make this destination unlike anywhere else.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park and is known for its ancient mountains, plant and animal life and remarkable biological diversity. The National Park Service identifies it as the most biodiverse park in the National Park System.
But you don’t need to know any of that to appreciate the view.
Sometimes you simply need to stand at an overlook and look.
Mountain ridge after mountain ridge fades into the distance until the farther ridges seem almost blue.
That’s when you understand why they call them the Smokies.
And no photograph really does it justice.
You can certainly hike if that’s what you enjoy, but you don’t have to spend your vacation hiking difficult trails to experience the mountains. Scenic roads, overlooks and driving routes give visitors plenty of opportunities to enjoy the park at their own pace. Newfound Gap, Cades Cove, Sugarlands and other areas provide very different ways to experience the park.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is roll down the window, put the phone away for a few minutes and enjoy where you are.
- Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Give You Three Vacations in One
Visitors sometimes lump Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg together.
They’re close together, but they don’t feel exactly the same.
That’s a good thing.
Sevierville gives you more of the local community and history along with shopping, restaurants and attractions. Historic Downtown Sevierville is worth slowing down for, and one of its best-known landmarks is the bronze Dolly Parton statue on the Sevier County Courthouse lawn. The statue was unveiled in 1987 as a tribute from Dolly’s hometown.
Then there’s Pigeon Forge, where the energy picks up.
This is where you can spend the day visiting attractions, seeing shows, shopping, eating and, of course, visiting Dollywood. There always seems to be something going on.
And then you reach Gatlinburg.
Gatlinburg feels different again because the mountains seem to move closer. Downtown gives you restaurants, shops, entertainment and attractions while Great Smoky Mountains National Park is practically at its doorstep. Gatlinburg describes itself as a gateway and basecamp for Smoky Mountain adventures, which is a pretty accurate description.
My recommendation?
Don’t choose which town you’re going to visit.
Experience all three.
- The Smokies Work for Almost Every Age
This may be one of the biggest reasons the Smokies work so well for families.
Try planning a vacation for a six-year-old, a teenager, Mom and Dad, and Grandma and Grandpa.
Now try finding one activity that all five think sounds exciting.
Good luck with that.
Fortunately, you don’t have to.
One person can love the mountain scenery.
Another can be excited about Dollywood.
Someone wants to shop.
Someone wants to see a bear.
Someone wants pancakes.
Someone wants to ride a mountain coaster.
Grandpa wants to see the mountains.
And Mom would really appreciate it if somebody else would figure out what everyone is doing for a few hours.
There’s room for all of them here.
The goal of a family vacation doesn’t have to be making everyone love every activity.
Give everyone something they love.
That’s much easier.
- You Can Be Busy From Morning Until Night—or Do Almost Nothing
Some visitors arrive with a complete itinerary.
Breakfast at 8:00.
Attraction at 10:00.
Lunch at noon.
Shopping at 2:00.
Show at 5:00.
Dinner afterward.
And they’re having a wonderful time.
Other visitors rent a cabin, drink coffee on the porch until 10:30, eventually decide to go somewhere for lunch and figure out the rest of the day when they get there.
They’re having a wonderful time too.
The Smokies work either way.
There are enough attractions and activities around Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to stay busy for days.
But you don’t have to.
In fact, one of my strongest recommendations for a Smoky Mountain vacation is to leave some empty space in your schedule.
You do not receive a prize for completing the most attractions during your vacation.
I’m fairly certain about this.
There is no trophy waiting for you at checkout.
Give yourself time to stop at an overlook because the view is beautiful. Wander into a store you didn’t plan to visit. Sit beside a mountain stream. Spend another hour at lunch.
You’re on vacation.
You’re allowed.
- Every Season Gives You a Reason to Come Back
Someone who visits the Smokies in July hasn’t really seen the same Smokies they’ll experience in October.
And October isn’t December.
Spring brings new growth and wildflowers.
Summer fills the mountains with rich green forests and brings families here for traditional summer vacations.
Fall is famous for its changing leaves and mountain color.
Winter creates an entirely different view as the leaves disappear, sightlines open up and the mountain towns take on their holiday personality.
That’s one reason people can visit again and again without feeling as though they’re repeating the same vacation.
Come once in the summer.
Then come back in the fall.
You’ll understand.
- There’s More to the Smokies Than Attractions
I love the attractions in this area.
They’re fun.
They’re part of what makes a Smoky Mountain vacation so easy to enjoy.
But I don’t want anyone to travel all the way to the Smokies and forget to actually see the Smokies.
Leave the Parkway for a while.
Head into the mountains.
Listen to a stream.
Notice how much cooler it feels under the trees.
Look at the moss growing over a rock.
Stop at a historic building and think about the people who lived in these mountains long before tourists arrived.
Places such as the Roaring Fork area combine mountain scenery, streams, forest and glimpses into Appalachian history.
The park also contains an extraordinary variety of life. More than 22,000 species have been documented as researchers continue studying the park’s biodiversity.
You don’t need to turn your vacation into a science lesson.
Just pay attention.
There’s a lot to see.
- The Smokies Give Couples a Place to Reconnect
The Smoky Mountains aren’t only for family vacations.
They’re pretty good for two people who would like to get away from everyday life for a few days too.
Rent a cabin.
Have coffee on the porch.
And yes, coffee really does taste better on a cabin porch with a mountain view.
I’m standing by that.
Spend the afternoon walking through Gatlinburg.
Go somewhere special for dinner.
Take a scenic drive.
Watch a sunset.
Leave your schedule open for a few hours.
Most couples spend enough time at home dealing with appointments, work, bills, errands and everything else that needs to be done.
There’s something nice about going for a drive for absolutely no practical reason other than it’s beautiful.
- Sometimes It’s Better to Let Someone Else Drive
Here’s something people don’t always think about when planning their Smoky Mountain sightseeing.
Someone has to drive.
And the person driving a winding mountain road isn’t enjoying the scenery quite the same way as everyone else.
They’re watching the road.
They’re checking directions.
They’re looking for the turn.
They’re trying to find somewhere to pull over.
Meanwhile, everybody else in the vehicle is saying:
“Look over there!”
That’s one reason a guided Jeep tour can be such a nice addition to a Smoky Mountain vacation.
Smoky Mountains Jeep Tours currently offers guided experiences that include areas such as Newfound Gap, Foothills Parkway and the Roaring Fork area. (Smoky Mountains Jeep Tours)
Instead of worrying about where you’re going, you can look around.
And there’s another advantage.
A good guide gives you something your navigation app can’t.
The story.
Why is this place important?
What happened here?
What are we looking at?
How did the Smokies get their name?
What’s around the next bend?
A mountain view is beautiful.
A mountain view with a story becomes something you’re more likely to remember.
- The Best Moments Usually Aren’t on the Itinerary
You can make reservations.
You can buy tickets.
You can decide which restaurants you want to try.
You can plan which roads you want to travel.
But some of the best Smoky Mountain moments can’t be scheduled.
The morning when the fog is sitting perfectly between the mountain ridges.
The wildlife you unexpectedly see from a safe distance.
The child who becomes fascinated with throwing rocks into a stream.
The photograph where nobody was posing.
Grandma laughing so hard the grandchildren start laughing even though they don’t know what she’s laughing about.
The sunset you almost missed.
Those are the things people talk about later.
Vacation planning isn’t really about manufacturing perfect memories.
It’s about putting yourself in places where good memories have a chance to happen.
The Smokies give you plenty of those places.
- The Smokies Have a Way of Becoming a Family Tradition
Maybe this is the biggest reason people keep coming back.
Eventually, the Smokies become their place.
“We always eat there our first night.”
“We take this same picture every year.”
“We always come for Thanksgiving.”
“We stayed in that cabin when the kids were little.”
“Granddad loved that drive.”
“We have to stop there. We always stop there.”
That’s how traditions begin.
Nobody announces that something is going to become a family tradition.
You do it once.
Then again.
And somewhere along the way, it becomes part of your family’s story.
Children grow up.
Grandchildren come along.
Life changes.
But families keep returning to places where they remember being happy together.
Maybe That’s What Makes the Smoky Mountains So Special
Ask ten people what they love about the Smoky Mountains and you’ll probably get ten different answers.
The mountains.
Dollywood.
The cabin.
Gatlinburg.
The food.
The hiking.
The shopping.
The wildlife.
The memories.
Someone may tell you about seeing the Smokies for the first time.
Someone else may tell you about bringing their grandchildren to the same place they brought their children twenty-five years ago.
And someone will probably have trouble explaining it at all.
They’ll just say:
“I love being there.”
I think that’s the real answer.
The Smokies give us something we’re missing in ordinary life.
Room to look around.
Time with people we love.
A little adventure.
A little quiet.
A reason to laugh.
A chance to try something new.
And scenery beautiful enough to make us stop thinking about everything waiting for us back home.
Come for Sevierville.
Come for Pigeon Forge.
Come for Gatlinburg.
Come for the attractions, restaurants, shows and shopping.
But while you’re here, give yourself time to experience the mountains too.
They’re the reason this wonderful place exists.
And there’s a pretty good chance that sometime before you pack the car to leave, someone in your family will ask the question Smoky Mountain visitors have been asking for generations:
“When can we come back?”
Ready to See More of the Smokies?
Sometimes the best way to experience the mountains is to let someone else handle the driving.
Smoky Mountains Jeep Tours gives you the chance to sit back, enjoy the scenery, hear the stories behind the places you’re seeing and experience some of the most beautiful areas of the Smokies with a knowledgeable guide.
Whether you’re visiting for the first time or you’ve been coming to the Smokies for years, there is always something new around the next bend.
Explore Smoky Mountains Jeep Tours and choose your next mountain adventure.