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Travel guide
Gatlinburg
5 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June and September to October
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Welcome
Gatlinburg, in a few days
A mountain town of 3,600 people squeezed into a narrow valley, whose main street leads straight to the entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited in the United States. Suspension bridges and chairlifts above the rooftops, craft workshops in the hills, then the Newfound Gap road, which climbs in 40 minutes to the fir forests of the pass, from where a ridge road leads to the summit of Kuwohi, at 2,025 metres.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Gatlinburg SkyBridge · about 1 h 30A pedestrian suspension bridge nearly 210 metres long, strung across a wooded ravine high above the town, reached by the SkyLift chairlift, with a glass floor section and views of Mount LeConte.
- Afternoon · Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies · 2 to 3 hGatlinburg's rainy-day attraction by the river, with a moving walkway through an underwater tunnel beneath sharks and rays, African penguins seen from glass bubbles and a ray touch pool.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glenstone Lodge ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€105 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Anakeesta · half a dayA mountaintop adventure park reached by gondola, with a treetop skywalk of sixteen suspension bridges, a 360° viewing tower, alpine coasters, a zip line and the Astra Lumina light trail at night.
- Late afternoon · Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail · 2 to 3 hA narrow one-way road of 8.9 km through hardwood forest beside a mountain stream, past log cabins, mills, the Place of a Thousand Drips and the trail to Grotto Falls.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glenstone Lodge ↗€105 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community free · half a dayA 13 km loop in the hills east of town where around a hundred potters, basket makers, broom makers, glassblowers and woodworkers have worked and sold in their own studios since 1937.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glenstone Lodge ↗€105 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Alum Cave Trail · half a dayThe most spectacular trail on the Tennessee side, climbing through rhododendron forest and through Arch Rock to the ochre overhang of Alum Cave Bluffs, then on to Mount LeConte.
- Late afternoon · Newfound Gap · about 1 h sur placeThe pass between Tennessee and North Carolina at about 1,540 metres, where Roosevelt dedicated the park in 1940 and the Appalachian Trail crosses the road among spruce and fir.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glenstone Lodge ↗€105 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Kuwohi · 2 to 3 h depuis Newfound GapThe highest point of the park and of Tennessee at 2,025 metres, formerly Clingmans Dome, where a steep paved path climbs to a spiral concrete observation tower above the treetops.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €160 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June and September to October
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/gatlinburg
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.