Travel Guide: 2-Day Vacation in Gatlinburg, TN
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PLAID SHERPA PULLOVER // SIMILAR PULLOVER // SKINNY JEANS // BOOTS // BEANIE
Last weekend, Justin and I took a weekend vacation out to Nashville, then to Gatlinburg, Tennessee: We flew out to Nashville on Thursday, and flew back home to Houston on Monday. I felt it was about that time to travel and get out of the house—or the state. I felt like I was lacking inspiration and beginning to feel burnt out at work. This trip was totally worth the travel! Seeing friends and visiting the mountains was exactly what I needed to feel refreshed! Now I’m excited to share with you a few recommendations, quick snippets from the trip, as well as a few things to do—and what not to do (as I learned after the trip lol). Let me preface by saying, this is the first time I’ve been back to the Smoky Mountains since I was a little girl! So some recs from this travel “guide” will really be the most useful if you’re also traveling in the fall/winter time, AKA late September through November. You can scroll down to the bottom for the rest of the travel guide!
ANKLE STRAIGHT JEANS // BOOTS // BEANIE
What To Pack:
First tip (and something I wish I knew) is to pack for all four seasons! Seriously, it felt like 40 degrees at night (depending on how high up you are in the mountains), and 70 degrees during the day. If it’s cloudy, it felt like 60. With that being said, bring a long sleeve top, a jacket, a sweater, and a coat…lol. Not kidding, I absolutely regretted not bringing a coat, so the only thing I wore was this plaid sherpa pullover for two days, with different clothes underneath. Another thing I regretted was wearing jeans with holes in them. So, pro tip: no super distressed jeans! My knees were freezing! Leggings and other denim would be perfect.
HAND WARMERS: This is one thing I would have never considered bringing this early in the winter season, and naturally I ended up with my hands in my pockets at all times! I’ve always used these disposable hand warmers from Amazon, that come in a pack of 10.
BEANIE/HAT: I have no idea if it’s because I’m from Texas, but my little ears were so cold! I’m glad I brought this C.C beanie from Amazon. Not everyone seemed as cold as I was, but I’d rather be safe than sorry!
SWEATERS + A COAT: Like I mentioned above, I regretted not bringing a bit of a heavier coat. My plaid sherpa pullover was perfect most of the time, except at night up in the mountain.
WALKING SHOES + BOOTS: These seem obvious but I still feel like it’s a must-mention! Lots of time to walk around, adventure + shop so make sure you’re prepared for long hours on your feet.
HOW WE GOT THERE:
So, we made it quite the traveling adventure… We flew United to Nashville, and stayed with our friends Thursday + Friday night. We went out to eat on Thursday, and headed to Broadway on Friday. Before the trip, we rented a car through the Turo app. So early Saturday afternoon, our friends dropped us off at the car and we were headed to the Smoky Mountains! Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are about a 3 hr. 45 min. drive from Nashville. The drive there was rough because of the weather, but the drive back was sunny and the scenic route was BEAUTIFUL. Ultimately, I’m happy we decided to drive instead of fly to the mountains. Afterward, we flew out of Nashville Monday night. For the most part, everything went smoothly.
WHERE TO STAY:
VIEWS FROM OUR BALCONY @ HOLIDAY INN RESORT
Holiday Inn Club Vacations Smoky Mountain Resort: We loved our stay here! It was within our budget, but also provided beautiful views from our balcony! The best part is, it was within walking distance (est. 10 min.) of Gatlinburg’s main street. So we walked everywhere.
CABINS: Staying in a cabin was our original plan, but because it was just us two, we ultimately decided on a hotel/villa. Our little villa felt huge to us, and had a kitchen and such nice views. (We put in the notes that a mountain view was preferable, sometimes they’re able to accommodate!)
The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel: If you’re not worried about price but more focused on views, this is the hotel you want to book! It sits the highest out of all the hotels in town, and is surrounded by gorgeous views. It is more of an expensive choice, however. There are also several hotels around the town where you can find good deals, I’m just sharing my own personal stay, as well as other recs I’ve heard of or seen!
WHERE TO EAT:
From my own experience, these places had amazing food at affordable prices in the area:
Cherokee Grill: We ate here the first night of our stay and ordered a filet, as well as the artichoke dip as an appetizer. It is one of the nicer places to dine in, but not necessarily dressier! Their prices were shockingly affordable, the food was delish, and the staff was great.
Calhoun’s: This restaurant is known for its BBQ, but it’s a super chill atmosphere, and has a little bit of everything on the menu. Justin and I split the tater skins (best I’ve probably ever had!) as well as a burger. Their food was SO. GOOD. Wish we had one here in Texas, I can’t recommend this place enough.
@ BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Best Italian: OMG. This place. The pizza. AMAZING. This place is hidden in one of the strip centers and seems like it would be a mom-and-pop shop because of how low key it is. We went there for lunch the day after our waitress from Cherokee Grill recommended it. We ordered the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer, and built our own pizza as an entree. That was already so much food (took half of our pizza to go), but if we didn’t get the pizza I was all in on the chicken Alfredo. This place is a must!
Loco Burro: We stopped here at this Mexican restaurant to get a drink before one of our activities. Their sangria here is the bomb. All their drinks seemed reasonably priced as well. The main attraction is that this place has a rooftop that sits on the third story, and is known as Gatlinburg’s highest and best view on the strip. I can’t speak from experience for the food personally, but the views were worthy enough for a mention!
Cliff Top Bar & Grill at Anakeesta: If you go to Anakeesta (more on that later), this restaurant has glass windows surrounding the entire dining area, and truly offers an unforgettable experience because of that! Also, because it’s a park, prices are a little higher, but the food is so good! Definitely one of the best chicken caesar salads I’ve had.
Honorable mentions: Little House of Pancakes for breakfast, Chesapeake Seafood and Raw Bar (if you love seafood), and Ole Red (popular by name, of course).
WHAT TO DO:
ANAKEESTA TREETOP SKYWALK
ANAKEESTA: This theme park offers alllll the views, is kid friendly, and offers so much to do! We bought our tickets (all day passes) in advance online, saving us about $10 and a wait in the ticket line. We took a 4-person chair (kind of like a ski lift) up the mountain, but you can also take the scenic route on the bus, or an enclosed 6-person gondola cabin. There are a few places to eat and get drinks, some bonfires + places to hang, as well as zip-lining (book ahead of time), the infamous TreeTop Skywalk, the mountain coaster, the observation tower and more.
SKYLIFT PARK: This is the other tremendously popular choice. The chairs take you up 1800 ft. above sea level to experience the views, and to cross the infamous 30-feet long glass bridge. If we had enough time, this would have been the next option for us for another day. The word on the street is, Anakeesta is a less “scarier” version of going up the mountain because Anakeesta offers a bus, whereas the Skylift only offers going up on the lift. So if you aren’t afraid of heights or you’re ready to conquer that fear, this park would be for you!
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: This is one thing I wish we had time to do. So we’ll save it for next time! But if you do have the time, the park has a lot to offer, including outdoor activities, wildlife to see, and of course, the views! Make sure to check the website before you go.
Museums + Dinner Shows in Pigeon Forge: Pigeon Forge is about a 20 min. drive (give or take) from Gatlinburg. It’s a bigger (or wider) town than Gatlinburg, but still offers sooo many—if not more—fun attractions (like Dollywood) and dinner shows. I’m so sad we didn’t have enough time to do this! If you do have the time, I recommend checking out all Pigeon Forge has to offer, too.
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not: This attraction was something we did, partly because I’ve always thought it was fun growing up, and I guess I was looking for a bit of a nostalgic experience.. lol. They offer other attractions such as the Aquarium, the Mirror Maze, and even a Haunted Adventure (because we went on Halloween), but we did the traditional “odditorium”.
SHOPPING + MORE: There are too many shops, malls, bakeries, and restaurants to count! You can easily spend more than half of your day checking it all out. Be sure to also check out the Village Shoppes (built in the 70’s and feels like you’re in another era when you enter!) and the Ole Smoky’s Moonshine Distillery.
If you’ve been to the Smoky Mountains, what are some of your favorite things to do? Any personal favorites that I’ve missed and should include? Feel free to leave a comment!
FUN IN NASHVILLE:
NASHVILLE CASUAL OUTFIT DETAILS: GRAPHIC TEE // BOOTS // JEANS // FRINGE JACKET
SIMILAR POST YOU MAY LIKE: “What I Wore in Nashville + Travel Recap”
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Western + country concert outfit ideas that I wore to the Houston Rodeo (HLSR). These outfits for women have a hint of elevated cowgirl inspo, and are also great for festivals or a trip to Nashville, Tennessee.