Tips for Family Fun near the Smoky Mountains

This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure page for more information.

This past summer we traveled to one of the most visited National Parks in the country, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We had an amazing time as a family.  I shared some helpful and practical tips to know when visiting the park which can be read about HERE.   I also want to share some other fun places we visited and activities we did in the area and hope some of these ideas will help you when planning your own trip to The Smoky Mountains.

Gatlinburg

This city took me by surprise! It is located at the north entrance to the Smoky Mountains National Park.  We did not realized how much there was to do in this town. If we had known, and had unlimited resources, we would have planned at least a full day or two here. It was surprisingly also much more “touristy” then I expected, and the kids loved it.   We walked along the  main strip and passed shop after shop selling t-shirts and souvenirs.  We came across fast food restaurants and stands with what we called “fair food”  We did not try all of these places but it definitely seems to be a haven for kids!  What kid would not like Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, Gatlin’s Motion Ride Movie Theater, Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies ,  Ripley’s Super Funzone (Arcade), Amazing Mirror Maze, Circus Golf…in 3d, Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster,  Hillbilly Golf, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditorium, Cooter’s Place In The Smokies, Ripley’s Moving Theater, Ripley’s Guinness World of Records Attraction, and much much more!  And of course DOLLYWOOD!  To see a list of all the attractions in Gatlinburg click HERE.   If we would have planned ahead we could have taken advantage of these discounts and saved some money on all these attractions.  We did not plan ahead, and did not have enough time to take in all of these things to do, but pretty much just walked up and down the main strip with our jaws open trying to take it all in.

Clingmans Dome

The kids had a great time hiking up to the highest point in Tennessee.  This site is located in the middle of The Great Smokey Mountian National Park.  It has a nice paved path that leads to a spiral concrete structure at the top that you can walk up and see for miles.  To read more about this hike click HERE.

Oconuluftee Indian Village

Located in the town of Cherokee, NC. (near south entrance of Smoky Mountains National Park) This is a place to learn about the Cherokee in a real working village. You can observe and participate in activities and ask questions.  This is a great place for kids because it is so interactive and they can learn so much culture.

Unto These Hills (Outdoor Drama)

This is located on the Oconuluftee Indian Village grounds. We bought our tickets in town across the street from the Cherokee Indian Museum where the box office is located.  The theater is a large, open theater with tiered seats.  There are several options for seating but we bought the general admission tickets and were able to choose great seats in the lower section on the side.  Having seats on the side did not make our viewing any less.  This play was a reenactment of the Cherokee Native American’s life in the area.  By watching  history, the kids will never forget this story.  They enjoyed it, along with the popcorn and pop of course, which is for sale on site.  The loud booms of course startled my youngest so it might be best to warn younger kids ahead of time.

Trout fishing

The Cherokee Reservation has 30 miles of streams that are stocked using the Tribe’s own fish hatchery. In Cherokee the kids were able to fish for TROUT. (The city is on the reservation so No license is required to fish.  However, a tribal permit is required for each person 12 years of age and older.   We were able to obtain it from the KOA Campground which has the first of 4 stocked ponds directly at it’s entrance. It was around $15 for 24 hours.

All the fishing here were KEEP and any kind of bait could be used.  Other areas around Cherokee were strictly fly-fishing and had restrictions on using bait and were Catch and Release only.  Along the river we saw signs posted so be sure to find out the regulations before you fish.   What was nice about fishing in the stocked ponds was that we did not need a guide and the kids had a great time!   They did only catch 2, but the fish were in there because we could see them swimming around.

Tubing

Besides fishing,  Cherokee has great places for kids to go tubing.  We actually ran out of time on our trip to do this but we saw many others leisurly floating down the Oconaluftee river.  The water looked so clean and refreshing.  It also looked very safe.   To find out more about tubing the river in Cherokeee  Click Here

 Camping

We visited two campgrounds in the area.  The first was the KOA Cherokee and the second was Mile High Campground.    Both were very different but wonderful for the kids.

KOA Cherokee is located just north of town up the Big Cove Road.   On one side is the Raven Fork river where you can go tubing and the other side are 3 tribal ponds where you can trout fish.  There is a jumping pillow and both an outdoor and indoor pool.  The kids always love going to KOAs because they are so kid friendly with lots of activities.

Mile High Campground is off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  If you have any kind of camper that may be restricted going through tunnels, it will be best to get on the Blue Rodge Parkway South of Cherokee instead of the entrance north of Cherokee (just after exiting the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.)  Reservations are made by calling the number the sign below and they also have a facebook page.  This campground was listed as Good Morning America top 20 favorite places in America in 2014 so we wanted to check it.  Since we were coming from the KOA, the first things the kids asked was:  Is there a pool?  No need for that here! Nature’s beauty at its finest!  The views were amazing, and the herd of Elk that visited was the icing on the cake.  Campers gather at the flag to watch the sunset just like in Florida!

Shopping

In the town of Cherokee there were some great shops with handmade items from locals.  My husband was eyeing the hand made leather gun case. It was beautiful and unique. Handmade birdhouses, jewelry and blankets are just a few other items that were available to buy and made by local artisans.

Oconaluftee Visitor Center

This Visitor center is located at the South entrance of Smoky Mountain National Park.  Here there are  exhibits to learn about Native American and early European life in mountains.  There is also a farm museum with demonstrations about farm life and historic buildings.

Museum of the Cherokee Indian

This is another amazing museum to learn history.  Information can be found HERE for pricing and location.

The Smoky Mountain area is a great place to vacation with family!  There is such beautiful scenery and so many things to do and learn about.  I hope to have inspired you to plan your next memorable family vacation!

Happy Travels