Guides for Choosing Activities in the Smoky Mountains

One of the best things about visiting the Smokies is that there really isn’t a “right” way to spend your vacation.

Some people come for the national park. Others barely set foot in it. Some spend three straight days riding roller coasters at Dollywood. Others are happiest wandering through quiet art galleries, finding a new coffee shop, or sitting on the porch watching the fog roll across the mountains.

That’s one of the reasons we keep coming back. The Smokies can be a different vacation every time you visit.

Not Everything Is Worth Your Time

If you’ve started researching attractions already, you’ve probably noticed that nearly everything is described as a “must-see.” We don’t really believe in that. We’d rather recommend 10 really amazing places than 100 that are… just fine.

Some places have become traditions for us. Others were fun once and probably won’t make the list again. Every once in a while, we leave somewhere wondering how it ended up with such great reviews in the first place. We’ll tell you about those, too.

Our goal isn’t to convince you to do everything. It’s to help you find the things you’ll actually enjoy.

Something for Every Kind of Traveler

Whether you’re traveling with young kids, teenagers, grandparents, or just the two of you, there’s no shortage of ways to fill your days. You’ll find attraction reviews, hidden gems, outdoor adventures, rainy-day ideas, seasonal events, and a few places that surprised us in the best possible way.

Some activities are worth planning an entire trip around. Others are perfect when you suddenly realize it’s raining and everyone is looking at you to come up with a Plan B. Those tend to happen more often than you’d think.

Explore Our Attraction Guides

From major attractions to hidden gems, here’s our growing collection of things to do in the Smokies. We’ll keep adding new guides every time we discover somewhere we’d happily recommend—or occasionally somewhere we’d suggest skipping.