My family and I decided that we wanted to get out of Florida to experience some real winter weather and do some hiking outdoors. We decided on Tennessee since that was one area we haven’t been to and knew it was going to be a great place to do our next family vacation. I wanted to create a mini travel guide for you all explaining our Tenessee trip to Pigeon Forge & The Great Smoky Mountains (during COVID-19). So let’s get to it!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at this Airbnb cabin, which was located in Pigeon Forge, right near all the Pigeon Forge Attractions and only a few minutes away from Dollywood! It’s also about 30-40 minutes away from most hikes through the Great Smoky Mountains. This Airbnb had a hot tub and fireplace which was perfect for all the chilly nights. Plus it came with an air hockey table and a variety of games to play with the family.
What We Did
We ended up being very limited on things to do during COVID-19. Dollywood at the time was temporarily closed down due to COVID-19, but if it wasn’t, that is something we definitely would’ve done since it was so close to our cabin. We also did not physically go downtown into Gatlinburg due to the crowds. That is another thing I would’ve at least walked through if we didn’t go during the pandemic.
Hikes
We spent most of our time out in nature, hiking different trails. We used this website to look at hikers’ comments and ratings of the trails and then this one to narrow down what hikes we wanted to complete based on length, difficulty rating, and elevation. I’ll list the hikes we completed below, along with links to view more about the hikes. We did all of these hikes with our 1-year-old using this carrier.
Chimney Tops
Rainbow Falls
Laurel Falls
Abrams Falls (in Cades Cove)
Cades Cove
Cades Cove is a must-see if you are going to be in the area and was definitely worth the 1.5-hour drive from where we stayed. Cades Cove is an 11-mile, one-way loop road that circles the cove. You can do some of the hikes here or you can just drive through the scenic loop road to sightsee at your own pace. There are multiple spots along the loop road that you can park and take in the views. I would allow at least two to four hours to tour Cades Cove or longer if you walk some of the area’s trails.
Outdoor Drink Spots
Mill Bridge Winery This was a great winery in Pigeon Forge that offered outdoor seating. They had a variety of local wines and handcrafted Hard Cider. We enjoyed drinking the wine while being able to sit outside on their outdoor patio which was overlooking the Little Pigeon River.
On our last day, we were looking for somewhere to eat outside and grab a drink. After doing a quick search, we came upon The Abbey, which ended up being a really nice family-friendly, indoor/outdoor pub. They serve local craft beer and cider, but also have some domestic bottled favorites. Their pretzel and beer cheese and flatbread pizza appetizers were delicious! The Abbey was a perfect spot to spend our last afternoon in TN along the river with some live music.
The Island
The Island This was an outdoor tourist attraction in Pigeon Forge close to our cabin. It’s free admission to get in, free parking and you can bring your pets! The Island has a bunch of shops, places to eat, and activities to do with the family.
Where We Ate
We mainly ate out for breakfast/brunch and a few dinner spots. Other than that we cooked most of our meals at our cabin since it had a full kitchen.
- The Old Mill Restaurant: This was by far our favorite restaurant. The Old Mill offers hearty Southern comfort food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We ordered the Old Mill Country Breakfast and easily got two meals out of it!
- Lil Black Bear Cafe: We ordered the chocolate chip pancakes here and they were delicious! The pancakes are thick and almost 2 inches! If you like pancakes, then this is a must-try.
- Smoky’s Pancake Cabin: The pancakes here were great! A lot of options for breakfast.
- Red Rooster Pancake House: This is also a great place for pancakes!
- Cinnaholic: This place had the best gourmet cinnamon rolls. It does have many other locations in different states, but we do not have one close so I had to try it. Hands down one of my favorite desserts.
- El Ranchero Loco: This was amazing Mexican food! The salsa was one of my favorites. I ordered the steak quesadilla and my husband ordered the burrito, and both were very good!
- Bustin Butts Barbecue: Some of the best ribs I’ve ever had!
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Looks like your trip was fantastic, glad you had fun!