The Great Smoky Mountains are your gateway to a fun-packed family vacation. From scenic views to national parks to outdoor attractions to kid-friendly eateries, they have everything you need to have fun with your family.
While there are many enjoyable activities in the Smokies for adults, some are specifically designed for kids. From enjoying a snow tubing ride to eating ice cream, your kids will enjoy spending their time in the mountains.
If you’re planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains with your kids, you must look at the following reasons why your kids will love a trip to the Smokies:
1. Kid-Friendly Hotels
When you’re in the Smoky Mountains, the fun starts from the place of your stay. The Smokies are full of hotels that can keep your kids occupied so you can enjoy your vacations to the fullest.
Various hotels offer kid-friendly activities such as game nights, art & craft, pumpkin paintings, and ornament decorations. Some hotels go even further to offer indoor swimming pools, kid’s play areas, and board games.
All these amenities make vacations more fun for the kids. Your kids won’t get bored for even a minute as they can enjoy the outdoor attractions during the daytime and fun activities at the hotel. In addition, adults can also enjoy quality time without worrying about the kids.
2. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is probably the biggest attraction in the Smokies. It is one of the most visited national parks in the United States, with almost 11 million visitors annually.
The breathtaking scenery, beautiful waterfalls, and jeep tours of the national park make the Smoky Mountains an excellent vacation spot for families.
The National Park features an 800-mile trekking trail where you can enjoy a great time with your family. The smooth and paved hiking trail enables you to take your kids with you, even those in strollers.
Enjoy the beautiful natural views and experience the wildlife up close while you hike. Your kids will love the waterfalls in the national park as well. You can take your family to the beautiful Laurel falls or Abram Falls to enjoy quality time.
If that’s not enough to fulfill your child’s cravings for nature, you can take them on the jeep tour of the National park. Taking a pink jeep tour might be the best decision you would ever make. The Jeep tours offer some of the best scenic views of the national park that your kids will adore.
3. Outdoor Attractions
The Smoky Mountains are full of kid-friendly attractions, whether you stay in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. From theme parks to snowparks, there are several attractions that your kids will love. Below given are some outdoor attractions you might want to visit with your kids:
Dollywood Theme Park
This is one of the largest theme parks in the Pigeon Forge area of the Smoky Mountains. Featuring various roller coaster rides, water slides, art & craft shops, kid’s rides, and shopping stalls, Dollywood is a must-go place with your kids.
If you have younger kids, you can take a tour of the park on a train ride. Your kids will love all the fun rides along with the kid-friendly eateries.
Dollywood also hosts annual festivals for different occasions. For example, if you visit during Christmas or thanksgiving, you can also enjoy annual festivals hosted by Dollywood. Read more about the exact dates of the festivals on the official website of Dollywood.
Smoky Mountain Snow Park
In the Pigeon Forge area, Smoky Mountain Snowpark features a tubing hill, thrill rides, an ice cream bar, a playground, and various amenities your kids will love. The outdoor tubing hill in the snowpark is Tennessee’s first year-long snow slide featuring a whopping 70-feet drop and covers 500 feet in length.
If you have a younger kid, you wouldn’t want them to ride the snow tube. Smoky Mountain Snowpark has a playground to cater to your younger one’s cravings.
After you get tired of all the action, you can take your kids to the ice cream bar. The ice cream bar offers a variety of flavors to choose from. Your kids will love the tasty treats while you look around the gift shops for souvenirs.
Anakeesta
Anakeesta is another adventure park situated in the Gatlinburg area. It is a popular attraction, not only because of the final destination but because reaching the destination is full of fun as well. You have to ride a chairlift or a closed gondola to reach the top where Anakeesta adventure park is situated.
The place features many activities, including a zip line for older kids and a playground for younger ones. The playground features various rope bridges, a tube net, and a maze to keep your little ones occupied for a full day of fun.
You can also find a lot of souvenir shops at the top of the mountain, along with ice cream stalls and restaurants.
4. Indoor Attractions
Smoky Mountains are also famous not just for outdoor attractions but also for their indoor activities. Some popular indoor attractions that offer fun activities for kids include the following:
Topjump Trampoline & Extreme Arena
If you have active kids, the TopJump trampoline & extreme arena is a must-visit attraction for your family. It features an indoor trampoline area where you and your kids can have fun.
Whether you have younger or older kids, they would love this indoor trampoline arena. In addition, the arena offers several other amenities, including a basketball arena, a virtual reality arena, and a dodgeball course.
Ober Gatlinburg
Ober Gatlinburg features the only skiing resort in Tennessee. The ice skating arena in Ober Gatlinburg is suitable both for experienced players and beginners.
It features a handrail in the arena so that beginners can learn to balance during skating. In addition, this ski resort is open all year long, making it one of the best fun places for kid-friendly activities.
Pigeon Forge Snow
Although we’ve mentioned the Smoky Mountains Snowpark above, Pigeon Forge Snow is yet another snow tubing park for indoor fun. You can visit Pigeon Forge Snow all year long. So while your kids enjoy the snow tubing, you can watch your kids and relax on the second floor of the building.
Conclusion
The Smoky Mountains have a lot to offer when it comes to family vacations. You can experience the beautiful scenery of the mountains, enjoy various theme parks & adventure parks with your kids, and stay at places with breathtaking views, all while visiting the Smokies.
Your kids will love ice skating at Ober Gatlinburg, snow tubing at Smoky Mountain Snowpark, a Chairlift ride at Anakeesta, and a water slide at Dollywood. If that’s not enough, you can stay at a hotel that provides kid-friendly activities to keep them busy even when you return from visiting the local attractions.
