Summer is here! Now what?! Pack your bags and head to the mountains! Here’s a list of the top summer family adventures in the Great Smoky Mountains. From whitewater rafting to majestic mountain skyline views, family hikes to fum family dinners. Go ahead, make this summer a family time to remember!
Tennessee
The Best of 2017: Adventure Review
The best of 2017- a year of adventure. You explored the Smokies with us- up above and down below, paddled on some of Florida’s finest rivers, hiked, tubed, and fished. This is a quick look back on 2017.
Cades Cove: Exploring the Valley Hidden in the Smoky Mountains
I’d been hunting for bears for years, but it wasn’t until we explored Cades Cove, the hidden valley in the Smoky Mountains, that I saw my dream fulfilled- well, sort of. This is a bear tale of epic fail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Roaring Fork: The Smoky Mountains Lesser Known Scenic Motor Trail
In the Smoky Mountains, Cades Cove receives all the accolades, the adoration, and an endless stream of admirers- sometimes so endless that it can take hours to drive the famous Great Smoky Mountain National Park motor trail. But over hills from the popular Cades Cove lays a lesser known scenic drive- you won’t see the swathes of open fields fit for cattle-grazing that Cades Cove is famous for, but you may spot a bear or two- or even a llama on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
Beneath the Smokies at Tuckaleechee Caverns
We descended 20 million years through time into the heart of the Smoky Mountains at Townsend’s Tuckaleechee Caverns. One of only two places left in this region of Tennessee that visitors can still explore. Tunnels and passages led past grottos, stalagmites, stalactites and the tallest subterranean waterfall in the Eastern United States.
Whitewater Rafting in the Smoky Mountains
Our rubber rafts hit the rapids- churning through the Class III Vegamatic, rocking the Class IV Double Reactionary and surfing the Super Glue. It was a hot summer’s day in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and we were whitewater rafting on the Big Pigeon River.
Family Fun in Pigeon Forge
Many visitors use the nearby Pigeon Forge, located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, just 9.5 miles from National Park entrance, as a base from which to launch their Great Smoky Mountains explorations. This Tennessee town may be small, but it offers big family fun. Here 8 top family fun adventures you can try in Pigeon Forge.