Category archive: Smoky Mountains

Which Restaurants Are Open on Thanksgiving 2020?

Which restaurants will be open in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville on Thanksgiving Day, 2020? The good news is that more than 50 restaurants plan to open on Thanksgiving Day, and several are offering a special Thanksgiving menu.

With Thanksgiving almost here, this becomes the crucial question as even some of those visitors who are here on family gatherings for the celebration may choose not to cook a meal in their fully equipped cabin in the Smokies, and instead choose to visit a restaurant.

Image courtesy of Crystelle Creek

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Holiday Activities for All the Family

The weather is cooler and the nights are longer, but the holiday seasons brings a special kind of energy to the Smoky Mountains, and there is much to see and do with your entire family. Check out some of the holiday highlights happening throughout the area, and start planning your festive Smoky Mountains vacation today!

Image courtesy of Anakeesta

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Where to See the Fall Colors in the Smoky Mountains

Where are the best places to see the Fall Colors of the Smoky Mountains? Here’s our guide to some of the best ways, places and times to see the fall colors in the Smoky Mountains around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

The leaves start turning first at the highest elevations and work their way down the mountain slopes to the lower lands as the season progresses, all told over about a 7-week period. For a more detailed sequence and to get the latest color reports, see our guide to Fall Colors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Image courtesy of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Fall 2020 in the Smoky Mountains

If you’ve never experienced the beauty of the fall colors over the rolling peaks of the Smoky Mountains, then you are in for a one-of-a-kind experience. It will soon be that time of year again when the Smoky Mountains around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge start to come alive with fall color. A hundred species of trees in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding area go through their seasonal changes, and with the layered mountains and foothills of the Smokies, it makes for phenomenal scenery.

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Back Roads and Shortcuts in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge get a lot of traffic, and it can be useful to know some of the alternative roads to take if the main routes are jammed. This is especially true of you’re trying to get out into the countless nature attractions – including Great Smoky Mountains National Park of course, and don’t want to drive through the congestion on Parkway in either town. Here are some of the shortcuts.

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The Best Airport for Flying to Gatlinburg

The closest airport to Gatlinburg, TN, is McGhee Tyson, located 12 miles south of Knoxville, just over a 40-mile drive from Gatlinburg, with a few different ways to get there, depending on if you want to hit Pigeon Forge first, and any scenic options you may chose to take on the way in. McGhee Tyson is a friendly little airport, and usually a nice introduction to the friendly people of Tennessee and the Appalachian warmth and culture of the Smoky Mountains.

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