Anakeesta is a mountaintop theme village serving up fun, activities, dining and shopping – and amazing views – up on the mountain just a chairlift ride away from downtown Gatlinburg on Parkway. The whimsical mountaintop village area offers stunning views of the Smoky Mountains in all directions – unique views to some visitors since this part of the mountain was never opened to the public until 2017.
The 70-acre mountaintop area features a host of attractions for all the family, including dining, shopping, unique characters, gardens and an amazing treetops adventure playground with rope bridges, walkways, and charming treehouses, all connected into one play world that everyone falls in love with, kids and adults alike.
Images courtesy of Anakeesta
There’s also ziplining for the adventurous, with dual ziplines for a fun race between friends, over a 1,000 feet of travel at around a 60-foot height.
Anakeesta offers a village feel on top of the mountain above it all, a great place to engage, to wander around or just to sit and enjoy. Oh, and to take memorable and totally unique selfies too.
The gardens at Anakeesta are lovely, as well as a learning experience, with the Vista Gardens Walk and the Memorial Forest Walk. Art sculptures, including the amazing 20-foot tall Willow Man, are around each turn. Keep your camera ready at all times, including when you take a seat positioned exactly in front of an awe-inspiring view of the mountains.
A restaurant and bar provide refreshment from the all the fun, along with a dessert shop. Other shops offer souvenirs and adults and kids’ clothing, as well as photographic keepsakes. The theme village also offers live music, movie and wine/brew events.
The Adventure Outpost offers more whimsical treehouse architecture as the gateway to the zipline adventure. Pair up and take the two lines through the treetops down slope to the bottom of the mountain, and take the enclosed Chondola back up for a 12-minute luxury chair lift ride.
Or, if you want more of that downhill action, take a ride on the Rail Runner Mountain Coaster – the first in the country using a single rail line. Take the 400-foot drop over 1,600 feet of travel, and then stay put as the coaster brings you back up to the top, this time with the leisure to sit back and admire the views.
Back on top again, explore the numerous treehouse play areas, all connected. Scamper with the kids from treetop station to station, across the Skywalk, and take the Challenge Course for extra excitement. These treetop adventures are an ongoing expansion at Anakeesta, with the newest addition in 2020 of an additional treetop adventure, phase one of a multi-million dollar expansion.
Anakeesta continues to grow, and the sense of whimsy is never far away in the evolving design and crafting of the mountaintop village. The crowning touch for 2020 was the new Anavista Tower, the highest observation point in Gatlinburg, offering 360-degree views of nothing but Smoky Mountains.
Anakeesta offers general admission tickets and also a variety of passes. Find the base of the chair lift at Light #5 on Parkway in Gatlinburg. Check the webcam for current conditions.
Useful Information
Anakeesta
576 Parkway Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Tel: 865-325-2400
Web: Anakeesta.com.
Open every day 10am-9pm
