Gatlinburg

Surrounded on all sides by the high ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg has been named one of America’s prettiest towns by Forbes.com: “With its charming, quaint old buildings in the center of town, its dramatic mountain backdrop and the only ski resort in Tennessee, Gatlinburg has become a popular tourist destination for regional fun-seekers.”

Vintage hotels with riverside balconies, boutique lodges with mountain views, flagship hotels and vacation cabins are among your many lodging choices. Restaurants offer hearty mountain fare, and shops selling homemade candy and footlong hot dogs add to the foodie fun. Enjoy free live music and storytelling while strolling the sidewalks; visit our Events Guide for a listing of local fun you won’t want to miss. Drop by Tennessee’s first legal moonshine distillery, Ole Smoky, which paved the way for other area distilleries, wineries, and breweries.

Shop ’til you drop at Gatlinburg’s many eclectic and artistic stores, and visit Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, a renowned national art education center with its galleries and grounds open to the public. And be sure to visit the Arts and Crafts Loop, the largest community of independent artisans in North America, featuring over 70 shops.

Check out Gatlinburg’s professional guide services offering whitewater rafting, hiking, horseback riding and fly fishing. Stop by Ober Gatlinburg, home to one of America’s largest aerial tramways and Tennessee’s only ski resort. Passengers travel up the mountain by cable cars to 10 ski slopes, a freestyle terrain park, snow tubing, an Alpine mountain coaster, an indoor skating rink, shops and arcades, and the Seasons of Ober restaurant. And don’t forget Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies and other attractions offering endless fun from mini-golf to haunted houses.

With all there is to see and do, you’ll never be closer to family fun, Appalachian heritage, and the mountains than you’ll be in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.