How to Plan a Vacation to the Smoky Mountains
- 1). Decide when you will visit. Temperatures in the summer reach into the high 90s, bringing haze and humidity to the area. Fall and spring temperatures range from the 40s to the 60s, depending on the month. Mid-November through February is the winter season, and temperatures reach the 50s and 60s. In the higher elevations, winter temperatures can drop as low as -20 degrees F.
- 2). Find a place to stay inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are 10 primitive campgrounds inside the park offering cold water and flush toilets. No RV hook-ups are available. Le Conte Lodge, accessible by trail only, is the park’s only lodge and must usually be booked 1 year in advance. The lodge accommodates up to 60 guests in seven cabins and three lodges, and offers beds, wash basins, tables and chairs. Flush toilets are located in a central restroom. There are no showers or electricity at the lodge.
- 3). Select a hotel or cabin if you would like plusher accommodations. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina, are the primary tourist areas for the Smoky Mountains. These towns offer a range of accommodations from campgrounds to luxury hotels.
- 4). Choose what type of outdoor activities will occupy your days. Boating, fishing and rafting enthusiasts will enjoy the area’s lakes and streams, while hikers may decide to spend the day wandering the Appalachian Trail. The trail runs through 70 miles of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
- 5). Visit an amusement park, museum or haunted house. Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee’s most well-known attraction, features 40 rides, shows, and country and bluegrass music. In Cherokee, North Carolina, you’ll find the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, devoted to preserving the history of the Cherokee. Ripley’s Haunted House is one of several Ripley attractions in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
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