Our trip to Wild Bear Tubing was definitely one of the highlights of our Smoky Mountains visit. We…read morearrived just a few minutes prior to our scheduled departure and checked in. The shop has a lot to offer in regard to things that you may want/need for your trip such as necklaces to attach your shades to, dry bags, sunglasses, etc. They employ a lot of young people/teenagers, and those individuals helped us to get our life jackets, tubes, safety training and launching us into the river. It's a self-guided tour. No staff members accompany you, but they tell you to stay left at the fork and if you go under the overpass, you've gone too far. With this being our first tubing experience, we were a bit nervous. We ordered the XL tubes (unnecessary) as well as the cooler tube (also unnecessary). The majority of the route is shaded from the sun, and I believe I would've been okay taking one full reusable water bottle. We rarely accessed our cooler and after floating in the river, we didn't really want to snack...even with the use of hand sanitizer. We saw horses, a beaver and a turtle during our float. The water level seemed to be a bit low, with us needing to lift our bottoms to avoid contact with rocks. It was slow-moving and relaxing, but I'd love to return and experience it when the water level is a bit higher. At the end, we loaded onto a waiting shuttle bus and went back to base. Their changing rooms and bathrooms were clean and very convenient. The only thing that could've made them better were showers! We changed out of our wet swimsuits/trunks and freshened up as best as we could. We spoke with the owner briefly, who told us how her sons (the best in the world, she says) built that place for her. Upstairs are 3 apartment units. She was really nice. I also overheard her praising her team for the good work they'd been doing this season, and her hopes that the weather and crowds continues as they have for the remainder (I was in the restroom). I would definitely suggest this as a reprieve from the Summer heat if visiting the area any time soon!

We had a great time floating down the river this week. The staff was so friendly and helpful. The…read morewater was a little low but I can imagine that when it is higher it would be even more fun. I would definitely recommend it.

My friends and I had the best time tubing down the Little River, in Townsend, with Smokey Mountain…read moreRiver Rat...Great location, kind & helpful staff, loads of fun! Highly recommend for people of all ages looking for an enjoyable activity with friends or family. Thank you, River Rat crew, for providing a great experience for me and my friends.

I saw this place on TikTok and decided to try the river float. If you go, definitely bring a water…read morebottle that you can clip to your tube with a carabiner and a small waterproof bag for your phone and other stuff. They do sell waterproof bags there, but they're about $25. They normally have two different float routes. You're supposed to do the first one and then drive to the second. Unfortunately, we couldn't do the second float because there was an accident that had the road completely blocked for hours. The first float took us about 2 hours, which felt like a pretty good amount of time on the water. Depending on the water level, you may have to hop out of your tube in a few spots and walk it over some rocks because parts of the river can get pretty shallow. It all depends on how high or low the water is that day. Also, make sure you use the bathroom before you start and don't forget sunscreen. There are a lot of beautiful houses along the river, but remember to stay off private property. Overall, it was a fun time and I'd definitely come back again.

Upper pigeon forge trip was awesome! Our guide Max was super friendly and made the trip even more…read moreenjoyable. Definitely recommend!

What a terrific afternoon…read more Well run operation. Friendly people. Efficient and clean. Well outfitted. Great guide (Chicay ---- spelling?) Had a blast. Didn't take phone on boat... Sorry no pics. But trust me, it's worth the go.

So incredibly beautiful. So many dang bears…read more Or so I've been told. Fortunately for me, a person who is very much afraid of bears and wants nothing to do with them, I did not see any bears during my visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But they're there! Lurking ... somewhere ... in the forest, I'm sure. I visited during the spring, when the bears were waking up from their long slumber, and I'm sure they were just waiting, with growling tummies, to eat someone. Because of the bears, I didn't travel too far away from the visitor center area of Newfound Gap. But there are trails and other things to see that are beautiful if you like hiking and whatnot. As for me, I was satisfied staying close to where there was more concrete and cars than nature. (I know! I'm kind of dumb sometimes.) Newfound Gap straddles both Tennessee and North Carolina, so you can be in two states at once -- literally, you can have one foot in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina! There's also a cool rock structure that you can climb to the top of called the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, where you'll get great views of the mountains. They really do look smoky! They ain't lyin'. The Newfound Gap area of the Smoky Mountains also has a trailhead for the Appalachian Trail, plus restrooms. I saw backpackers who definitely looked like they had been on the the Appalachian Trail for a while. I've since learned that although this is not the largest national park, it's the most visited, and I believe it! There were quite a lot of people at the Newfound Gap area. That said, I visited a few other places around the park where there were zero people, so you might have to change locations, depending on how many people you want to share your park experience with.

The #1 most visited National Park in the USA!…read more We spent three days in Gatlinburg and visited the Kuwohi Observation tower and did the Cades Cove 11 mile drive. Both awesome! Definitely try to get to Kuwohi for sunset. Amazing panoramic views of the blue ridge mountains, and on a clear day you can see as far as four states away! Cades Cove is an early morning must. We beat the crowds by getting there at 6:30am and were done with the 11 mile drive by 9:30am, taking our time to check out most of the stops along the way. Just to note it is closed on Wednesdays to cars when they turn it over to bikes and pedestrians. We also did the Roaring fork motor nature trail which was also very nice and not as chaotic as Cades Cove.

Bugs was the BEST guide! We had an amazing time on the river. He was very knowledgeable and…read morehilarious!

Great experience! I will definitely recommend to family and friends. Coaches were amazingly…read moreentertaining, funny and professional. I truly had a blast thank you.

Place was full of anything and everything you could want to choose from. They had good prices, and…read moreservice was amazing.

Super cool outfitters/outdoors store in Gatlinburg. Plenty of parking here too!…read more They have a great selection of outdoor gear and clothing. Not cheap by any means. But it is what it is. The store is a multi level maze. But this makes it fun as long as you are not in a hurry. Staff is always friendly and helpful. Cool place to come visit and shop at.

This place was great! You can tell all the employees enjoy what they do and they make the adventure…read moreso much more fun! Jesse was our guide and he was very funny and got two of us outta the water quick n easy! 10/10 recommend

We had so much fun ebiking in Banff last summer that i thought it would be fun to do in Asheville…read moretoo. I booked the easy ebike ride which was a 12 mile bike ride into Tennessee. We had a 2pm start (1:30pm arrival) and were the only people registered so private ebike tour for us. TJ was our guide and he was training someone so we ended up with 2 guides, which was great. Both of them were very knowledgable about Asheville, nature (i learned what poison ivy looks like) and biking. It took me a few minutes to get my ebike bearings, but then were off. The first part of the ride was on gravel, which was a little tricky, but it was all good when we hit the road. It also started raining and we got pretty wet...i couldn't decide if the rain made the ride miserable or more fun. Maybe both! The biking itself wasn't too hard and honestly we probably could have done it on regular bikes and gotten a workout, but i do find ebiking super fun. We stopped a few times, which helped with our sore butts and learned about the area. A few hours later we said goodbye to our new friends and headed back to Asheville (about an hour away). They also offer many other activities like white water rafting so recommended if you're looking for a little adventure.

Yesterday was our second summer rafting the river with this company. The river is perfect for…read morerafting with kids. We had so much fun last summer that we requested the same guide again this summer. Douglas was great! He even played some of his music for us to enjoy afterwards. Thank you for another amazing day!

Highly recommended for groups with all ages. Took my 4 year old and my parents on a guided trip. It…read morewas a great time and my daughter loved it. She had fun on the rapids and was pretty entertained throughout. Our guide, Dave, was great and so was the rest of the staff. We will definitely be coming back!

My first time attending the famous school Rafting Trip. This place is amazing. The customer service…read morewith the owner Will, Aspen and the rest of the staff was heart warming. They assisted the students with their life savers. They took their time explaining what to do and not to do while rafting and carrying the raft to the river. The students were excited to get here and go to the river. Now I am not the one to go on the river but the kids said it was EPIC!!! When you are in the area, check them out you will not be disappointed.

Everything. We thoroughly enjoyed our guided tour with Jari this is our third visit to Nantahala'…read moreRafting and we will do it again in the future.

We had a great experience renting a peddleboat! We weren't familiar with the area but the staff…read moreprovided great recommendations for coves to check out on the lake. He even recommended some hiking locations close to where we were staying. Very knowledgeable and definitely a highlight of our trip, would love to come back and try the other watercraft options!

We had so much fun kayaking. The owner runs a one-man show. He is super nice! Just park and walk…read moredown to the left side of the marina. He has a little awning to wait under and it may take a while if it is busy but it is worth it. $30 for two hours. Not too bad for Noris lake!