The view was amazing, the kids enjoyed seeing the falls. It was easy to navigate but hard to find…read morewhen you first pull up if you've never been there before. It is not wheelchair accessible, and can be a bit of a steep climb. Parking is on the side of the mountain. We had a great time while we were there and there is a small swimming hole at the bottom of the falls.

It's not where it says it is on the google and apple maps. We asked a park ranger where it was and…read moreshe put us on the path. We went on a Tuesday and luckily for us we had the place to ourselves, an occasional hiker would pop in and look around and one other couple came to swim. The water was crystal clear, cool mountain aqua. No trash or other intrusive nonsense was present and the spot is absolutely serene. We swam for a few hours and wrapped by jumping off the big rocks into the "deep end" . Good times for sure, beware of bears and all that jazz.

Beautiful very easy to walk trail. More like a walk actually, close to the main entrance in the…read moreSmoky Mountains National Park

Laurel Falls is a great starter trail for Families that are introducing their children to hiking in…read moreGatlinburg. There are plenty of interesting facts to be shared, different types of plants and wildlife along the trail. This time we didn't see many animals but the trail was a bit more crowded that day. I would not recommend taking a stroller or wheelchair on this trail. It is barely paved and there are many roots. Parts of it are very steep as well. It's a great place to practice mindfulness on the way up. There are enough roots and rocks on the path to force you to focus on being present and walking carefully. It's a peaceful trail that gives you a great view of the forest. The falls are still there but not as deep as they used to be. The rocks are very slippery! I definitely recommend water shoes if you have them. The way down is a bit harder than the way up. If you have issues with your legs or balance, I recommend using a support of some kind. There are no benches but you should be able to find large boulders to rest on.

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.

This hike is beautiful and the scenery all throughout this hike is great! You can even walk behind…read morethe falls; so cool! The trail is about 3 miles roundtrip and is pretty easy with a bit of an incline/hill. Should be manageable for all ages and levels. Enjoy the beauty!

This was our second hike on a trip. We were looking forward to exploring the waterfall trail. It…read morewasn't as long as yesterday's hike, but there was still a notable elevation. We arrived early in order to beat the crowd. It was raining off and on, so the rocks were slippery. That's why we use hiking poles. All in all it was wonderful. We did see bears before and after this hike. Fortunately, we were in our vehicles. We made enough noise so that they didn't come around- this of course as their home. We had an excellent time. Parking is sparse near the trailhead.

As a local content creator here in Gatlinburg The Gatlinburg Hussey, I highly recommend hiking Mt…read moreLaconte in Gatlinburg, TN Smokies I've done it 2 times and I was almost 280 the first time and 200 the second time I tell all of my subscribers to do this and if it's too tough, try a smaller trail Please bring the kids too and have them explore nature ahd and get them off the phone and have their hands get dirty

After a strenuous hike up Mt. LeConte, the Lodge provided amazing , hardy meals enjoyed with fellow…read morehikers from many, many places. The welcoming staff made the meals even more enjoyable! At 83 years old, I know this was my last hike to Mt. LeConte Lodge, after four previous hikes beginning in my twenties. My wife and I celebrated our honeymoon there 49 years ago in 1977.

What a great little place. Wanted to do a short hike in the Smoky's but didn't have my trekking…read morepoles along. (Can't take them in carry-on, TSA rules) Had hoped to rent some here. Nice man working there just let me borrow one for the day. Wouldn't accept money or even a security deposit. Enjoyable hike he recommended up to the Grotto Trail. We returned the pole before closing, even tho it would've been ok to bring it back the next morning. Enjoyed talking with owner and his wife. Worth dropping in! Really appreciated the southern hospitality.

Just visited again and it's still AWESOME! Hikey Mikeys makes hiking in the Smokies a fantastic…read moreexperience. Visit this shop and make the most out of your trip to the Smokies.

Walk to the fall is nice - the fall is a bit average - it is not very large. We enjoyed the walk…read more There are some logs and puddles along the way for kids to enjoy.

This is a nice sized waterfall. The best part is how easy it is to get to it. While others require…read moremiles of hiking... this one is under 10 mins. It's easy to access by foot with children or for older folks that can't walk far. The short walk to the waterfall from the parking lot is beautiful and shaded by trees. You walk alongside the river the entire way. Once you reach the waterfall there is a small bench to sit and admire. If your trying to find waterfalls that are safe and easy walking distance this is the perfect one to visit! Although the sign says "do not climb" plenty of kids were walking up and down the areas above and around the waterfall. I would not suggest this. Nearly gave me a heart attack when my son ran up.

Beautiful birds !!!! and knowledgeable and friendly employees . Very clean and lovely gardens.read more

10/10. This was such a fun experience. It reall felt like a cool day in the jungle. We went during…read morethe week in May. Feeding the birds was well worth the extra $3. Getting to hold the baby birds in the nursery was a unique experience. They were playful and sweet. If you want a souvenir picture I suggest not paying in advance for it if your going in couple/group. The picture we got was a single $45 versus the paying double the ticket price per person in advance. We then had lunch at the cafe wich was really good. Be prepared the road coming in is very steep just FYI.