When the topic of ‘vacation 2019′ came up, my girlfriend and I originally had a trip planned to Savannah, Georgia for Labor Day weekend. We ended up with a couple of extra days off, so we decided to burn ’em up that weekend and make a nice little road trip out of it. Personally, I don’t think there’s anywhere on Earth that relaxes me the same way that Gatlinburg, Tennessee does. I haven’t been to Asheville since I was a child, and both only added an extra hour or so to our overall commute. It just made sense. So, we mapped out a nice little trek from Nashville to Gatlinburg to Asheville to Savannah. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing a sort of ‘vacation diary’ here on SoBros Network. Today, we’re going to hit my 2019 Gatlinburg Vacation Guide – good for a quick one-day trip into the Smoky Mountains.
My 2019 Gatlinburg Vacation Guide
We left Nashville around 3PM on a “false fall” Wednesday that was a little cooler than the average Wednesday before Labor Day felt. Aside from some traffic in Lebanon and Knoxville, we made great time, and hopped off I-40 at Sevierville right around 7PM local time.
The drive into Gatlinburg as the sun began to set was beautiful – everything had a bright orange glow to it. The weather could not have been better – slightly cool with an evening breeze, it felt like fall (I’m pissed writing this now as it’s the end of September and still a hundred degrees…). The traffic was so light, we hardly had any to sit through. I can’t recommend Labor Day vacationing enough – you still get the pleasant weather without the crazy tourist crowds.
Knowing we were heading out the other side of Gatlinburg for Asheville the next day, we had to make any stops we wanted to in Pigeon Forge on the way in. That meant stopping at The Old Mill for caramel apple dip, ranch salsa dip, a cup of sparkling mulling spices (legit old man call), and vanilla apple pecan butter. I may sound like an old man, but I can’t just drive by that place without stopping.
Once we hit Gatlinburg, it was around 8:00PM – we were staying at the Bearskin Lodge, so we made a beeline straight for it. Both of our stomachs were growling, after all. After checking in, we decided upon dinner at the Smoky Mountain Brewery (no official power rankings yet, but probably my favorite spot in Gatlinburg). We stuffed ourselves with burgers, chicken sandwiches, and wings (my God that Thunder Road sauce), and I had a mug of IPA so big I could barely lift it. Stuffed, we hurried out of there to hit Kilwin’s before closing time. I had a double scoop of pumpkin pie and maple walnut ice cream…yep, just full-on, unabashed fall mode at this point. We walked through The Village and parked at the fountain to finish our ice cream. At this point, we were both pretty tired, so we ventured back to the hotel.
I think what makes Gatlinburg feel so special is the isolation. You feel like you’re away from the strife of everyday life. It’s almost like you’re living in a storybook or something, far away from the real world.
By no fault of the Bearskin Lodge, I didn’t get any sleep that night. Word of advice – you should probably double check to make sure you got the bed size you want when you book a room. So, I was up early, showered, and ready to go by 8AM the next morning. I took my book down to the seating area by the river at the hotel. It was so cool, peaceful, and tranquil, I thought I might actually fall asleep sitting in that rocking chair. It’s one thing to eat pumpkin flavored anything. It’s another for it to actually feel like fall. It felt like fall that morning.
We checked out of the Bearskin Lodge and parked across town – we headed into The Village where breakfast at The Donut Friar was calling our names. It may very well be my favorite spot in Gatlinburg – wait, have I already said that? I got a chocolate cake donut and a Bavarian creme donut. My girlfriend got a cinnamon roll and a coconut creme donut. After that, we wandered out to the strip and found the Funko Pop store (Buckboard Too), where I bought Cousin Eddie and Khal Drogo.
Then, it was up the mountain to Anakeesta. It’s basically like Rock City for Gatlinburg, but it was beautiful – we walked through the treetop sky bridge, and caught all of the amazing views along the way. It was more expensive than I would’ve thought, but then again, Gatlinburg is a big tourist town. Everything’s going to be more expensive. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that bad, and the good thing is you have the opportunity to make of your time there what you want. We did eat a gross theme park lunch at which my girlfriend was stung by a bee. I don’t want that to deter you from going to the park. Maybe just don’t get the fried bologna sandwich.
We drove through Cherokee, North Carolina on our way out of town. It was a spot I remembered visiting as a kid, but man – the years have not been kind to it. A lot of stuff looked run down and lost in time…except for the casino. The casino was weird. The girlfriend couldn’t wait to get out of there.
All in all, I think we did well to maximize our night in town. There’s so much to do there that it’d be impossible to work it all in in a single night and day. But, the essence of Gatlinburg is still the food, shopping, and the wonderful mountain views. We got that.
Our Gatlinburg Stops
- The Old Mill (Pigeon Forge)
- Bearskin Lodge
- Smoky Mountain Brewery
- Kilwin’s
- The Donut Frier
- Buckboard Too
- Anakeesta
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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