For the longest time, I ‘ve had the vision of a staying in a cozy cabin tucked away on the side of a snowy mountain. It’s been a slightly chilly start to the year here in Orlando so I figured I’d dive headfirst into the full on winter-y experience.
I eventually landed on the Smoky Mountains as our destination.
This was our chosen spot partially because of the proximity and partially because of the amazing reviews. I’ve had so many friends and family members visit and have always wanted to. So back on President’s Day Weekend, we took the short plane ride from Orlando into McGhee Tyson Airport. We only spent a full two days here but it was so worthwhile. See below for our trip and our photos!
Day 1:
Morning:
Our 6am flight from Orlando to Tennessee lasted just over an hour, which was great. We were both able to sleep a little on the plane as we had a whole row to ourselves. Originally we were right next to the jump seat, hello awkward, but they were able to switch us to our own row. We got our rental car almost right away when we arrived and made our way into town. The weather wasn’t amazing, but we originally expected rain, so we really didn’t mind the gray or the cold.
Since our Airbnb wasn’t ready until around 3pm, we went into the main towns to explore. The two towns closest to us were Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We drove straight through Pigeon Forge and its outrageous tourist traps to Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg had a tourist-appeal about it too, but it was a really cute little town nestled between the mountains. We got ourselves some breakfast at Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin. Pancake houses seemed to be a staple here. After breakfast we explored some shops and bought ourselves the most delicious cookies from Byrd’s Cookies. Before heading out we went to Shamrock Pub for a quick beverage (for me only, as Mo is participating in a dry 3 months). The traffic coming in as we left was crazy!
Afternoon:
Gatlinburg was small enough to explore in a few hours so we eventually headed out to Pigeon Forge to hit the outlets. Pigeon Forge has a TON of tourist attractions that are ridiculously campy. It actually reminded me a little bit of some attractions we have in Orlando so we skipped that part but we did a little bit of shopping and then got our groceries before the Airbnb was ready.
We finally got to check in to the best Airbnb ever!!! We found a studio style cabin in Pigeon Forge just 5 minutes from the main road, but you’d think we were in the middle of nowhere. Our little rental car struggled getting up the path to our cabin, but we made it safe. We spent the rest of our evening here enjoying the hot tub, the fireplace, and some movies.
Day 2
Morning:
So we finally got out to explore the mountains on our second and last day. A lot of trails and roads were closed due to winds and flooding, so be sure to do you research on this beforehand. We ended up going to hike Cove Mountain Trail. We parked at Sugarlands Visitor Center, which was only about a 15 minute drive from us. You can go into the visitor center to get maps, talk to the guides, and learn about to area. This isn’t the only visitor center, though, just the one we found to be most convenient. The national park is huge, and I imagine you could visit several times and still not explore all there is to see. I really enjoyed our chosen hike. It was really quiet once the ascent began. It even snowed a little!
Our afternoon was spent once again at our Airbnb enjoying the cozy vibes!! The snow continued so we really enjoyed the hot tub. If you’re looking for a getaway where you are trying to relax, definitely splash out on the Airbnb. I would probably opt for the hotel if we had come during warmer months, but it was never our plan to be out all day both days hiking.
Overall, the Smoky Mountains National Park is a great destination for both families, couples, or friend groups. There’s something for everyone, even if you aren’t crazy about the great outdoors. I’m super thankful we were able to take an easy weekend trip like this! It was a nice break from our usual climate, literally. Neither of us had to miss any work but we felt extra refreshed after our weekend away.
xo Jessica
