Gatlinburg Tennessee and its nearby neighbor Pigeon Forge are located just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's is a bustling year round resort offering indoor and outdoor activities for all ages.
A recent survey shows that Gatlinburg is the second most popular place in America for honeymooners (second only to Las Vegas), and they come from all over the country and from across the globe as well. With sophisticated facilities to meet all tastes and budgets, romantic getaways, family vacations, corporate meetings, and honeymoons can be easily accommodated in Gatlinburg.
So if you're planning a trip to the Gatlinburg area, you might want to think about spending a day or two stomping around in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park straddles the Tennessee and North Carolina borders and whether you delight in the challenge of a strenuous hike to the crest of a mountain or prefer to sit quietly and watch the sun set, Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a myriad of activities for you to enjoy. The hardest part may be choosing which auto tour, trail, waterfall, overlook, or historic area to explore.
Hikers enjoy the Smoky Mountains during all months of the year with every season offering is own special rewards. During the winter months, the absence of deciduous leaves opens new vistas along trails and reveals stone walls, chimneys, foundations, and other reminders of past residents.
Springtime provides a weekly parade of wildflowers and flowering trees. In summer, walkers can seek out cool retreats among the spruce-fir forests, or follow splashy mountain streams to roaring falls and cascades. Autumn hikers have crisp, dry air to sharpen their senses and a varied palette of fall colors to enjoy.
One of the most daunting tasks facing hikers is choosing a trail. Start by deciding on what you would like to see. Waterfalls? Old-growth forests? Endless views? Then decide how far you would like to hike. If you haven't hiked much recently, be conservative. Five miles roundtrip is a good maximum distance for novices.
Be sure to allow plenty of time to complete your hike before dark. As a rule of thumb, hikers in the Smokies travel about 1.5 miles per hour. Many people travel slower. Sunset times vary from just after 5:00 p.m. in December to almost 9:00 p.m. in June. After your hike, head back to your cabin in Pigeon Forge TN, or Gatlinburg.
And remember your mother's advice: be sure to pack plenty of extra pairs of underwear!
Author Resource:-
Baskins Creek Vacation Rentals (http://www.baskinscreek.com/) is a provider of cabins in Pigeon Forge TN, PA. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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