Christmas in the Great Smoky Mountains! | Modern Travel Guide 4K

[Music] Merry Christmas y'all and welcome to the last episode in our Christmas travel series we're here in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee actually on the North Carolina Tennessee border we're gonna be checking out Gatlinburg Sevierville and Pigeon Forge as well this being the last episode that means there are four episodes before this one that you may not have seen yet so if you want to check those out click the link in the description also if you want to make sure you don't miss any more episodes from modern Travel Guide make sure you hit the subscribe button and the notification icon and you'll always be up-to-date the Great Smoky Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States right on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina the popular towns in this area are Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge and Sevierville three years ago in November 2016 this area experienced one of the worst wildfires in the history of the eastern United States since then they have been recovering rebuilding and renewing rising from the ashes like a phoenix because of the awesome job these towns have done to rebuild they are great places to start your excursions into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or they can be a fun way to take a break from all the wilderness was shopping plenty of food and even some nightlife these small cities don't get as much love as they deserve and they deserve a whole lot of love during the Christmas season most people come in here will travel from the interstate around Knoxville Tennessee starting in Sevierville then Pigeon Forge then Gatlinburg and finally to the national park itself driving along the Parkway between these locations you really get a feel for the fairly country mountainous area you get to see almost all of the sights and the Christmas lights with the main road running directly through each town starting and Sevierville you'll hit the first of the Winterfest lights you can think of these as Christmas lights but these towns keep them up through February they probably do that because it hardly ever snows in Tennessee at Christmas but the Smoky Mountains get about nine inches of snow over the whole winter Sevierville also has a popular drive-through Christmas light experience the Smoky stadium called shadrach's Christmas wonderland the entry fee is per vehicle so try to pack the car because $25 for one person is not worth it for me personally the free light shows around these three towns are good enough Sevierville also has a major shopping center in the area the Tanger Outlets of Sevierville this is where you should head for discount outlets most of your favorite brands including Brooks Brothers and Polo Ralph Lauren there's also a couple options for food plus there's a mini golf course also nearby is one of the many very popular go-kart racing tracks in the area one of the coolest spots in the area for some good food is Applewood farmhouse restaurant they have some fantastic southern food for breakfast lunch and dinner served with delicious apple fritters instead of rolls and some incredible apple butter plus the farmhouse filled of the place is a nice touch further along the parkway is Pigeon Forge the main reason a lot of people come to Pigeon Forge is for Dollywood an iconic country theme park named after a famous local Dolly Parton Dollywood a bit off the main road is extremely popular year-round with everything from roller coasters to dinner shows but during the Christmas season they have an experience called Smoky Mountain Christmas from early November to the first weekend of January Dollywood goes crazy with Christmas lights and holiday shows it seems like it would be fun but there is a major drawback to anything Dollywood a regular ticket cost 74 dollars before taxes that's more than I'm willing to pay that's for sure another interesting Christmas themed place to check out in Pigeon Forge has actually decorated the whole year Christmas place and The Inn at Christmas place Christmas place is a shop with tons of Christmas decorations from model trains and miniature villages to Christmas trees and custom ornaments associated in across the street has rooms decorated year-round but during the holidays they have extra decorations outside and in the common areas the coolest part of Pigeon Forge and something I didn't even know about when starting this video has got to be the island in Pigeon Forge a large shopping and entertainment area with everything from a Margaritaville to a ferris wheel lots of restaurants and shops can keep the grown-ups busy while the kids ride and play with Dollywood and the island I'm sure you can tell family friendliness is very popular in Pigeon Forge this includes lots of arcades go-kart tracks and even some rides like reverse bungee some of the stuff does have a bit of a tacky feel but it's still fun once you leave Pigeon Forge on the main roadway you get to see what this place really has to offer the trip from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is heavily wooded with the Little Pigeon River running down the middle during the Christmas season the road itself gets covered in red lights thanks to the popularity of the region traffic can be pretty bad don't be afraid to use Google Maps to find alternate routes though the main one to keep in mind is the Gatlinburg bypass which takes you around and above for a great view of Gatlinburg straight to the national park there are some tunnels on these routes so make sure you turn your headlights on for that Plus kids love it when you honk upon entering Gatlinburg you are immediately hit with sensory overload from the Christmas lights everywhere the many shops arcades and restaurants vying for your attention some of the buildings on the main very walkable strip are from the 60s and 70s giving this place a bit of a country Alpine feel it doesn't hurt to have wooded ridges around in the downtown area with a couple creeks running through town this all helps to remind you that you're in the mountains when you're for instance sampling moonshine on the strip that's actually a very popular activity mostly thanks to old smokey Tennessee moonshine which sells fifteen different flavors you can sample at their distillery in the middle of town check out Sugar Land shine if you'd rather support the little guy there were also quite a few fudge and sweet shops if you're more inclined to those types of samples a few medicinal cool activities right in Gatlinburg you should check out our the Ripley's Aquarium antique ista an expansive hilltop play area with a gondola that sprung up after the 2016 wildfires and sky lift park with the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America after you've had some fun on the strip you should head up to Ober Gatlinburg preferably on the gondolas the views of town and decorated houses are quite a bit better at night so I'd suggest heading up in the late afternoon if you plan on doing some of the winter activities at the top there's an indoor ice rink some shopping food and skiing if it's cold enough for artificial snow which is rare at Christmas during filming it was around 60 degrees so be prepared for the winter activities to be a shorter list than expected when you head back down though you'll be really close to my favorite restaurant in town the Smoky Mountain brewery restaurant which beers brew on-site plus they have a range of styles for most tastes my suggestion of food is either a pizza or a burger though their whole menu is good mornings in Gatlinburg are something really special the crisp winter air adds to the quietness of the once crowded strip and it's the perfect time to take part in the local favorite eating at one of the pancake restaurants most popular is pancake pantry on the ripp aquarium side of town they have a great selection of pancakes and crepes plus other southern breakfast choices which they served from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day if you go expect to wait in line and make sure you bring cash if not you can use the ATM by the cashier but you definitely should bring cash finally we get to the main reason people come to this area the Great Smoky Mountains National Park right on the Ober Gatlinburg side of town you can find an entrance to the National Park area with mini trails right off the roadway the beautiful scenic route winds through the park 14 miles up to Newfound Gap a 3700 foot elevation change this is one of the coolest stops in the u.s. route 441 with the gorgeous overlooked situated right on the border of Tennessee in North Carolina the famous Appalachian Trail traverses this gap as well Rockefeller memorial here is where President Franklin D Roosevelt dedicated the National Park in 1940 from December to April Clingmans Dome the highest point in the Smokies Tennessee and along the entire Appalachian Trail is only accessible by a 15 mile round trip hike down the Appalachian Trail though the road can sometimes the temporarily closed before or after these dates due to weather now since most people come here for the trails in the national park let's get a few tips out of the way now the first tip don't be afraid to go to the visitors center and talk to some of the Rangers about some of the trails that might interest you maybe there's a trail that's closed or maybe a road that has some debris on it you got to watch out for so that's the first place to go every time you come second tip it's not a bad idea to bring snacks and water with you when you go on the trail but if you bring snacks make sure you keep the trash with you take it with you when you go and that includes scrap food like banana peels or apple cores or whatever that's the kind of stuff that doesn't need to be left on the trail even if it's biodegradable third tip don't be a dummy like me and bring a big old bag of stuff you're not gonna use for instance I brought my camera obviously and a bunch of lenses but so far I've only used one lens wait a minute yeah it was worth it now for the final tip hold on a second side note if it's cool enough for a jacket here at the Visitor Center shout out to Martha's Vineyard vacationers then then you'll definitely need a second jacket here and the upper elevations now that's it for all the trail tips let's get back to some of the Christmas stuff Christmas and the Smokies is a wonderful thing with the weather cooling off Winter Fest lights going up throughout the towns and tons of activities available it's always a fun place to visit but it's best from late fall to early spring and not just because of Winter Fest that could really use your tourism dollars here regardless of when you come so don't hesitate to book your Smoky Mountain trip thanks for joining me on this our last episode in the Christmas travel series here a modern travel guide if you like this video be sure to give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends and family and subscribe for more content like this you never know maybe we'll continue this series next Christmas see you [Music]

Channel: Modern Travel Guide

Views: 26,290

Rating: 4.9079499 out of 5

Keywords: Great Smoky Mountains, Smoky mountains, smokey mountains, national park, Christmas, xmas, Holiday, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Tennessee, Hiking, Dollywood, Dolly Parton, Christmas Lights, Shopping, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Sevierville, The Island, island, skiing, bridge, Sky Bridge, SkyBridge, Ice Skating, skating, pancakes, Travel Guide, Travel, Modern, Guide, Modern Travel Guide

Id: JxxODw9hKZI

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 05 2019