Trip to Bryson City and Gatlinburg in the Smoky Mountains
Posted by Hartsvillemom.com on Friday, August 10, 2018
About 4.5 to 5 hours away from the Pee Dee area (Florence/Hartsville areas), the Great Smoky Mountains is a great place to bring the kids on a mountain adventure!
There's a 4 hour train ride you can take the kids on through the Smoky Mountains in Bryson City, NC. Although a small quaint town, the train ride makes it worth the visit! With your train ticket, you also get into the model railroad museum for free. Book the tickets ahead of time online because they get really full quick. We stayed at Microtel in Bryson City when we were there for the train ride.
About an hour north of Bryson City, NC is Gatlinburg, TN. Gatlinburg is very famous! Like a mini-Vegas but without the casinos, the city seems to not sleep or maybe just stay up really late at night (past our bedtime). There are many lifts you can climb on, free wine samples and a lot of attractions too. In the summer time, the City of Gatlinburg provides free trolley rides all day along the parkway. We took advantage of this and even just rode it for the scenic view. The kids loved it.
We stayed at the Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg. They've only been open since June 2018 so everything was brand new when we stayed there for 3 nights. Margaritaville Resorts are so unique! You feel like you're in the middle of an island when you step inside, no matter what city you're located at. They always have the parrot on display in the lobby too. It's a kid favorite! They have an indoor pool, outdoor pool with a waterslide and also a kiddie pool for the little ones to splash around.
Make sure you try one of their margaritas from their extensive menu if you plan to stay there, you're in Margaritaville after all!
Along the parkway, there are many samples of wines, whiskey and moonshine that you could try! I highly suggest going to Smoky Mountains Brewery for those who love craft beer! They have flights that are 5oz and we tried 6 that only costed us a total of $7. That is a total steal!
Here are some scenic pictures from our trip along the parkway.
This was the first time my family and I went to the Great Smoky Mountains and we really enjoyed it. We hope to come back to the Smoky Mountains again soon.
See hotels in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina area including Gatlinburg.
There's a 4 hour train ride you can take the kids on through the Smoky Mountains in Bryson City, NC. Although a small quaint town, the train ride makes it worth the visit! With your train ticket, you also get into the model railroad museum for free. Book the tickets ahead of time online because they get really full quick. We stayed at Microtel in Bryson City when we were there for the train ride.
About an hour north of Bryson City, NC is Gatlinburg, TN. Gatlinburg is very famous! Like a mini-Vegas but without the casinos, the city seems to not sleep or maybe just stay up really late at night (past our bedtime). There are many lifts you can climb on, free wine samples and a lot of attractions too. In the summer time, the City of Gatlinburg provides free trolley rides all day along the parkway. We took advantage of this and even just rode it for the scenic view. The kids loved it.
We stayed at the Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg. They've only been open since June 2018 so everything was brand new when we stayed there for 3 nights. Margaritaville Resorts are so unique! You feel like you're in the middle of an island when you step inside, no matter what city you're located at. They always have the parrot on display in the lobby too. It's a kid favorite! They have an indoor pool, outdoor pool with a waterslide and also a kiddie pool for the little ones to splash around.
Make sure you try one of their margaritas from their extensive menu if you plan to stay there, you're in Margaritaville after all!
Along the parkway, there are many samples of wines, whiskey and moonshine that you could try! I highly suggest going to Smoky Mountains Brewery for those who love craft beer! They have flights that are 5oz and we tried 6 that only costed us a total of $7. That is a total steal!
Here are some scenic pictures from our trip along the parkway.
This was the first time my family and I went to the Great Smoky Mountains and we really enjoyed it. We hope to come back to the Smoky Mountains again soon.
See hotels in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina area including Gatlinburg.
As a veteran's wife whose husband works in the nuclear field, moving every several years seems to be part of our life path. We have lived in Hartsville, among many other cities.
Getting acclimated to a new town means starting over each time for us and to help myself and my family, I compiled everything I needed to see in one place on this website. I hope this will help you too.
