Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Located 25 miles from Townsend, Gatlinburg is a short drive along Little River Road with features including views of Meigs Falls and the Sinks. Gatlinburg’s many unique tourist attractions and nightlife have made it a popular destination for many years. The town lies at the foot of Mt. LeConte and is referred to as a “Gateway to the Smoky Mountains.”
Gatlinburg:
During the turn of the century, White Oak Flats was a logging town; and by 1934, almost 65 percent of the forest had been logged. Radford Gatlin moved into the area from North Carolina. He shortly discovered the need for a formal mail service and provided the space for the first post office, which was named after him. Although Gatlin was soon banned from the town due to his Confederate views in a highly Union area, his name quickly spread and stuck. Today, Gatlinburg is a thriving tourist town with strong roots in history, heritage and culture.
Attractions:
This mountain community is filled with amusements. While one of the most popular attractions in Gatlinburg is people-watching on the main strip, Highway 441, there are numerous shops, restaurants and attractions throughout the city.
Ø Ober Gatlinburg: This ski resort and amusement park offers a variety of activities year-round. In the winter, enjoy hitting the slopes on one of the eight ski trails with difficulty standards at easiest, more difficult and most difficult. If skiing isn’t your specialty, enjoy snow tubing, the Alpine Slide, the Aerial Tramway, the Black Bear Habitat, Indoor Ice Skating, Kiddie Land, Mini Golf, the Arcade & Redemption Center, the Amaze’n Maze or numerous water rides.
Ø Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies: The aquarium is the one of the top tourist attractions in Tennessee. The 1.4 million gallon aquarium features 11-foot sharks and over 10,000 exotic sea creatures from around the world. Visitors can pick up a horseshoe crab in the “Discovery Center,” meet squids and octopuses in the “Gallery of the Seas,” touch a stingray at “Touch A Ray Bay” and stay overnight in the aquarium’s “Shark Lagoon” during the “Sleep With The Sharks” program, plus much more.
Ø Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway: Departing from downtown Gatlinburg and ascending to Ober Gatlinburg Ski and Amusement Park, the 120-passenger tramway offers spectacular views of Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains on the 2.1-mile ride up.
Ø Gatlinburg Sky Lift: Year-round visitors can enjoy a breathtaking accent to the top of Crockett Mountain, 1,800 feet high, on the sky lift. Once you reach the summit, take in spectacular mountain views, have a souvenir photo taken or enjoy frozen drinks, snacks and ice cream and browse the gift shop.
Ø Hollywood Star Cars Museum: Home to some of the most famous movies and TV cars of the last 50 years, the Hollywood Star Cars Museum includes exhibits from such blockbuster movies as Transformers, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Fast and the Furious and Batman Returns. Recent additions also include the Back to the Future Time Machine, Days of Thunder Mello Yellow race car, Charlie’s Angels Indy Race Car and The Beach Boys’ 1955 Thunderbird.
Ø Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum: The museum features thousands of unique and unusual artifacts collected by Robert Ripley and the team of Ripley archivists. Rebuilt in 1995 after an extensive fire destroyed the original museum, the new building contains numerous exhibits, cartoons and interactive displays to entertain the entire family.
Ø Gatlinburg Space Needle: Visitors can ride up the glass elevator over 400 feet to the observation tower giving all a unique view of the city and mountains. A two-level, 25,000-square-foot fun center – Arcadia – is located below the needle consisting of a hurricane simulator, laser tag, an arcade and an old time photo shop.
Ø Other Attractions: Miniature golf, rafting down the Pigeon River and fishing are also favorite pastimes in Gatlinburg. In addition, Gatlinburg is also home to many arts and crafts stores as well as shopping malls and unique shopping villages with local, handmade crafts.
For more information on Gatlinburg and its many attractions, please visit www.gatlinburg.com.