Our family has chosen Gatlinburg Tennessee or pigeon Forge Tennessee to spend New Year’s eve on three different years. We have found that, it is a great destination for kids and adults alike. The great Smoky Mountains and cabin living have been a great experience for our family. Here are some of the reasons why we encourage anyone who is interested in nature to come here even if you’re not an expert on surviving the outdoors!
1- Get to experience nature and mountain life close to civilization and a step away from the comfort of a big city!
2 - Whether there’s a snowstorm or not, Ober Gatlinburg (Sky resort) will allow you to enjoy the slopes and snow fun as if you were in the middle of Aspen Colorado (We have been there too and didn’t like the altitude sickness)
We are big fans of snow tubing and a little afraid of breaking a leg skiing (Although Ric has done it and he was fine)
For snow tubing tickets get sold out way in advanced! If you plan to do this activity, book on the Ober Gatlinburg website before your trip. We have seen many disappointed families turn around with no tickets.
3- Experience cabin living and great views without having a dangerous drive up the mountain! We have been to other places where the drive up will make your heart skip a beat. Not here! This is important if you are not an avid mountain driver!
A disclaimer here! Make sure to inquire about the drive up to the cabin when you book! Because if it does snow, you might need special equipment for your tires to get up to some homes. We always book our cabins on homeaway.com it allows us to deal directly with the owners and ask for any special requests or information we need. ( By the way not sponsor)
4- The cabins are very affordable in price. Specially if you’re traveling with a large group and the cost could be divided among different family members. Most of the homes have a bathroom per room so even though you’re sharing with other people you still have some sort of privacy.
Below other family members traveling with us (We had a great time)
5- Being in your own cabin allows you to do the New Year’s eve party as big or as small as you want. You could choose any theme you want and cook your favorite food. Each cabin comes equipped with a full kitchen and being close to a big town allows you to shop at the supermarket for whatever you need to make the great meal.
We created this photo booth corner entirely with items purchased at the dollar store! Dollar tree to be exact! We wanted to challenge ourselves to do a lot with a little! Be creative... this was the result. A hit with the family who took pics all night with the different props!
6- There is something for every age. Adults can taste the moonshine, a typical alcoholic drink from the smoky mountains and kids can go karts riding through a maze. Or if you want to live life on the fast lane, which we don’t recommend, you could combine driving go karts completely drunk on moonshine ha ha ha.
7- Admiring nature will not cost you a fortune. Driving around the great Smoky Mountains national Park is in itself an adventure. Every mountain turn, every bridge, every tunnel is like taken out of a postcard. Make sure to stop anywhere you want to take in Mother Nature. If you want to go into specific areas of the park like caves or historic sites, the prices are very reasonable, mostly paid by vehicle not by person.
8 - For those of us on the East Coast of the United States the drive to this area of the Smoky Mountains it’s very easy. The roads are wide, fully paved, with many rest stops along the way, and authorities monitoring traffic all the time. A safe and easy drive!
9- Please keep in mind temperatures could drop very drastically even below zero Fahrenheit, but even then, there is a lot of nocturnal life. From comedy shows, to museums, and the great Dolly Parton shows. There is enough for you not to stay in your cabin every single night.
10 - To us, this is the most important reason why we choose the great Smoky Mountains as our favorite New Year’s eve destination: Our kids spending quality time with our extended family. A study said that those kids who grow up as part of a big family have more people to disappoint in the event that they are tempted to make bad decisions. Therefore this prevents them from getting into trouble. Imagine... What will grandma say??? Lol
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Sincerely,
Ric and Saj
