The Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge has been my family’s go-to destination for a quick trip. It is about a 9-hour drive for us and super easy roads. Last year we went for 5-days to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area and found that is the perfect amount of time for us. We could definitely spend more time there as there are tons of things to do but we found that four or five days is just enough to satisfy a need for vacation.

We left on a Monday morning to drive to Tennessee and drove home on Friday with a stop in Kentucky on the way home.

I feel like we jam-packed in a lot and staying in a cabin was the cherry on top. I highly recommend a cabin, which there are a ton to choose from. It gave us space to spread out after busy days, and a kitchen to cook in to save money from eating out so much and easier access to come and go rather than trekking through a big hotel. We also stayed in the Gatlinburg area this time rather than Pigeon Forge.

We stayed here in this cabin looking for ideas and it was perfect for our family of five:

So here is our itinerary for the 4 days we were there:

Day 1: MONDAY

Drive to our cabin. We ended up stopping at Walmart for groceries for our stay and again great way to save some money.

Rather than run anywhere we decided to have some downtime just relaxing at the cabin. It also happened to be NHL playoffs and so we had a game night and watched some hockey.

Day 2: TUESDAY

We also stopped at The Christmas Place – which is located in Pigeon Forge and is the largest permanent Christmas retailer in the American south, and one of the largest in the United States. It is our must-do when we visit the Pigeon Forge area because I love Christmas and love that I can shop it year-round!

We also tackled the Smokey Mountains and trekked to Laurel Falls.  Laurel Falls Trail is paved over the first 1.3 miles (2.1 km) of its course and then continues for about another mile, where it runs just in front of Laurel Falls, the single most popular attraction via trail in the national park. It is an 80-foot (25m) multi-level waterfall and amazing because its in the middle of the national park.

Day 3: WEDNESDAY

Today was a busy day that we packed it in. To start off the day, we did some ATV riding. The ride was amazing and the views even better. Definitely recommend looking around as there are so many places to use and it depends on if you want to do an ATV or UTV and the ages of your drivers/passengers. We used Bluff Mountain Adventures and had a great experience.

Next up was some shopping in downtown Gatlinburg to kill some time before dinner at the Paula Dean Lumberjack show. We ended up buying a Groupon which made the show cheaper but you do have to call the show box office to redeem the Groupon as it is not an actual ticket. Luckily they were able to squeeze the five of us in. I will say the show was amazing, the food was just so-so for us. It was a good deal but definitely don’t have high expectations for the food.

Finally, we wrapped up the day with some minigolf at Hillbilly Golf. It is pricey, especially for a big family but it was definitely fun and even better with the lights at night. There is a line but it moved fast and we didn’t feel rushed. I love trying out different minigolf courses and this place did not disappoint.

DAY 4: THURSDAY

This was probably my favorite day as we did something on my bucket list and honestly it was the whole reason I wanted to go to Tennesse. We did white water rafting with Raft Outdoor Adventures and it was amazing!

Next up was lunch at Smoky Mountain Brewery in downtown Gatlinburg. It is at the very end of strip with free parking and came recommended by our tour guide. It was great food and atmosphere, we would go back.

Finally we did the Gatlinburg SkyPark and crossed the record-setting SkyBridge, the longest pedestrian cable bridge in North America. You basically talk a ski lift up and then walk around and across a bridge. It is very relaxing enjoying the view. There is a restaurant there as well but we had already eaten.

DAY 5: FRIDAY

This was our last day so we checked out of our VRBO and started our drive home. We hit Buc-ees right off the highway. The Sevierville Buc-ee’s currently ranks as the world’s largest convenience store. Sprawling 74,000 square feet—bigger than a football field!

We honestly like Wally’s better than Buc-ee’s but it was still a great visit and we got a lot of good snacks for our road trip.

Finally, we hit up Railway Explorers in Bluegrass, Kentucky, which was on our way home. It was something I actually saw on social media and added it to my bucket list. I was only able to get four of us on so we did two 2-person railway cars while my husband hit up local distilleries. The Railway Explorers was an awesome experience and I can’t wait to hit up the other locations in other states. It was something unique and a great way to repurpose unused train tracks.

Have you been to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and have a suggestion for next time we go?