To work up an appetite for all those nachos you\u2019ll eat later, we recommend hitting the trails. Gatlinburg\u2019s got several just on the outskirts of town proper. (It\u2019s just one of many reasons why Ole Red loves Gatlinburg<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Gatlinburg Trail <\/strong>is a flat, 1.9-mile trail with views of the Little Pigeon River \u2014 and fortunately for us, dogs are allowed, too. Along your walk, you can spot foundations and chimneys of old homesites. Give your ticker a workout by hiking Mount LeConte<\/strong>, which is the highest peak completely within the state of Tennessee. Multiple trails ascend the mountain, so choose your own adventure \u2014 and get treated to panoramic views once you\u2019re at the top.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d rather have your truck do all the work, pile on in. Plenty of the Smokies\u2019 natural wonders are just a short drive away. About an hour from Gatlinburg, Cades Cove<\/strong> is known as one of the best spots to catch a glimpse of wild black bears in the national park, particularly at dawn and dusk. Just bring your binoculars and drive the 11-mile loop. While you\u2019re on an exploration kick, go chase a few waterfalls. Grotto Falls<\/strong>, Laurel Falls<\/strong>, and Cataract Falls<\/strong> are all close to town.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get us wrong: We\u2019ll gladly have ya over for any and every meal during your trip \u2014 come back again and again for the Turtle Funnel Cake<\/a>, we won\u2019t tell \u2014 but make sure to check out some other sweet spots in town to chow down.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t start your day in Gatlinburg with pancakes or doughnuts, you\u2019re doing it wrong because:<\/p>\n Pancake Pantry<\/a> opened as the state\u2019s first pancake house in 1960, so you know they\u2019ve got to be doing something right. Homemade whipped cream and butter? It doesn\u2019t get much better. If you\u2019re sticking to a well-rounded<\/em> diet, The Donut Friar<\/strong> will do the trick. It doesn\u2019t take long after its 5 a.m. open time for folks to start pouring in to get their fill of all things fried and glazed.<\/p>\n Just outside the national park, Old Dad\u2019s<\/a> has got your sustenance and then some. Chow down on a breakfast sandwich before a hike, or swing by at lunch for an honest-to-goodness fried bologna sandwich. A Gatlinburg institution, the general store is also stocked with barrels of the candy you grew up on.<\/p>\n Off the beaten path, The Wild Plum Tea Room<\/a> is an escape, serving tried-and-true family recipes and the plum tea that made the place famous, which they serve warm or chilled. If not for the tea and chicken salad, go for the atmosphere. Rustic and quaint, there\u2019s no bad spot in this place, but we opt for the enclosed patio on a sunny afternoon.<\/p>\n Gatlinburg\u2019s got some real gems you can\u2019t see anywhere else in the world. For one thing: the world\u2019s only museum dedicated to salt and pepper shakers. With a collection that\u2019s more than three decades in the making, The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum<\/a> houses over 20,000 unique sets of shakers. Just goes to show that variety really is the spice of life.<\/p>\n A new museum in town specializes in an arcade classic: the iconic pinball machine. Gatlinburg Pinball Museum<\/a> has a collection of vintage and rare pinball machines themed around anything from Aerosmith to The Addams Family<\/em> that you can play all you want for just a few bucks.<\/p>\n Floor to ceiling, Ripley\u2019s Believe It or Not! Odditorium<\/a> contains a treasure trove of head-scratching artifacts, like \u201cThe Last Supper\u201d recreated with dryer lint and a replica of Hogwarts made from more than 500,000 matchsticks. Created in the spirit of Robert Ripley who traveled to over 200 countries in search of the world\u2019s most unusual and odd artifacts, Ripley\u2019s Odditorium lives up to its name as \u201cthe weirdest place in Gatlinburg\u201d \u2014 sounds like our 3 a.m. tweets would fit right in.<\/p>\n Looking for a good laugh? Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre<\/a> has got you covered with its host of outrageous musical comedies. The theater is just around the corner from us, so once you get a bellyful of Ole Red\u2019s biscuits, enjoy a week\u2019s worth of belly laughs courtesy of Sweet Fanny Adams.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t leave Gatlinburg without picking up some mementos for the road, especially Ole Red t-shirts<\/a> for you and your favorite Blake fan back home \u2014 they\u2019ll be mad as hell if you don\u2019t get them something.<\/p>\n Gatlinburg\u2019s also got some true artisans. The Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community<\/a> comprises more than 100 independent artists and craftsman in an 8-mile loop on U.S. Route 441. Don\u2019t miss Ogle\u2019s Broom Shop<\/a>, which has been owned by three generations of broom makers. These brooms aren\u2019t for sweeping \u2014 they\u2019re custom works of art.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t leave empty-handed at Smoky Mountain Farms Jelly House<\/strong>, which sells over 80 different flavors of jam. (Hello, moonshine jelly!) Moonshine is a big export around these parts. Speaking of, Ole Smoky Moonshine<\/a> is the most visited distillery in the world. From mango-habanero to cookies-and-cream, Ole Smoky doesn\u2019t play around in the flavor department. Go on and pass that jar.<\/p>\n Hope you\u2019re not scared of heights because Gatlinburg\u2019s got a lot of them. Whether you\u2019re riding to the top of the Gatlinburg Space Needle<\/a>, zooming through the forest on the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster<\/a>,<\/strong> or taking a journey on an open-air chairlift at Gatlinburg SkyLift Park<\/a>, you\u2019ll learn that this town doesn\u2019t have a bad angle.<\/p>\n You can make a day out of either of Gatlinburg\u2019s amusement parks. Anakeesta<\/a> packs some big thrills into its theme park in the sky, including the tree canopy walk, dueling zip lines, and a single-rail mountain coaster that lets you control your own speed, whether that means full-throttle or slow-and-steady. If you prefer the latter, you\u2019ll love the opportunity just to take in the views of Mt. LeConte while enjoying ice cream from Pearl\u2019s Pie in the Sky. Ober Gatlinburg <\/a>supplies year-round fun as a skiing, snowboarding, and tubing hotspot in the winter and as one of the best places to cool off in the summer with three water rides, an aerial tram, and more.<\/p>\n If you prefer getting soaked to soaring in the sky, hop in the raft and tackle some rapids on a whitewater excursion led by Smoky Mountain Outdoors<\/a> or Rafting in the Smokies<\/a>. Both offer adventures just about an hour\u2019s drive from Gatlinburg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We dish on where to cut loose, chow down, and get a little wild in the Smokies. Your best Gatlinburg […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":70599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"placement":[],"class_list":["post-70594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":{"header_style":"default","mobile_header_title_background_color":"","url_for_featured_image":"","tile_content":null,"header_video":"none","url_for_video":null,"video_file":null,"background_texture":false,"header_image_source":"default","alternate_header_image":null},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/olered.com\/gatlinburg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/01\/gatlinburg-smoky-mountains.jpg\")
Good Eatin\u2019<\/h3>\n
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You Never Know What You\u2019ll Find<\/h3>\n
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Big-Time Thrills<\/h3>\n
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