Blog for Zip line Attraction in the Smoky Mountains
Located in Pigeon Forge, TN and near Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
Blog posts for category "National Park"
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has long been one of the few national parks in the nation that doesn't charge an admission fee. That was actually one of the stipulations attached to one of the early land donations that led to the park's creation. But the days of completely free use of the most visited national park in the country are soon coming to an end. As of March 1, a special tag display will be required for anyone wishing to park their vehicle inside the national park.
If there's one thing most people like, it's saving time, especially when it comes to minimizing time spent behind the wheel while on vacation; that frees up time to do the fun stuff that you went on your trip for in the first place.
We've devoted the past two blog posts to talking about how to stay safe when you're hiking the trails of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (or anywhere else, for that matter). So at this point, you probably assume you know everything there is to know about trail safety, right? Wrong, granola breath! This week, we're going to wrap up this series with just a few more items to keep in mind before you take on that next trek in the national park or the hiking destination of your choice. We're offering a collection of general tips and reminders to keep in mind when you're actually on your hike, courtesy of Smoky Mountain Ziplines. (At our Gatlinburg zip line attraction, we understand how important safety can be when enjoying the great outdoors in the mountains.)
Late autumn is a great time to visit Smoky Mountain Ziplines. And if you're trying to come up with even more fun things to do, Gatlinburg is the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the topic of trail safety when hiking in the national park. With more than 800 miles of trails to explore, the park is known for its wide range of hikes, from wildflower trails to soaring mountain peaks. Considering some of the rugged terrain involved as well as ever-changing climate conditions and the varying levels of hiking experience among the millions who visit the park every year, safety should be a priority when embarking on an outdoor trek.
Have you had a chance to visit us at Smoky Mountain Ziplines yet this season? If not, you're missing out on our amazing zipline canopy tour and some of the best spring weather we've seen in a long time. But there's still plenty of time this spring and summer to work us into your vacation-travel plans.
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about all the things going on at Dollywood theme park during the winter off-season. This time around, we thought we'd shine the spotlight on Great Smoky Mountains National Park and what visitors can expect to find there during the cold-weather months.
The black bear is one of the iconic symbols of the Great Smoky Mountains. But this time of year, bear sightings tend to be few and far between now that we're well into winter. This is when bears typically go into hibernation, an annual phenomenon that most folks are at least passingly familiar with, if only on a basic level.
Last week, we served up a quick overview of RV camping opportunities in the Smokies area, including those inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This week, we're going to get a little more primitive and introduce you to good old tent-camping locations, and we're going to focus exclusively on the national park instead of incorporating private campgrounds.
A couple of weeks ago, we took a brief tour of several of the historic homesteads located in the Cades Cove community in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These preserved structures were once the homes of some of the area's early white settlers, who lived in the cove during the 1800s and into the early 1900s, until the creation of the national park. Today, these homes provide unique glimpses into the lifestyles these frontier families lived, and fortunately, they still stand as reminders of what life was like in East Tennessee more than a century ago.
Normally, this is the time of year when folks would be coming to East Tennessee from all over the world to witness the synchronous fireflies of the Tremont section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You're probably familiar with them by now, but if you're not, prepare to be amazed. Tremont is home to a species of fireflies that lights up in unison during an approximate two-week period each year, most likely as part of their mating season. The national park is one of only a handful of places worldwide where this phenomenon takes place.
This past week saw the reopening of a number of businesses (mostly shops, restaurants and hotels) in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Visitors are starting to return to the area, and there are signs that life may gradually be returning to the old normal (although it's still too early to tell if this increased accessibility will lead to a new spike in illness rates). For now, most of the local attractions – including our zip lines in the Smoky Mountains – have chosen not to reopen just yet in the interest of ensuring guest protection. We will be welcoming guests back as soon as we feel it is safe to do so. We recommend following us on Facebook to keep up with the latest information regarding the status of our zipline attraction.
There's a reason that more than 10 million visitors travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year. The range is one of the most beautiful sights in the country, and the park offers myriad ways for guests to enjoy outdoor recreation in the midst of all that scenery. However, those who don't have the time or otherwise aren't inclined to get out and get lost (metaphorically speaking) in nature have another means at their disposal of appreciating all that eye candy. Next time you're in the Smokies – or any other section of the Appalachians, for that matter – consider taking one of the many scenic drives and tours that provide motorists with stunning views as they travel from Point A to Point B.
Once or twice a year, we try to use our blog to spread the word to visitors about the dos and don'ts of encountering black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains. The National Park Service has a number of recommendations (and laws) in place to discourage human-bear interaction, all of which are for the benefit of both the bears and the millions of human guests that visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year.