Blog for Zipline Attraction in the Smoky Mountains
Located in Pigeon Forge, TN and near Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
4 Things To Do On A Fall Weekday In The Smokies
By Ross Bodhi Ogle
Posted on November 1, 2016
Here at Smoky Mountain Ziplines, we're starting to dial our schedule back a little for fall and winter. Primarily, we'll be open weekends only through the end of the year, except we will be open for a nine-day stretch during Thanksgiving week, from November 19 through 27. We'll be closed Christmas Day, of course, which is a Sunday this year, but then we'll be back open for one last 2016 hurrah, from December 26 through January 1. After that, we'll be on hiatus until spring.
So if you're going to be around on a weekend in the next few months, we certainly hope you'll come out and enjoy the best ziplines Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville have to offer. However, if you're in the Smokies during the middle of the week, you may need some ideas for other cool things to do, regardless of which town you're staying in. Read on for several suggestions.
1. Do some shopping
Don't look now, but Christmas is less than two months away. And if you're like most folks, you typically wait until the last minute to get most of your shopping done. However, if you're in the Smokies, put an end to that bad tradition; hit the stores and get a lot of names crossed off that shopping list. A few ideas for where to shop include the many outlet malls in Sevierville and Pigeon Forge as well as specialty retail destinations like Bass Pro Shops in Sevierville and the galleries and studios of the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community in Gatlinburg. You're sure to find just the right items for the folks on your list, and at the outlet malls, you're likely to save a lot of money in the process.
2. Help us kick off Winterfest
Winterfest in the Smokies kicks off next week with opening-night celebrations in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. Those events typically include visits from Santa Claus and flipping the switch on the Winterfest light displays in each of those communities. Collectively, our towns – along with Dollywood theme park during their annual Smoky Mountain Christmas festival – light up the Smokies at night with millions and millions of individual lights, whether they're adorning trees, utility poles or unique, animated displays. As Winterfest moves on through the end of the year and into 2017, you'll also discover fun special events in each town to help keep the holiday spirit going past Christmas and well into the new year.
3. Take a hike
Soon, winter will set in, and many of the hiking trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be snowed over, mainly in the higher elevations. At the very least, it may just be too cold for most folks to enjoy even a daytime hike. So for the next several weeks, you can take advantage of the visitation lull between the fall colors and Christmas by heading into the national park and enjoying the beauty of the mountains before it gets too much colder. There are more than 800 miles of hiking trails to be explored, ranging from short and simple nature walks to the 12-mile journey up and down Mt. LeConte. Depending on your destination, you'll find everything from sweeping mountain vistas and unique rock formations to year-round vegetation and waterfalls.
4. See a holiday show
Beginning in November, most of the area music and variety theaters introduce special holiday versions of their regular-season shows. Depending on the venue, you're likely to hear plenty of holiday-specific music, from beloved carols and hymns to secular favorites, and the stages are decked out for the holidays with lots of lights and greenery. And don't be surprised if you catch a special appearance from that chubby gift-bearing man from the North Pole.
