Blog for Zipline Attraction in the Smoky Mountains
Located in Pigeon Forge, TN and near Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
6 Things You Can Do In Gatlinburg This Week
By Ross Bodhi Ogle
Posted on December 14, 2016
You've only got a few more chances to join us here at Smoky Mountain Ziplines in 2016. We'll be open this weekend, December 17 and 18 (weather permitting), and we'll be open Christmas Eve as well as every day from December 26 through January 1. So if you're thinking about coming to the area in the next couple of weeks, we hope you find some time to check out Smoky Mountain zip line and canopy tour.
But we also hope you consider spending some time in neighboring Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Parts of that city took some big hits from a major wildfire a couple of weeks ago, but the good news is that as of last Friday, the city is back open for business. In fact, we're encouraging our customers visiting the Smokies to also make plans to head down to Gatlinburg and help the folks there make a full recovery by patronizing their attractions, shops, restaurants and accommodations.
Need some suggestions about places to visit and things to do while you're in Gatlinburg? Here are several to consider:
1. Attend the Gatlinburg Mountain Tough Benefit Festival
The Gatlinburg Convention Bureau, Music City Roots and several local businesses are banding together to present a special day of music, Saturday, December 17, beginning at 10 a.m. This daylong outdoor mini-festival will raise money to benefit those affected by the recent wildfires. The lineup includes artists like the Zac Brown Band, Rodney Crowell, Jim Lauderdale, Sam Bush, Rob Ickes and many more. The show will be staged at 705 Parkway and will be broadcast on WMOT/Roots Radio as well as a network of statewide and regional stations. The event is free, but 100 percent of any donations received will go to benefit victims of the wildfires.
2. Visit An Attraction
Gatlinburg is jam-packed with family-friendly attractions, which means there's bound to be something to appeal to everyone. Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, in the heart of downtown, is a world-class aquarium featuring exotic undersea creatures from around the globe, including a visiting penguin exhibit. Also look for spots like Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort, Gatlinburg Space Needle, Ripley's Haunted Adventure, Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre, Hollywood Star Cars Museum and Christ In The Smokies Museum.
3. See The Winterfest Lights
Winterfest is still going strong in the Smokies and will be through the end of February. In the meantime, take a drive around Gatlinburg and appreciate the beauty added by the presence of millions of colorful and shiny Winterfest lights. You'll see unique and animated displays throughout town, and if you don't want to bother with driving yourself, you can see the lights courtesy of one of the city's Winter Magic Trolley Rides of Lights. For only $5 per person, you can enjoy all the sights from the heated comfort of a Gatlinburg trolley. Tour times are 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. nightly through January 31.
4. Finish Your Christmas Shopping
There's less than two weeks left until Christmas Day – plenty of time to hit the specialty shops of downtown Gatlinburg as well as the many craft studios, shops and galleries located in the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community.
5. Enjoy A Holiday Meal
Christmas dinner in Gatlinburg? Don't scoff. More and more people are passing on the hassles of preparing a holiday meal and letting the city's many restaurants do all the cooking. Many eateries in town will be open that day, some offering meals designed to reflect the family holiday-dining traditions of their guests.
6. Ring In The New Year
Help ring in 2017 at Gatlinburg's 29th Annual New Year's Eve Ball Drop and Fireworks Show. Country artist Beau Braswell will headline the event, which will take place at the intersection of Parkway and Historic Nature Trail, at the base of the Space Needle, beginning late Saturday night, December 31. Nearly 50,000 people are expected to gather there to ring in the new year, and at the stroke of midnight, fireworks will boom from the roof of the 400-foot-tall Space Needle to synchronized music. The attraction is also adorned with LED lights that will enhance the pyrotechnics display.
