Blog for Zipline Attraction in the Smoky Mountains
Located in Pigeon Forge, TN and near Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
Plan a Smoky Mountain Adventure Day Near Pigeon Forge
By Ross Bodhi Ogle
Posted on August 18, 2026
There is a point in almost every Smoky Mountain vacation when the family is ready for a day that feels a little more adventurous. Pigeon Forge is a good place to start because you can enjoy an outdoor attraction in the morning and still be close enough to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, restaurants, shops and your lodging to decide what comes next.
The mistake is trying to turn an adventure day into a marathon.
Instead of seeing how many attractions you can fit between breakfast and bedtime, choose one experience that everyone is excited about and build the day around it. For families who want to get outdoors, a canopy tour at Smoky Mountain Ziplines can easily become that centerpiece. From there, the rest of the day can be as active or relaxed as your family wants it to be.
Start With the Part of the Day You Don't Want to Miss
If ziplining is one of the activities your family has been looking forward to, put that on the schedule first. Once you know your tour time, everything else becomes easier to plan.
A morning tour can work especially well. Eat breakfast before you leave, arrive with plenty of time to get ready, and enjoy the zipline experience while everyone is fresh. When the tour is finished, you still have a good portion of the day available for lunch and another outing.
An afternoon tour can work just as well for families who prefer slower mornings. You could have breakfast, spend a little time exploring Pigeon Forge, eat an early lunch and then head to your tour without feeling as though you've been racing the clock since you woke up.
Either way, resist the urge to schedule another major attraction immediately afterward. Part of the appeal of an adventure day is having enough time to enjoy what you're doing instead of constantly checking the time for the next reservation.
If someone in your group has never been on a canopy tour, our guide to what to expect when ziplining for the first time in the Smoky Mountains can answer many of the questions that come up before a tour.
Plan for Mountain Weather and an Active Day
You don't need to pack for an expedition, but a little preparation makes an outdoor day much easier.
Check the weather before leaving your cabin, hotel or vacation rental. Conditions can change during the day, and temperatures can be different once you head into higher elevations of the national park. Comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear will serve you much better than choosing an outfit based entirely on what you plan to do that evening.
It is also worth carrying the everyday items your family tends to need once you leave the lodging: water, sunscreen, rain protection when appropriate and anything else you would rather not have to stop and buy later.
If you're still packing for your vacation, our Smoky Mountain packing checklist covers the items that are useful during a typical trip to the area.
What Should You Do After Ziplining?
This is where you can let the day develop instead of following a rigid itinerary.
If everyone is still ready to explore, head toward Great Smoky Mountains National Park after lunch. You don't have to turn the afternoon into a long hiking trip. A short walk, a picnic, time beside a mountain stream or a few scenic stops can be enough.
That combination gives you two very different Smoky Mountain experiences in one day. The zipline tour provides the organized adventure, while the national park gives you time to slow down and explore on your own.
Families who want to walk but don't want to commit to a long trail can look through our guide to short hikes for beginners in the Smoky Mountains. Pick something that matches the energy level of your group that afternoon, not something you feel obligated to complete because it appeared on an itinerary you made three months ago.
Another option is to pack lunch and make a picnic part of the day. That works particularly well if you're already heading toward the national park. Instead of eating and immediately getting back in the vehicle, everyone gets a chance to sit down, relax and enjoy the surroundings. We have a separate guide to picnic areas in the Smoky Mountains if you want to plan that part ahead of time.
Before entering Great Smoky Mountains National Park, check the official National Park Service website for current information that could affect your visit.
You Don't Have to Go to the National Park
Sometimes the best plan after an active morning is staying close to Pigeon Forge.
You may discover that everyone wants a good lunch, some time to browse the shops and a few hours without another schedule. That's a perfectly good adventure day too.
If you have younger children, they may need a break. Teenagers may want time to explore something they noticed earlier in the trip. Adults may simply appreciate not having to get back into the vehicle for a longer drive.
You could also make a stop at Goats on the Roof of the Smokies, our sister attraction in Pigeon Forge. It gives the family something completely different to do without turning the afternoon into another major excursion.
The important thing is that the second half of the day doesn't have to compete with the first. If ziplining was the big adventure, the afternoon can simply be fun.
Don't Spend Your Adventure Day in Traffic
Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains National Park look close together on a map, but vacation traffic can change how long it takes to get from one place to another.
Try to keep the day's activities moving in the same general direction. Driving from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg, back to Pigeon Forge and then toward the national park again can consume a surprising amount of time.
This matters even more if you have a scheduled activity. Give yourself enough time to arrive without turning the drive into a stressful part of the day.
If you decide to visit the national park after your morning adventure, choose an outing that fits naturally into the afternoon. Save a destination on the opposite side of the Smokies for another day.
Leave Room for the Part You Didn't Plan
Some vacation days are better because they don't go exactly according to schedule.
You might finish lunch and decide everyone wants ice cream. You may find a scenic place where the family wants to stay longer than expected. Someone might be tired and ready to return to the cabin. Or the weather could make your original afternoon plan less appealing.
Leaving two or three hours unscheduled gives you room to make those decisions without feeling as though you're falling behind.
It also gives you a chance to enjoy your lodging. If you rented a cabin because it has a mountain view, game room, deck or hot tub, there's no rule saying you have to stay away from it until bedtime. An afternoon break can be exactly what everyone needs before heading back into Pigeon Forge for dinner or an evening outing.
A Simple Adventure Day Near Pigeon Forge
If you're trying to picture how the day could come together, keep it simple. Have breakfast, enjoy your scheduled outdoor adventure, stop for lunch, and then choose one direction for the afternoon.
- Feeling energetic? Head into Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a short hike or some exploring.
- Want more mountain scenery? Take a relaxed drive and stop at a few scenic areas.
- Traveling with hungry kids? Have lunch and spend some time enjoying Pigeon Forge.
- Everyone tired? Go back to the cabin and enjoy the afternoon there.
That may not look like an ambitious vacation itinerary, but that's exactly why it works. You get a memorable activity without making the entire day feel scheduled.
Make the Adventure the Memory, Not the Schedule
There are enough things to do around Pigeon Forge that you could fill every hour of a week-long vacation and still leave things unexplored. Trying to fit everything into one trip usually means spending more time watching the clock and less time enjoying where you are.
An adventure day works better when one experience gets to be the highlight.
For your family, that might be flying through the trees on a zipline tour and talking about it over lunch afterward. Then you can head into the national park, wander around Pigeon Forge or return to the cabin and relax. None of those choices needs to be complicated.
