Pigeon Forge, TN was our first “destination”. The kids were really excited about this stop because it is home to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and also has a bunch of activities to do. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize exactly how many “things to do” there were…. The place is a total tourist trap, haha! It’s like a cute little mountain town with the Ocean City boardwalk thrown in the middle. Our campsite was at a very highly rated campground right along the river. It would be quite serene, except that on the other side of the little river is a go kart track that runs all day...oops. The kids think it’s the best place they’ve ever stayed, bahaha.

The campground has tons of kids here, which is a nice change of pace, especially after a year of covid. The kids are enjoying the playgound, jumping pillow and the heated pool.

One of the things I was most looking forward to at this stop was visiting Anakeesta, which is a mountaintop park attraction. You take a ski lift up to the top, and there is a little village with shops, food and activities. Still being off season, there were a few things closed at the top which was a little disappointing, but we still had fun and enjoyed all the views.

On our final day we headed out after school to hit Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Knowing that we had run into crowds everywhere we went this week (Spring Break for just about every other district besides ours) we should have known that the National Park would be no exception. We went to the visitors center first, and when I saw a huge line outside the building, we decided to skip it. That means no Junior Ranger Badges from GSMNP for the kids... womp womp. Instead we took a short hike to Cataract Falls.