Itinerary for Great Smokey Mountains National Park – With Kids

It can be overwhelming to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with your family. You hear the stories and watch the videos of overly crowded roads and crazy people chasing bears. Yes, we saw some of that. But, it’s also true you can escape the crowds and have an amazing adventure in the woods, streams, trails, and mountains WITH your kids, and have one of the best family vacations ever!

That’s what I’m going to give you as best I can, the main tips and tricks we used to have the perfect 2024 Family Vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains. Instead of making you wait till the end, I’m going to give the main trips upfront and then lay out our itinerary.

You must follow these rules to have the best Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trip.

  • Don’t stay in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge
  • The North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains has a fraction of the tourists the Tennesee side does.
  • You have to be at your intended destinations in the Park at least by 8 am on the Tennesee side, earlier if you want to be alone.
  • Take bear spray if you are hiking.
  • Dollywood is worth it.
  • Pack your own food and eat inside the park.
  • Picnic areas are hidden gems and can entertain for hours.
  • Bring swimming gear.

Think about it, the million people that visit the Great Smoky Mountain National Park are American, and very American at that … lazy. They will stay in the big towns (Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge), they will sleep in and not wake up early, they will do the easiest hikes possible close to the entrances of the park.

So, it doesn’t take rocket science to plan a vacation free from the crowds if you want. I did it, you can too. I can’t stress this enough, get up early, pack your lunch the night before, hit the Tennessee side early, and then head to the North Carolina side (it takes less than an hour to drive over the mountains).

Day 1 – Sunday

  • Alum Cave Bluff Trail – Hike to Arch Rock, about 44 minutes with lots of stops. Great for kids. Next to stream where they can stop and play. A few bridges to go over. about 30 minutes or less going back. Easy trail. Get there early, before 8 am.

  • Chimney tops picnic area . Hidden gem. Perfect place to park under the trees, have a picnic, and relax. Kids can swim and play in roar streaming next to it. Just a great place to relax and let the kids play. Not that busy, hidden gem.

Day 2 – Monday

  • Drive to Clingmans Dome, got up at 545, left by 6:20 am. Got to Dome at 7:30 am, and hardly anyone around. beautiful morning drive. Had the dome to ourselves saved one or two others, and spent a lot of time taking pictures. Perfect time to come.

  • Drove to Roaring Falls Motor Drive. Wanted to hike Grotto Falls. Very busy with cars, saw some bears (3), all the pull-offs were very small, couldn’t stop to hike. Stopped at one spot to see old cabins and farms.
  • Stopped at Wear Valley, a hidden spot, with very nice, little shops, and places to eat, food trucks, good stores, Mountain Brothers General store is super awesome for shopping ice cream, fried pies, etc.
  • Went into Cades Cove loop, very busy, stopped at the first farm, and saw a baby bear running across the field. 230 in the afternoon, a decent amount of cars, but not insane. Situated in a valley, nice drive, with plenty of spots to pull off and look. Saw more bears (3), a mom, and cub. deer. turkey.

  • Townsend is a nice small town open, some spots and places to eat, not crowded, with river runs through it, spots there to stop, and places to rent floats to float the river. Right before Cades Cove.

Day 3 – Tuesday – Bear Scare

  • Got up early 6 am and got to Laurel Falls at a little after 7 am. Only two other cars. Started to hike up, made it about 1/4 of the way, came around the corner, and there was a BIG mamma bear and a cub 50 yards up. We yelled hey bear etc, got bear spray out tried to get them to move off trail. Cub would not. Went back down the trail, waited 10 minutes went back up, still there. Went down, waited and another group from Pennsylvania joined us. We went up together, made it a little around the corner and the cub started screaming 15 years to the right in the woods, mamma growled, we backed down quickly. People were freaking out, but we kept them from running. I had a 9mm handgun. A bunch of people started coming and started to pile up on the corner, the mom bear was separated from the cub on different sides of the trail, very unhappy and not going anywhere. we bailed.
  • Went to the Metcalf Picnic area and played in the stream and had a snack. Hiked a little up Metcalf Bottoms trail.
  • Went to Elkmont the Ghost town, drove through it, check out the trails.
  • Went to The Sinks, checked out the waterfall, and hiked a little on that trail.
  • Ripley’s believe it or not aquarium Gatlinburg.

Day 4 –

  • Dollywood. A day event, with great food, shows, and rides for the kids. Pay for preferred parking, worth it.

Day 5 –

  • Drive to North Carolina, and leave early.
  • Stop at Newfoundland Gap overlook, you can even hike the AT trail there for a little bit.
  • Stop at Smokemont Stables, call ahead get reservations, and ride some horses!
  • Oconaluftee Visitor Center, is the best place by far, not crowded all day long, village to explore, stream trail to hike, elk to see!

  • Meigs falls. Not crowded at all, easy to hike up, and kids can play in the water.
  • Stop in Bryson City, NC for some ice cream.
  • Go see the Road To Nowhere, and hike through the tunnel. Kids will love it.

Day 6 –

  • Darnell Farm roadside market. Listen to music, look at the views, hang out by the river, buy stuff to take home or eat, and let kids play at playgrounds.
  • Oconaluftee Island Park, relax and let the kids play in the river.
  • Oconaluftee Indian Village, go walk around the village and see live re-enactments and demonstrations.
  • Go for a ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad.
  • Checkout the farmer and artisans market in Bryson City, NC.

Phew! That is a lot to pack into a few short days, and I didn’t even list all of it!

It’s key to plan your days ahead of time, head out early, and get cracking. Do all the hikes and scenic stuff early in the morning to avoid the traffic, although this is not a problem AT ALL on the NC side of the Smoky Mountains.

I will be posting more specifics about each individual spot in the future, so stay tuned for that!

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