peapod1980
percy
That's where my kids were--Sevierville, is that spelled right? Poor darlings, they're still scarred by their experience!Suncat said:
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Going To Gatlinburg Today....
- Thread starter RiverOtter
- Start date
peapod1980
percy
Ugh, I drove from St. Louis to Palm Beach with the kids 5-1/2 years ago, and I can remember the gridlock we ran into in The Nooga! Thought it looked like an interesting city, though!RiverOtter said:Knoxville rivals The Nooga for bad road construction projects. Both cities have had the same major stretch of road under construction for the last 5 - 10 years now
Camp Creek Kid
Christini Zambini
SJ (or anyone else in-the-know),
Where is a good place to go in the Appalacians for an authentic mountain vacation? We lived in Knoxville for 4 years, but didn't get to see much of the Smokys besides a few day trips to Cades Cove via Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, which didn't impress me much. We'd like to avoid the go carts and bungee jumping.
Someplace without hard core hiking because we have small children.
Where is a good place to go in the Appalacians for an authentic mountain vacation? We lived in Knoxville for 4 years, but didn't get to see much of the Smokys besides a few day trips to Cades Cove via Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, which didn't impress me much. We'd like to avoid the go carts and bungee jumping.
Someplace without hard core hiking because we have small children.
RiverOtter
got any pics?
peapod1980 said:
Well in true Nooga fasion... that stretch of I75 is still under construction
. Our city officials like to award the same contractors that go bankrupt from cost overruns for each new road project. I'm sure NO money is passing under the table :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
Camp Creek Kid said:
Well that depends on what you are looking for. I understand that you don't want to do hard core hiking. Are you wanting to do any hiking? You do realize that the best distant views typically come after a tough hike? However, plenty of great vistas can be seen from a car. What age are your kids? Do you want to camp or be in a cabin? Are you interested in being in a little mountain village (not like Gatlinburg)? Do you want to visit folk art galleries and shop a bit? How long do you want to stay? Give me the breakdown of how much time you want to spend doing different things.
I know of many different options based on your wants. I am guessing that when you say Appalachians you mean the southern Apps., eh? -- like western NC and eastern TN???
Camp Creek Kid
Christini Zambini
Smiling JOe said:
We would be driving from SoWal so NC/TN would be the best distance, but I'd love recommendations for future trips further north too. If we're going to drive 12 hrs to the mtns., we'd stay for 7-10 days.
Kids are ages 10, 8, 6 (plus a 1-yr.old) and very active. Not too interested in vistas only from the car--what is the point of being in the mountains? They could handle a good 3-4 mile hike if the terrain wasn't too difficult. We'd probably just take the older kids hiking on the long hikes. I love to camp, but going that far with so much gear and all the kids' junk would be a pain so a cabin would be fine. Mountain village would be great. Most interested in experiencing the culture and nature--folk art/music, museums, hiking, wildlife, etc. and don't want to spend too much time in the car driving from site to site.
I've done some research, but it is overwhelming because the area is huge.
Jdarg
SoWal Expert
Overwhelming is right- I have stacks of books, park and trail guides, etc. - seems like I have to pick up more info everytime I'm down there. SJ sounds like he is the definitely the go-to guide for this one. I can make a few kid specific recs though. Also summer camp info for your kids if you are interested- there are many awesome camps in Western NC. Will started going when he was 8.
Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
No, I have not hiked up Mt LeConte. I remember seeing it from Siler's Bald, a beautiful place itself. When I came out of Gatlinburg to get back on the Trail, the trees and ground were covered in ice, so I just lowered my head and plowed through the low hanging, ice-covered tree limbs, so there was not much sight seeing for me that day. I was just logging miles.Suncat said:SJ, have you ever hiked up to Mt. LeConte? This is one of my New Years Resolutions. I had plans three years ago, then I broke my foot.
IMO, the Smokies are filled with some of the most beautiful and unique species of plants and animals. There are 23 species of Salamanders in the Smokies, more than any other place in the world. Those mountains have been around for a long, long time. At one time, they were taller than the Himalayas. I do find the Smokies to be rather busy with people most of the year, and I prefer more solitude in the mountains. One thing that makes the Smokies so popular is that there are plenty of trails, both short and long. One of the most beautiful places on Earth is the forest, just south of Clingman's dome. If you look carefully, you could stand in one place in the middle of the Smokies, and the scientist within could be occupied for hours.
Max Patch is not too far north of the Smokies, and is one of the coolest places in the area. I think you can even drive to close to it. From there, you are only a 20mile hike (about 2 days) from the quaint Mtn town of Hot Springs, NC, which is known for its warm springs in which you can take a soak. The French Broad River also rolls through there and plenty of people like to go rafting there. The fairly docile flow of the French Broad will take you to Asheville, located some 45 miles to the SW.