17 Incredible Things To Do in the Smoky Mountains With Kids
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park can be an overwhelming National Park vacation to plan because there are so many options for things to do. We have a list of all of our favorite things to do in the Smoky Mountains with kids. Most of these activities are free or affordable – so you don’t have to break your budget!
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Activities for Families in the Smoky Mountains
The Smoky Mountains are one of the most kid friendly places we have visited. There are so many amazing easy hikes, fun things to do, PANCAKES, and wildlife viewing opportunities. Here are all of our favorite things to do in the Smoky Mountains with kids.
1. Take a Picture With a Park Sign
Just like most, if not all National Parks, there’s a park sign at the entrances with parking areas for visitors to get out and take pictures of themselves next to them. It’s such a fun family keepsake to have pictures with the park signs!
You can find park signs at most of the major park entrances – an easy place to find one near Gatlinburg is on the road near the Sugarlands Visitor Center!
2. Hike the Elkmont Nature Trail
The Elkmont Nature Trail is one of the most fun hiking trails with kids in the Smoky Mountains! The Elkmont area is a great place to escape the crowds and maybe even see some wildlife! This trail is short enough for kids and has a few cool bridge crossings. It’s definitely not stroller friendly, but it’s one of the family friendly hikes in the Smokies.
The hike is less than 1 mile and fairly flat.
3. Stamp Your Passport at a Visitor Center
There are a few visitor centers throughout the park, including; Sugarlands Visitor Center, Cades Cove Visitor Center, Kuwohi Visitor Center, and Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Visitor centers are a great spot for learning more information and the history of the park, asking rangers specific questions, stamping your national park passport, and buying some fun souvenirs.
Note: a lot of visitor centers also have their own hikes. We did the Cataract Falls trail at the Sugarlands Visitor Center. It was a nice, easy hike that I got to do with my 4 year old while the 2 year old slept in the van with Dane and we loved it!
4. Drive Cades Cove
Cades Cove Loop Road is an 11 mile, beautiful scenic drive with several hiking trails and a visitor center. If you do plan to do this drive, it’s a mistake to not go EARLY because it is a single, one way road and is very popular so you may find yourself in bumper to bumper traffic. (Avoid these other mistakes when visiting the Smokies for the first time!)
We got the chance to see lots of wildlife, mountain views, and do a hike to the John Oliver Cabin (only 0.3 miles roundtrip)! For more trip planning resources, we have the Ultimate Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park With Kids!
Truthfully, if you are visiting the Smoky Mountains with toddlers, I might skip this one. Unless they take long naps in the car, it can be long for the little ones depending on traffic.
If you are interested in beautiful drives, there are 5 beautiful scenic drives in the Smoky Mountains that you can explore. Cades Cove is the busiest of them, but the other four have a bit less traffic.
5. Become a Junior Ranger
It’s always a fun time to get your kids a Jr. Ranger Booklet, which has activities for them to do and look for throughout the park! Our kids love becoming Junior Rangers. But just be warned that you will have to pay for Junior Ranger packets at this park, which is usually not the case at most parks.
6. Try Some Southern Pancakes
You can’t visit the Smoky Mountains and not eat a pancake! Our kids were obsessed with all the different, delicious pancakes they demanded to have every morning. Gatlinburg is known for their pancakes and we may have gained a few pounds on our trip because of our intake of these fluffy cakes.
A couple of our favorite restaurants we tried for pancakes were Crockett’s and the Pancake Pantry (you’ll have to wait in line for this one!)
7. Visit the Highest Point in Tennessee – Kuwohi
Kuwohi (formerly known as Clingman’s Dome) is one of the highlights of the Smoky Mountains in our opinion and a big feature of our 1 day Smoky Mountains itinerary. It’s a 1 mile roundtrip hike from the parking lot to the top and the whole thing is paved and stroller friendly but it is steep.
TIP: If you are hiking up there with little ones, make sure you bundle them up! We made the mistake of not layering up enough and we had one upset little guy. Make sure you’re prepared with all of the need to know before you visit the Smoky Mountains!
The view from the top is pretty epic and it’s a perfect sunset spot in the Smoky Mountains. We visited at sunrise and it was also gorgeous. It’s the highest point in Tennessee. They also have a small visitor center there that you can check out on your way down.
8. Take a Picture at the North Carolina and Tennessee Border!
One of my core memories growing up is getting to stand along the border and be in two states at once! At the Newfound Gap Overlook, your kids will have the opportunity to be in both North Carolina and Tennessee at the same time.
This is a great spot to visit just before or after you visit Kuwohi because they are very close to each other. While you’re here you can also hike along a short portion of the Appalachian Trail if you want!
9. Hike to Mingo Falls
Mingo Falls was one of our favorite hikes in the Smoky Mountains! While it’s not technically inside the National Park, it’s located in Cherokee, North Carolina and short enough to be kid friendly. The trail is short, but is a big set of stairs to a beautiful waterfall.
10. Watch Sunset on the Foothills Parkway
Driving the Foothills Parkway and stopping at one of the beautiful pullouts for sunset was one of the highlights of our trip. We grabbed a pizza from Gatlinburg Brewing Company as we drove out of town. We drove along the road until we found a perfect sunset spot.
The entire Foothills Parkway is 72 miles and is not fully built yet, but it’s close enough to Gatlinburg that you can enjoy it for an evening if you want to explore a bit outside of town.
11. Drive the Roaring Fork Motor Trail
The Roaring Fork Motor Trail is a slightly lesser known drive than Cades Cove, but it’s a really fun one-way loop drive. There is less traffic on this loop, but it can still be pretty busy if you visit on Weekends or mid day so plan for a bit of extra time.
The total drive is 5.5 miles and it’s pretty close to Gatlinburg so it’s worth adding to your itinerary (it’s on our two day itinerary!) if you have extra time. While the scenery is different, it’s a good alternative to Cades Cove if you’re looking for something shorter.
12. See the Noah Bud Ogle Farm
The Noah Bud Ogle Farm was another highlight of our Smoky Mountains trip. If you’re planning on driving the Roaring Fork Motor Trail it’s located right at the beginning and a really beautiful spot. We also hiked the 0.8 mile trail here. But if you want to just see the old homestead, it’s located right near the parking lot.
When we visited during the fall, this was one of the places with the most beautiful fall colors.
13. Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is another huge highlight of the area and starts in Cherokee just outside the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains. While you probably won’t be able to drive the whole Blue Ridge Parkway unless you’re planning your trip around that, you can drive on the road and hit a few of the beautiful viewpoints.
Wondering where to stay in the Smoky Mountains? We’ve got you covered with a guide on how to choose between Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Cherokee!
14. Enjoy the Sugarlands Area
The Sugarlands area is busy, but definitely worth visiting. The best things to do here is walk the Sugarlands Nature Trail, visit the Visitor Center for your passport stamp and souvenirs, and hike to Cataract Falls.
This can be a busy stop, so visit early and use some of these other tips for avoiding crowds in the Smoky Mountains.
15. Find Solitude in the Cosby Area
The Cosby area of the Smoky Mountains definitely felt the most private and peaceful of anywhere we visited in the park. We showed up to a big but nearly empty parking lot filled with not cars, but turkeys! We got to hike the Cosby Nature Trail which was 1.3 miles and we didn’t pass a single person along the trail. There are a few really fun river bridge crossings that the kids loved as well!
16. See the View at the Gatlinburg Scenic Overlook
If you are looking for the perfect sunset spot near Gatlinburg, but don’t want to drive too far from town, check out the Gatlinburg Scenic Overlook. The view from there is stunning and is perfect for sunset or another time if you want a view of the Smoky Mountains just steps from your car.
17. Play at Anakeesta
Anakeesta is not in the Smoky Mountains National Park, but it’s located in Gatlinburg and up in the mountains so it’s worth adding to this list. It’s the most pricey thing to do out of these activities, but we thought it was worth the money. You can play on a playground in the sky with beautiful views, fun snacks and drinks, and beautiful suspension bridges that are so fun to walk over in the dark.
Since you’ll be spending some money, you’ll want to make sure to do it right – check out our guide to Anakeesta with kids for all the things you need to know before you go.
We hope you have the most fun with all of these things to do in the Smoky Mountains with Kids! There are a ton of super fun activities, but most of these activities are free and affordable!
