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5 Best Places to Visit in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UK chapter.

Gatlinburg is on the eastern border of Tennessee with the beautiful Smoky Mountains running through. It’s a wonderful stop for a mini-weekend getaway, or a week-long vacation.

 

Gatlinburg is filled with so many fun activities that you’ll never get bored. Here’s a list of my five favorite places to visit when in Gatlinburg:

 

  • The main strip of downtown Gatlinburg: The Parkway

With two full sides of the Parkway filled with shops, mini-golf and in-door activities, an entire day could be spent venturing this street. Every shop is filled with souvenirs both big and small, clothes, signs and much more.

 

  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium

This attraction is filled with interesting, odd, incredible features that make you say, “I can’t believe it!” With 500 exhibits and artifacts, you can spend hours here browsing the three floors.

 

  • Anakeesta theme park

Anakeesta is a theme park in the heart of Gatlinburg. It’s filled with beautiful mountain views after a sky-lift to the park. Here, you can enjoy a small nature walk, a couple shops, a zip-line, suspended bridge-walk and restaurants.

 

  • Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine

A large building filled with moonshine that you can even watch being distilled. For only $5, guests 21 and over can enjoy a tasting of the many moonshine options available, and sometimes you can enjoy a band performance right inside the shop.

 

  • Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

A restaurant themed around the classic movie Forrest Gump, the atmosphere is filled with classic images and trivia. At the end of your dining experience, the waiter or waitress tests you on your Forrest Gump knowledge.

 

Be sure to visit these five attractions while in Gatlinburg and you’ll be sure to never get bored!

 

Body photos by Hannah Woosley

Hannah Woosley is a senior at the University of Kentucky majoring in print journalism and minoring in history. She is a staff writer and co-editor for Her Campus UK. She is also a columnist and assistant opinions editor for UK’s student-run school newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors hiking, swimming and practicing yoga. She adores animals and has two, six-year-old cats. You can catch Hannah writing an article, watching her favorite shows on Netflix, drinking an iced coffee or enjoying some time outdoors.