The Great Smoky Mountains in October
I had always had dreams of throwing a gold costume themed golden birthday party for my 30th birthday on the 30th of October. However, with COVID-19, my dream evolved and landed me in the gorgeous Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee with my best friend and I couldn't have asked for a better way to ring in my 30th birthday -- hiking, getting sweaty and without cell service. Recapping our itinerary here for nature lovers who want to take a page (or several) out of my travel notebook.
Day 1: Arrive in Knoxville -> Abrams Falls -> Wears Valley
11:30AM: Arrive in Knoxville & pick up rental car. Picked up groceries from Aldi for lunch & snacks for the week
12:30PM: Went to Smoky Mountain Brewery for lunch and beers.
Fun fact: While we were here for lunch, Seth got a call from Facebook (he'd been interviewing over the course of the past several weeks) and he found out he got a job offer! Fireball shots quickly followed.
2PM: Headed to Smoky Mountain National Park! Drove Cades Cove Scenic Loop to get to Abrams Falls Trailhead.
Would NOT recommend Cades Cove Scenic Loop. It was SUPER backed up and trafficky, the views were pretty but ALL of our driving through the park was beautiful. Think: people at a standstill and/or driving 5mph looking at views. Don't waste your time in a car, get out and hike!
4-6PM: Hiked Abrams Falls. The hike was about 5 miles and it took us just under 2 hours. We hiked to a gorgeous waterfall! See pic to the right
6PM: Left the park and headed to Wears Valley where we stayed for a few nights. We stayed at this AirBnB which was SUPER quaint - would recommend! See pic below of our AirBnB.We had our own cottage to ourselves but still had access to a common space with snacks, fridge, oven, micro, etc.
7PM: Went to Gepetto's Italian Restaurant for dinner. The food was great but a little pricey
9PM: Got back to our AirBnB, watched Hocus Pocus (#onbrand) in bed and read before falling asleep
Day 2: Spruce Falls Flat & Middle Prong Trail -> Wears Valley
9:30AM: Woke up, ate breakfast, made coffee & headed to the mountains
10:30AM: Hiked Spruce Flats Falls Trail (about 2 miles). It was very beautiful, lots of climbing & slippery rocks but the waterfall at the end was stunning!
12PM: Had a snack & headed to Middle Prong Trail to hike (about 2.5 miles). It started to rain, so we turned around early and drove the scenic route to Pigeon Forge where we explored and ate.
2PM: Had pizza and beer at Big Daddy's Pizzeria. Get the artichoke dip!! To this day, Seth and I are still dreaming about the artichoke dip we had here! We got ice cream after at Mad Dog's Creamery... it was DELISH! I got the salted caramel cheesecake
5PM: Stopped at Cades Cove Cellars to get a bottle of red wine and headed back to the AirBnB to hang for the rest of the day because it was pretty rainy.
Day 3: Laurel Falls & Cucumber Gap -> Gatlinburg
9AM: Woke up, ate breakfast & relaxed on the front porch of our cottage reading my Bible & journaling
11:30AM: Headed into the mountains to hike Laurel Falls Trail (about 2.5 miles). It was a pretty heavily trafficked trail, but it was paved and had great views of the mountains along the way. See pic to the right!
1PM: Ate PB&Js in the car and headed to our next hike
1:30PM: Hiked Cucumber Gap Trail (about 6 miles). It rained on us during the first part of our hike but cleared up after a little while. In all honesty, I would not recommend this trail. Since it had been raining pretty heavily as of late, the trail was hard to find, we had to cross a river and get in knee deep water to cross and continue on on the trail. The last half of the hike was prettier than the first (you hike alongside a river). We even saw a rogue crawfish in nature! We started at the overfill parking lot and picked up the trailhead from there (it's considered hiking it backwards). I'd make this an out and back trail and start from the main trailhead - it would be much more enjoyable!
5PM: Headed to Gatlinburg for the night. We stayed at Crossroads Inn & Suites. We put our bags down and walked to the brewery next door to the inn to hang: Gatlinburg Brewing Co. We got a flight of beer, played SkipBo and hung out.
7PM: Ate dinner at Landshark Bar & Grill
9PM: Went back to the hotel, read in bed & fell asleep
Day 4: Rainbow Falls & Grotto Falls -> Gatlinburg
9AM: Woke up and got breakfast at Flapjack's Pancake Cabin. Got a yummy skillet and pancakes for breakfast. One of the best breakfast skillets I've had in my life!
12PM: Hiked Rainbow Falls Trail (about 6.5 miles). This was my FAVORITE trail of the entire trip! The colors and scenery were out of this world and at the end of the trail you're greeted by an enormous 80 foot waterfall! The entire trail was full of waterfalls (if you can't tell by now, I'm a sucker for a good waterfall).
4PM: Hiked Grotto Falls (about 2.75 miles). Really cool grotto waterfalls at the top of the hike
6PM: Got back to our inn in Gatlinburg, showered and got ready for dinner. We went to the Park Grill for dinner -- we splurged for my bday dinner and got steak, ice cream and some dips for an appetizer. Overall, I had an incredible 30th birthday hiking and chasing waterfalls with my best friend in the entire world.. a girl couldn't ask for more!
Day 5: Gatlinburg -> Knoxville
10:30AM: Checked out of our inn and headed to the mountains. We took a pic in front of the National Smoky Mountains sign!
11AM: We were planning to do a 4.5 mile hike called Peregrine Peak, but when we drove past the trailhead we counted upwards of 150+ cars. Given COVID-19 and our general dislike for hiking in single file lines, we changed plans. We headed to Clingman's Dome, but when we got near the top the line of cars was in standstill as far as the eye could see. So... we changed plans again and just decided to head straight to Knoxville and enjoy our last day in the city in Tennessee!
3PM: We drove around Knoxville for a little, drove through the University of Tennessee campus and up/down sorority row (spotted the AXO house). We checked into our hotel, The Tennessean. The hotel was SO NICE! We put our bags down and headed to the downtown square, stopping in some shops along the way. We got burgers and chicken at a great burger and whisky bar called Stock & Barrel. We went to the Skybox Sports Bar & Grill for some drinks for a little after we ate.
6PM: We watched the Aggie football game at the hotel and headed to bed early for our early wake up call and flight the next day.
