Bring Your Graduates To The Smokies!

It’s officially the season of hot apple cider, warm blankets, and pumpkin patches. It’s also the season for fall festivals, and the Smoky Mountain area is full of them!

Here are three festivals you can enjoy while on your Smoky Mountain vacation.

1. Dollywood Harvest Festival

If you love Dollywood and the fall season then you won’t want to miss this event! From early September to late October this annual celebration marks the best weather and some beautiful fall foliage in the Smokies. Stay late into the evening to see beautifully carved pumpkins, lit up and on display. During the day you’ll enjoy fall themed food, and colorful leaves all throughout the park.

2. Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair

In early to mid October the Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair heads into full swing. Artisans from across the country gather to peddle their wares while musicians serenade the crowds. You’ll see everything from woodworking and pottery to handcrafted jewelry and leatherworkings. If you have an appreciation for handmade goods then this event is for you.

3. Wears Valley Fall Festival

The Wears Valley Fall Festival takes place in mid October and is a favorite event for locals. Come experience the hundreds of vendors, melodic live music, and incredible Southern cuisine. If you’re interested in a true rustic, Appalachian festival with plenty to do and see for the whole family, then this one is for you.

No matter the festival you choose you’ll need a place to stay. Choose from one of our many options at Bear Camp Cabin Rentals today!

Mom, Dad, congratulations on raising a human being that has successfully completed their education either all the way through school or even higher learning institutions. Now that the books are put down for a while, reward your graduate with an opportunity to spend a family vacation in the Smokies!

We have a great number of older-family and more mature attractions that would make for a perfect celebration of your newly crowned adult's milestone in life. In this article, we'll recommend attractions in the Smokies that are exactly that!

Whitewater Rafting

In the Smokies, our famous river is the Pigeon River and, naturally (pun intended), we have companies in our area that provide high-adrenaline rides that let you go through them - crashing through innumerate waves, riding high crests of the river and seeing incredible views of the Smokies while doing it. You get an experienced rafting guide with you and this type of attraction is appropriate for anyone aged 8 to 80. Our recommended companies are Smoky Mountain Outdoors and Rafting in the Smokies.

Nantahala Outdoor Center

Is your graduate someone who REALLY likes outdoor adventure? Then get a bunch of outdoor adventure opportunities in all at once at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in downtown Gatlinburg. On top of being a well-stocked hiking store, they provide whitewater rafting, ziplines and more.

Flyaway Indoor Skydiving

Wow, talk about a unique thrill! Indoor Skydiving is exactly what it sounds like - giving you the opportunity to physically experience what skydiving is like without actually jumping out of a plane half a mile above the ground! You take on a specialized suit, go into the air chamber, have an enormous fan keep you afloat for several minutes while you experience honest-to-goodness flight. There's nothing else like this for miles around so be sure to check it out!

Tanger Outlet Mall

What's a trip to the Smokies with an 18-21-year-old without some shopping? Tanger Outlet Mall in Sevierville is by far our biggest shopping center - a near labyrinthian design where almost (or even over!) 100 stores with clothes, foods, decorations, gifts, cool stuff and more are all waiting for you to visit. These are where the big, fashionable brand names are in town and the complex is so big that you could spend a full day here. Heck, it even has its own full-scale restaurants, golf course, and tram system!

Escape Games

So you're educated now, are you? Got you a big ol' brain in that head, do ya? Prove it with a venture through one of our many Escape Games here in Sevier County! This is a roleplaying attraction where you need to solve puzzles of many different kinds to open and advance through the room(s). Kinda like the SAW movies but without the dangerous consequences of getting them wrong. Our Escape Games in the area include:

* The Escape Game Pigeon Forge *

* Trapped Escape Game *

* The Captured Escape Game *

* Gatlin's Escape Games *

* Headcase Escape Adventures *

Distilleries

One of the hottest topics in the Smokies, is the sudden rise in Moonshine tours. Even if you do not partake, it is incredibly interesting to see how the ole moonshiners have gone legal and how they practice their craft. Yep, no grown-up trip to the Smokies is complete without a trip to our now-famous distilleries (21 and up only!) and here's the list of the distilleries you should check out:

* Ole Smoky Moonshine Holler *

* Sugarlands Distilling Company *

* Old Forge Distillery *

* Doc Collier Moonshine *

* Ole Smoky Barrelhouse *

* Tennessee Legend Distillery *

* Tennessee XXX Moonshine *

* Thunder Road Distillery *

We hope this is a good start to a graduate's Smoky Mountain getaway! We'd love to host you in one of our Smoky Mountain cabins!