Gatlinburg for Easter? About This Page:

[my2girls]

We are thinking of going to Gatlinburg for Easter weekend. We we go Friday through Sunday coming home on Monday. I was looking into The Holiday Inn Sunspree. They take pets. We would drive.
My questions are:
What kind of activities are there to keep my 9 1/2 and 3 1/2 (4 on Easter) girls busy?
What is the weather like in April? Will it be warmer than Chicago weather?

Any help from anyone who's been to Gatlinburg would be much appreciated.

[christiejay]

We are going to Gatlinburg the week of July 4, it is one of our favorite places to visit. I just got my visitors guide in the mail, and I thought it gave average temps but it doesn't. [I just checked my 2004 guide, and it says average temps for April are high of 69, low of 55. However, if you go up into the mountains it will be much cooler, even during the day.]

There's plenty in the Gatlinburg area for everybody. For children, I would suggest Ripley's Aquarium. Also, Ober Gatlinburg has a good variety of activities. There are numerous mini-golf courses to choose from. Dollywood is in Pigeon Forge, just a few miles up the road. The National Park is always fun, too. Sevierville has more mini-golf, and a deer petting zoo, as well as Rainforest Adventures which is mainly snakes and turtles. I'm trying to keep this response short, but there is lots more to do. Oh yeah, if you drive through the National Park you can visit Cherokee, North Carolina. They have the Santa's Land theme park which is very popular with families with young children.

Websites to check out:

www.gatlinburg.com - request a visitors guide, and also read about what's in town
www.mypigeonforge.com - same thing
These two web sites have an extremely fast response time - you should have a few envelopes in your mailbox within a week.

Last time we stayed at the Rodeway Inn Skyland, which was really nice for the money and not too bad of a walk to the attractions on the Parkway, but I don't know what their policy is for pets.

We had a thread going here last year about what to do in the area, but I don't have it saved anymore and can't think of what it was titled. Something like Dollywood, Dixie Stampede, Pigeon Forge, etc. if you want to try doing a search for it. Otherwise, you can PM me with questions, or just keep asking here on this thread. There are lots of us familiar with the Gatlinburg area who would be glad to help you out. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

Have a great time on your trip!

[Shell_of_the_South]

Weather - hard to tell. I've been in May when it snowed and when it was 80 degrees. So I would park warm clothes and a jacket just in case.

[nursemacair]

In the last 3 years we have been to Gatlinburg 5 times.. Never right at easter.. We always stay at the GRAYSTONE LODGE, it is right in the center of everything,and you are right in front of the trolly stop. (the only time we drive is if we head out of town) They have a nice CB with donuts,bagels, fruit, biscuits and gravy and juice. It sits right on the creek with awesome views. I'm not sure if they accept pets or not. The rooms are clean, and everyone is very friendly!
As far as activities.. The Aquarium is a biggy for us.. DS who is 8 wants to be a marine biologist, we keep buying the annual passes, beceause we end up there a few times a day.He loves it !! They even have " adventure" programs in the summer months. The last 2 summers when we have been down he has done the Shark adventure. The program is great.. We drop him off on a Tuesday morning and pick him up Wednesday afternoon. They do all sorts of great learning activities. They even put them in wetsuits and take them into Stingray Bay !!! They sleep in the shark tunnel.. and Wednesday is spent the smokies. Both year when we have picked him up, DH has had to carry him across the street to the hotel.. Amanda and Courtney in education run the program. Its an unbelieveiable experience..
Gatlinburg has great food.. The Park Grill, Steak Peddler and Cherokee are our favorite.
DH and DS wanted to go back for our vacation this year.. after much conviencing.. we are going to DW !!!! They allready told me that we may have to spend Christmas in Gatlinburg to get there fix !!

Have a great time.. and if you have any other questions just message me!!!

[rebecca c.]

If I can be any help let me know, we live 45 min. from Gatlinburg. We were just snowed in at a cabin overlooking Gatlinburg two weekends ago. I can give you a forecast closer to Easter, at the present time we are having temps of 37 degrees for a low and a high of 52 degrees. I also take a group of children to Sevierville, Pigeon Forge , and Gatlinburg for field trips dring the summer. If I can be of any help PM.