Last night of the trip today. And it was awesome! I am so happy we came here - ready to conquer the world again!
Buuuuuuuut, I hate to say it, until places like this don't get serious about the virus, it will never go away. There was sooooooo many people in both Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I would say a little more than half were wearing masks - which is more than I ever imagined seeing. Restaurants are observing social distancing, but that's pretty much where it ends. We stayed away from the cities short of taking the ski lift up to the suspended bridge.
The first day in the park we were shocked with how many people where actually there and on the trails. So much so, that you couldn't park anywhere near the trail head. So day two we adjusted our approach. We chilled at our pool or went fishing for the first half of the day, ate lunch, and hit the trails around 2PM. That worked wonderfully as there was less than half the people during the afternoon.
Smokys are beautiful. Longest hike we did was 5 miles. Loved all the waterfalls. Highlight for my son were "The Sinks" - where he was able to cliff jump into the river. He loved it so much we went there twice. As he was walking up and down the cliff we were swimming the chilly but refreshing water.
This morning we went tubing on the Little River - 2 hour float and that was pretty great as well.
So yeah, wonderful place. We will be back for sure.
Also, our cabin was on top of the mountain - the last residential area before the park - and when I mean on the top - literally, our house was on the cul-de-sac that finished the road! The view was outstanding.
