Five Things to Do in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Besides Hiking

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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which spans over 500,000 acres across two states (Tennessee and North Carolina), is the most popular National Park in America, with an average of 10 million visitors each year. The Park is free to visit 365 days a year and offers countless activities the whole family will enjoy. This is only our second National Park (read about our adventures in Acadia National Park here), and we’re not big hikers. So we’re sharing things to do BESIDES hiking in the Great Smoking Mountains.

We stayed in Pigeon Forge, on the Tennessee side of the park, at the Inn at Christmas Place and I highly recommend it. It is such a magical place! Read about our adventures here. There are plenty of other lodging options here and camping options here. And while you’re clicking, make sure to bookmark the locations of restrooms throughout the park.

You’ll enter the park via the parkway and Route 441 (fact check). If you were to drive to the other side, going north to south, it would take you about four hours (the average speed limit is 35 MPH). The roads are very very windy. Disclaimer: if you get motion or car sickness, I would hesitate before coming. Make sure you gas up your car before you enter the park. My itinerary has travel times and mileage leaving from and arriving back to Pigeon Forge. Here’s what I recommend if you want to get a feel for the mountains without camping for days:

Five Things to Do at Smoky Mountains if You Don’t Hike:

1. Explore Sugarlands Visitor Center (one of four inside the park) (approximately 12 miles from the entrance). The Center opens every day but Christmas at 8am and park rangers can provide maps and suggested hikes and overlooks. Make sure to collect four National Parks passport stamps. There is a small museum with displays of forest vegetation and animals indigenous to the area. A small theater shows a film about the area every half hour. Restrooms are available.

2. Check out Clingman’s Dome (approximately 20 miles from Sugarlands). It is open from April- November. Turn off Route 4411 onto Clingman’s Dome Road and drive 7 miles up a very windy road. There is a large parking lot with restrooms (really, just glorified porta potties with no running water) and a couple of overlooks with great views if it’s not too foggy. Stop by the small gift shop for two more passport stamps, souvenirs and water. The path is a very steep half mile (I swear it felt waaay longer) hike on a paved path to the highest peak in Tennessee and one of the highest peaks east of the Mississippi (it’s an elevation of 6600 feet). You cannot/should not bring strollers on this path. Wear sneakers and take it slow. Drink water. Take breaks- there are benches to rest along the path. And cross your fingers the famous fog that gives the mountains their name doesn’t roll in before you get at least one photograph.

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3. Go inside Mingus Mill, approximately 22 miles from Clingman’s Dome. It is open April- October. This was such a pleasant surprise! Park in the lot (there are restrooms) and take a short walk over the bridge (hold on to little children) to the Mill, built in 1886. Inside, volunteers will show you how cornmeal is made in a working mill. Climb to the second floor to see a bolting chest, which sifts flour and separates it into various grades. You can purchase samples of flour produced on site. Take a five minute walk to see where the water flows. Little children will love this. Be prepared for them to get at least a little wet and muddy.

4. Head to Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum: approximately two miles from Mingus Mill. Park rangers are available starting at 8am every day (but Christmas) with suggestions and recommendations. Make sure to collect four passport stamps. There is an exhibit on the history of the area, a display of farming tools, a butter turning machine, and a collection of recordings of 20th century villagers. There is a large parking lot and restroom. Follow the path (and the running river next to the path) to the Farm Museum. You can follow the path in a loop and see eight to ten structures, including an apple house, barn, and blacksmith shop. According to the park website, many of the structures were built in the late 19th century and were moved to the current location in 1950. The site offers demonstrations and tours throughout the day and there are two family friendly walking trails.

5. At least once along your drive, pull over (safely) to one of the paved lots and check out the cascading rivers and small waterfalls. Hold on to little children closely as there is no fencing or barriers. There are dozens of spots along the route and listening to the babbling water and watching the water flowing freely might just convince you to become a hiker and camper. Check out a map of waterfalls here.

For those of you who enjoy hiking or want a bigger challenger, check out all the options here. For our list of top 10 spots in Tennessee, check out our post here.

Other related posts you might enjoy:

And if you want to follow along on our family adventures, please “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

New England based, part high school English teacher, part non profit founder, part road tripper who LOVES hopping in the family SUV to explore America. Our bucket list includes National Parks, MLB stadiums, presidential libraries, and eating wherever the locals eat!

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9 Comments

  1. What a fascinating experience with beautiful scenery and challenges even for those who are not hikers. Great job. Everything you need to know to enjoy each part of the park.👍

    Reply

  2. What a fascinating experience with beautiful scenery and challenges even for those who are not hikers. Great job. Everything you need to know to enjoy each part of the park.👍

    Reply

  3. What a fascinating experience with beautiful scenery and challenges even for those who are not hikers. Great job. Everything you need to know to enjoy each part of the park.👍

    Reply

  4. My grandmother lives in Knoxville and I go and see her about once a year. Me and my wife love the adventure tourist things to do in the area but I’m trying to incorporate my grandmother more. Are any of these suitable for for someone on a mobility scooter. She can walk but due to some nerve damage not very far.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kayla, So glad you find the post! It has been two years since I visited, but I can say with confidence that Clingman’s Dome is a hard no for scooters or mobility issues. Too steep and dangerous. Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum should be much safer.. stable, flatter, and easier to navigate..plus you’ll learn a lot.. She may not be able to go into some of the Farm Museum buildings, but they are small and you can pull up to a window and peak inside and see most everything that way 🙂 Mingus Mill you can scoot to and then she could walk a step or two inside to see the demonstration. No go for the 2nd floor, but it’s not that amazing anyway. She should be able to scooter to the end of the property to see how the water flows. My post says there is a bridge path.. I think a scooter would fit if no one else was on the path (and it’s easy to see someone coming and I would hope they would let her go by first) Hope this helps!

      PS- The Titanic Museum is in that area and handicap accessible. I have a whole post on that too.. could be a cool activity- air conditioned- and lots of history.. Just search Titanic or Pigeon Forge on the blog.. safe travels!

      Reply

  5. My grandmother lives in Knoxville and I go and see her about once a year. Me and my wife love the adventure tourist things to do in the area but I’m trying to incorporate my grandmother more. Are any of these suitable for for someone on a mobility scooter. She can walk but due to some nerve damage not very far.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kayla, So glad you find the post! It has been two years since I visited, but I can say with confidence that Clingman’s Dome is a hard no for scooters or mobility issues. Too steep and dangerous. Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum should be much safer.. stable, flatter, and easier to navigate..plus you’ll learn a lot.. She may not be able to go into some of the Farm Museum buildings, but they are small and you can pull up to a window and peak inside and see most everything that way 🙂 Mingus Mill you can scoot to and then she could walk a step or two inside to see the demonstration. No go for the 2nd floor, but it’s not that amazing anyway. She should be able to scooter to the end of the property to see how the water flows. My post says there is a bridge path.. I think a scooter would fit if no one else was on the path (and it’s easy to see someone coming and I would hope they would let her go by first) Hope this helps!

      PS- The Titanic Museum is in that area and handicap accessible. I have a whole post on that too.. could be a cool activity- air conditioned- and lots of history.. Just search Titanic or Pigeon Forge on the blog.. safe travels!

      Reply

  6. My grandmother lives in Knoxville and I go and see her about once a year. Me and my wife love the adventure tourist things to do in the area but I’m trying to incorporate my grandmother more. Are any of these suitable for for someone on a mobility scooter. She can walk but due to some nerve damage not very far.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kayla, So glad you find the post! It has been two years since I visited, but I can say with confidence that Clingman’s Dome is a hard no for scooters or mobility issues. Too steep and dangerous. Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum should be much safer.. stable, flatter, and easier to navigate..plus you’ll learn a lot.. She may not be able to go into some of the Farm Museum buildings, but they are small and you can pull up to a window and peak inside and see most everything that way 🙂 Mingus Mill you can scoot to and then she could walk a step or two inside to see the demonstration. No go for the 2nd floor, but it’s not that amazing anyway. She should be able to scooter to the end of the property to see how the water flows. My post says there is a bridge path.. I think a scooter would fit if no one else was on the path (and it’s easy to see someone coming and I would hope they would let her go by first) Hope this helps!

      PS- The Titanic Museum is in that area and handicap accessible. I have a whole post on that too.. could be a cool activity- air conditioned- and lots of history.. Just search Titanic or Pigeon Forge on the blog.. safe travels!

      Reply

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