Plus 6 Smoky Mountain Hikes Under 1 Mile

Travel & Leisure magazine list the Smoky Mountains as one of America's Best Family Getaways.  In the article "15 Can't Miss Adventures from Sea to Shining Sea" (March '10), author Kathryn O'Sha-Evans gives easy hikes as an example of why the Smokies is a great family getaway.

Here's 6 family friendly hikes, each 1 mile or less:

1.  Clingman's Dome Tower, 1 mile, easy
+ paved and accessible with wheelchair or stroller
+ climb to TN highest peak (6,643 ft) for view

2.  Cosby Nature Trail, Gatlinburg, TN, 1 mile, easy loop
+ virgin forest

3.  Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail, Gatinliburg, TN, 1 mile
+ old growth hardwood forest and flowers

4.  Elkmont Nature Trail, 0.8 mile
+ changing landscape
+ clues to human activity from long ago

5.  Noah Bud Ogle Trail, Gatlinburg, TN, 0.7 mile loop
+ easy access to historic structures
+ connects to streamside trail

6.  Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail, Gatlinburg, TN, 0.5 mile
+ easy for persons in wheelchair
+ interpretive plaques
+ tactile exhibits & audio tapes (available at visitor center) for visually challenged

Of these 6 trails, which one is your family's favorite and why?

For more information on the trails, read Falcon Guide Best Easy Day Hikes:  Great Smoky Mountain National Park Guide Book by Randy Johnson.

What are your favorite hikes in the Smoky Mountains and why?  Please leave a comment.  For full Best Family Getaways article, visit Travel & Leisure website:
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-family-getaways-2010/10

A horseback riding adventure in the Smokies

Open Road's Best National Parks with Kids chooses the best parks for kids and describes nearby family fun.  It's no surprise that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the chosen parks.  One of the chosen activities is taking the family to Walden Creek Stables, "There are a variety of rides to accommodate both the equine novice and experienced rider.  Wagon rides are also provided...At the end of the buggy ride you can enjoy a supper show filled with cowboy songs, Native American dancing, and trick riding." 

For Lightning Bug Lodge guests, it's very convenient, only 1.1 miles from the Shagbark resort.  When we visited, there was less pagentry, serene in fact.  We watched the horses frolic in the sunshine, leisurely explored their shop guarded by a friendly lab, we giggled at the posted sign, "Have a great ride?  If so, kiss your horse and tip your guide."  That's the right order, a better idea than tip your horse and kiss your guide.

If you want to go horseback riding, I'd recommend this site (see next article for direct comparison).  If you are looking for a wagon ride, I'd recommend going to Cades Cove or Sugarlands where there's no min. group size required and it's only $10 per person.

Delightful Diversity in the Smoky Mountains

Diversity, it's one of the reasons why the Smoky Mountains is so interesting.  With such variety in flora and fauna, it makes you want to come back again and again and explore more.

The book "Strange but True Tennesse" by Lynne L. Hall notes the diversity too and explains why:  "Because of the park's unique northeast-to-southwest orientation, which kept glaciers from invading the mountains during the last ice age, a huge diversity of plant and animal life migrated here.  More than one hundred thousand species have been documented, and scientists believe that another ninety thousand may also live here.  No other place of comparable size can match the diversity.  So walk softly and carry a big camera.

Wildflower at Lightning Bug Lodge
Photo by Krenda

The camera will come in handy for those gorgeous landscape shots, too.  The scenic beauty of the Smokies is unmatched anywhere.  Especially if you're lucky enough to visit in the fall, when the mountainsides are ablaze wth the brilliant colors of autumn.  But don't despair if summer is your season, for during those warm months, the mountains are riotously splendiferous with carpets of wildflowers and forets of blooming trees.  Don't think that one trip will do it for the Smokies."

Strange But True Tennesse is a book series with wonders & strange sites by state.  Within the Tennesse book, the author also writes about the Dolly Parton statue at the Sevierville courthouse, Forbidden Caverns, Space Needle, and Dollywood.  What do you think is wonderous about the Smoky Mountain region?  Anything wacky?

Introducing the Green Exchange: LBL Library

We want you to have a delightful stay at our cabin and we would like to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

From going on many vacations, I understand one of the joys you may look forward to is time to actually read a book.  However, even on vacation other activities may make it difficult to finish the book.  No worries at Lightning Bug Lodge because you can take the book home with you.  Just exchange it for one of your used books.

It will be fun to see how the collection evolves with travelers from around the country.  I've provided 50 books to begin the library.  Since this is a family friendly cabin, I've included both adult and childrens books.  Perhaps you find a new bedtime story as you gather near the fireplace.  At the end of the year, I'll show you the new list.  Here's the 50 books available in September 2010:

1) Nathans Fishing Trip
2) We're Going on a Nature Hunt

3) Alexander & the Wind Up Mouse

4) Wind in the Willows
5) Mysteries & Marvels of Nature
6) Day of the Dragon King
7) Busy Bear Goes to the Beach
8) Websters College Dictionary
9) Chasing Kangaroos
10) It Takes a Village
11) Three Cups of Tea
12) Chicken Soup for the Nature Lovers Soul
13) The Secret Language of Girlfriends
14) Miss American Pie
15) The Art of Possibility
16) Still Making Waves
17) At Large & At Small
18) The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
19) Away
20) The Wanderer
21) Finding Father Christmas
22) Barefoot
23) The Hornets Nest
24) Simple Abundance
25) Burning Bright
26) Creepy Crawly Creatures
27) Lady and the Tramp
28) Off to Sea
29) W is for Wind
30) The Michigan Count Book
31) Sunny Numbers
32) The Ancient World
33) Olivia Joules & the Overactive Imagination
34) Little House on the Prairie
35) Bravo Amelia Bedelia
36) A Bargain for Frances
37) Jingle Bells
38) Hour of the Olympics
39) Someone Like You
40) Common Phrases & Where They Come From
41) Angel Dogs with a Mission
42) Fetching Dylan
43) Lapham Rising
44) Pets in America
45) Abundance for Beginners
46) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
47) Poems and Rhymes
48) Teamwork in Tonka Town
49) Big Birds Guessing Game
50) Shapes Around Town

What book would you contribute to the library?   What kind of books would you like to see in the library?