Frommer's Top Destinations 2012

According to Frommer's Top Destinations 2012:
Best Beach:  Hanalei
Best Cruise:  Tromso
Best Food & Drink:  Lima
Not certain whether I'll travel to these far away lands, but I know I'll return to the Top Family Destination.  Yes, Frommer's online rated the Smoky Mountain National Park as #1.
Best Family Vacation spot:  Smoky Mountains National Park

Alexis Lipsity Flipper's description of the park is poetic:

"You and your family can cocoon yourselves in true wilderness, hike a trail in utter silence... Listen to the concert of leaves fluttering in the breeze.  you will be doing what untold folks have done before you --from Cherokee warriors to coonskin-clad pioneers--and it will feel fresh and new.  And when the swirling silver mist crowns the mossy peaks, you'll understand why these smoky heights continue to fascinate, as they have for untold centuries."

Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN also made a Frommer's top list America's Best New Theme Park Rides & Attractions written by Carrie Havranek.  Of the 12 rides recognized, Dollywood's Barnstormer was one of them.  Take your big kid if she likes a thrill.  With swings flying high over the barn rooftop at 45 mph, it'll pump her adreneline.

For full Frommer article, visit their website:
http://www.frommers.com/slideshow/index.cfm?p=11&axn=pause&group=599&cat_cd=3600&layout=win

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

1966 National Geographic Predictions Came True

The National Geographic predicted increased traffic at the National Parks and the author, Melville Bell Grosvenor, President & Editor of National Geographic Society was right.  At the time of the issue, July 1966, he noted that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the most visited of all national parks, welcoming 5 million people per year.  Now I've seen reports of 9 million people visiting per year, nearly double in less than 50 years. 

I think Melville also understood the growth drivers, "More and more of us are living in cities and suburbs...But a steel-and-concrete environment does not give the American people all the inspiration they need to stay happy and productive.  We also need sunshine, clean air, and natural beauty.  Thus paradoxically, the more we live in the cities, the more we turn outdoors."  Do you find that the more time you spend in the city, the more you crave getting into nature?

Want to get out in nature without spending most of your time in traffic?  Tips: 
1) Rent a place where you can retreat away from the chaotic strip (like Lightning Bug Lodge). 
2) Visit popular places like Great Smoky Mountain National Park's Cades Cove early in the morning to beat the crowds. 
3) Plan an activity that gets the family out of the car.  Perhaps a new type of transportation like horseback riding, tubing, skiing, or walking with llamas.  Llamas!?!?!  Yes, visit the Smoky Mountain Llama Trek website http://www.smokymountainllamatreks.com/
4) Avoid the Sunday early afternoon traffic home:  leave Sun. AM or stay another night and leave Mon.