How to Enjoy Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the Kids

Kids will have a ball in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After a day of nature walks, tubing, hiking and exploring, they'll sleep snug as bugs under the big, starry sky. If nature isn't their thing, you'll find plenty of nearby attractions to please the whole family.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Sunscreen
• Bear Safety Devices
• Camping Gear
• Fishing Licenses
• Hiking Boots
• Children's Bicycles
• Fishing Gear
• Travel Services
• Bicycle Helmets
• Sporty Hats
• Children's Bicycle Helmets
• National Park Passes
• Maps
• Inner Tubes
• Insect Repellents

1. See "How to Enjoy a Vacation in Great Smoky Mountains National Park" in the Related eHows for basic information on the park.
2. Take the kids to the Mountain Farm Museum and give them a history lesson. Log farmhouses, a blacksmith shop, a barn and an apple house are among the Appalachian farm buildings assembled here. In summer, volunteers demonstrate skills used on farms long ago.
3. Involve kids in the ranger-led activities available in summer. You'll find a full schedule of programs, most of them fun for the whole family. Check in at the Sugarlands, Oconaluftee or Cades Cove visitor center for a schedule.
4. Go fishing. If your kids are 13 or over they'll need fishing licenses, but everyone will enjoy pulling trout from the pristine streams of the park. Check at a visitor center for fishing regulations before dropping your lines.
5. Go tubing on the Little River, Deep Creek or Oconaluftee River. Make sure the kids are supervised. This activity can be dangerous if rapids are swift.
6. Go nature walking. Help kids learn to identify the wildflowers, birds, mammals, trees and other flora and fauna in the park.
7. Take a ride on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in nearby Dillsboro, North Carolina. Diesel-electric locomotives will take the family on a trip over trestles, through tunnels and even past the site where the train wreck in "The Fugitive" was staged. How cool is that?
8. Go on over to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, if the kids have a hankering for big-time amusements. Here you'll find Dolly Parton's Dollywood amusement park, go-cart tracks, arcades and even indoor skydiving!
9. Visit Gatlinburg, Tennessee, home of the spectacular Ripley's Aquarium. Sharks in Tennessee? You bet! You'll also touch stingrays, go through a shipwreck, see tropical fish and walk through a tropical forest.

Tips & Warnings

• A trip on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for a family of four will cost upwards of $150, depending on the excursion you select. The more expensive options include a trip by rail followed by a rafting trip or a gourmet dinner.
• Admission to Ripley's Aquarium for a family of four will run about $54. Children under 2 are admitted free.
• Make sure kids know how to deal with any critters they may encounter in the park - including bears. Take them to a visitor center or talk to a ranger for instructions.