The west prong of the Little Pigeon River in Greenbrier, Tennessee
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers some of the best outdoor family fun to be found in the southeastern United States. Each time our family visits the park, I add to my growing list of off-the-beaten-path outdoor family fun that can be found there.
Our favorite place to stay when we head to the Smokies is just 5 ½ miles east of Gatlinburg in Greenbrier, Tennessee. There are many advantages to staying in Greenbrier:
- Greenbrier is outside of the commercial hubbub of Gatlinburg – without being too far away.
- The only major grocery store I have found in the Gatlinburg area is along the route to Greenbrier, which is important with kids in tow.
- Best of all, one of the cleanest rivers in Tennessee flows through Greenbrier: the west prong of the Little Pigeon River, which was recently designated an Outstanding National Water Resource.
- Brookside Cabins in Greenbriar, Tennessee
For years, our family has been staying in Greenbrier at Brookside Cabins, simple 1960’s-style cabins owned by Brookside Resort (which is located within Gatlinburg).
For those in a “simple accommodations” mindset, Brookside Cabins offer affordable cabins with kitchenettes, fireplaces and beds. The cabins are also within close proximity to national park trails, particularly the lesser-known Greenbrier section of the Smokies. Best of the all, the cabins sit on the banks of the Little Pigeon River, offering river fun at its best: swimming holes and rope swings, tubing, pristine fishing, rock hopping, crawdad hunting adventures, and even an artful covered bridge to cross.
Just a note: if you dig highfalutin hotels – or your spouse does - these cabins are more camp than Hyatt.
We have recently expanded our family adventures to include camping, so during our most recent visit to the Smokies we made plans to camp at the Cades Cove Campground, just outside of Townsend. The plan was to camp there so we could ride bikes through Cades Cove with our daughters and their two cousins on Saturday (Cades Cove closes the 11-mile loop to cars on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 10 a.m. in the summer for bicyclists). However, upon checking in at the campsite, a ranger disclosed that a black bear had been wandering around the campground the past two nights thanks to some campers who had not been diligent in putting up their food.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the few places in the eastern U.S. where black bears can live in the wild.
“If you see a big green trap, don’t go near it,” she said, and then had me sign a form that I had been warned about the bear.
One mention of the bear and my husband agreed that we should probably head toward Greenbrier – quickly. However, just to be brave, we checked out our campsite anyway. It took us two seconds to decide we weren’t staying – and not because of the bear. Across from our intended campsite was a shirtless man lying on a mattress outside his tent watching television with a satellite dish attached. Just to add to our distaste of this location, the creek we thought was directly behind our campsite was nowhere to be found. With four kids and 90-plus degree heat, we needed water!
Because I like to believe I am organized, I always carry a folder of my off-the-beaten-path research when we head up to the Smokies – that way I can add to it and make notes for future trips. I dug into it to find a brochure about Greenbrier Island Campground, a small family-owned campground next door to Brookside Cabins. I had passed through the campground during our last stay and was impressed: it’s affordable, the bathrooms are clean, the staff is friendly and watchful of troublemakers, and many of the campsites are situated on the banks of the Little Pigeon River, as well. So we loaded the kids back into the car and headed toward Greenbrier, relieved to find television-free and bear-free camping paradise – with space available.
Our low-budget weekend getaway was exactly what we wanted it to be: refreshing outdoor fun for both parents and kids. We made one excursion to Ober Gatlinburg to ride the Alpine Slide ($7 per person) and then to Aunt Mahalia’s old-fashioned candy store in Gatlinburg, where my husband insisted that all four kids could only pick from the store’s handmade candy in an effort to support the local economy. (I wasn’t sure how well that would go over, but it was actually a pleasant memory for the kids.)
Nature journaling along a trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
If you are making plans to visit the Smokies in the next year, consider attending the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, featuring expert-led educational programming throughout the park. We took our daughters this year and enjoyed a nature-journaling lesson in the woods with an artist, an educational session about Native Americans around a campfire, and a theatrical performance about the life of naturalist William Bartram, an early explorer. The event is both educational and fun for the whole family. In 2012, the 62nd Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage will be held April 25-29.
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We just went to the Smokies too! Your talk of camping there planted the seed.
We had a wonderful time discovering just the kind of nature adventures you describe. We even saw a momma black bear and her cubs and had quite the tubing adventure…. Next time we go, I think Greenbriar Cabins are our place! Great article!!
You should have checked out the Elkmont Campground between Cades Cove and the Gatlinburg Visitor Center. It is a much larger campground in different sections with lots of them situated along side the flowing river. There are lot’s of nice trails there also with one following the river up the mountain. Plus they are renovating some of the older homes from times long ago. We are planning on camping there instead of Cades Cove campground because it doesn’t seem to be a crowded even tho we love the Cades Cove area. The Greenbriar area we have done just one hike the Ramsey’s Casade hike. We also plan on staying at the Cosby campground in the Smokies. But Elkmont by far looks and seems right what you are looking for.
Elkmont campground is so nice – especially in June when the synchronized fireflies are visiting. I always assume the campground fills up for the summer though – can’t remember if they take reservations or if it is first-come-first-serve either. I would love to know if you don’t mind commenting after your trip. Have fun!
Your description of the guy at the campsite made me spit my coffee out. What a site! It sounds like a great trip. We love that river, and wish we were closer!