Will be renting a cabin in June. Looking for input on a bunch of things..
Best whitewater rafting for a group age 8 - 45 (possibly with a 65 year old)
Best stables for beginner riders (ages 8 and 13)
Casual restaurants which kids ages 8 - 17 would enjoy
Recommended hikes which an 8 year old could handle
Any other "must do" items given the age of the group. Kids are 8 year old boy, 2 13 year old girls and 2 17 year old boys.
Thanks for all of your help

As you probably already know, Gatlinburg is the gateway to Great Smoky Mt. NP. There are 3 very nice drives in the Park: Newfound Gap Rd, Cades Cove, and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. There is also easy hiking on each. My daughter was 7 when we were there.

There is a horseback riding stable within the Park (www.nps.gov/grsm)

Restaurants: No Way Jose (Mexican); Best Italian Restaurant (that IS the name); Ole Smoky Hoedown dinner show (in Pigeon Forge).

A hearty second for Best Italian Cafe (bestitalian.com) - it's a bit off the strip in Gatlinburg in a strip mall, but definitely worth it. I was there in January with a group of teenagers, and the food and staff were fabulous.

Thanks for the restaurant suggestions.
Anybody have any input on rafting and/or stables?

As laurieb said, there are riding stables located in the Cades Cove section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is well worth a visit. You can tour historic cabins and churches in your car (or, at certain times, by rented bicycle when they close the road to automobile traffic). There are multiple hikes available, lots of waterfalls and great scenery. You can just stop at the Ranger Station on your way into the park from Gatlinburg and get all of the information you need.

I believe the stables at Cades Cove also offer buggy rides, so anyone who didn't want to ride a horse could take a leisurely ride being pulled by a horse.

There are many rafting places all over western North Carolina, but for one close by and that caters to kids of all ages, you might want to check out this link:

http://www.raftwithkids.com/?src=overture#ultimate

gillybrit,

Can't help with rafting or horse back riding. We did the Laurel Falls hike with our 6 year old and it was quite nice. I beleive it is about 3 mi. round trip and is mostly paved and some up/down hill but not to bad. It ends at Laurel Falls and is nice photo op. It is close to the G'burg park entrance just stop and ask for a map and directions. We also really like the Black Bear Jamboree dinner show, Dollywood. Our favorite thing to do is take a picnic to the picnic area at Chimney Tops it is absolutely beautiful.