Baoqin

We are planning spring break trip to Atlanta (March 20-27). We will stay with a friend so the tours in the Atlanta city will be arranged by friend. We will take a 3-day trip to visit Smoky Mountain Park and Ashville. My question is specifically re where to stay/hike in the Smoky Mountain Park? Is it advisable to stay in Leconte Lodge? My kids are 13, 10 & 6. Thanks for any advice.

tomfuller

Do the kids have any interest in Dollywood?
http://www.dollywood.com/PigeonForge/cabin-rentals.aspx
When I stayed in the area last March I stayed in Sevierville Tennessee.

Gretchen

Leconte Lodge isn't a drop in. You submit a lottery to get a place--and it is a good hike up and down. Interesting and fun.

Baoqin

Thanks for all your reply. I did call the Laconte Lodge and was told in March it may have snow so it probably is not a good idea to hike with kids up there. Here are the places we plan to visit during our trip from Atlanta to Smoky Mountain:

Chattanooga: spend half day visit, then drive on
Ashville: may stay 1 night if necessary
Helen town: lunch or dinner stop

I need advice re which city to stay for the night and enter the Smoky Mountain Park. Is it advisable to visit the park for 1 day or 2 days?

Ackislander

Well, they aren't cities, but I would recommend spending the night in Cherokee rather than Gatlinburg.

But I wouldn't recommend spending more than one night there. If I understand your trip, you will be coming from Atlanta and going on to Asheville. You must cross the park to get to Cherokee, so you will see the Maine part. You can then spend the next day exploring before driving on to Asheville.

The weather in the Southeast for the next week is going to be damp. At higher elevations, that makes snow and/or ice possible. You need to keep that in mind as you make day-to-day plans.

dwdvagamundo

Second Ackislander-stay in Cherokee. It's on the south side of the Park and you can take the Blue Ridge Parkway over to Asheville from there in the morning without having to fight your way back through traffic.

Gretchen

If you are going to hike in the Smokies I think you need to look at the difficulty with the 6 year old--especially since you mentioned thinking about LeConte. Some are quite challenging.
and also agree about Cherokee. You can fish on the tribal waters for a day fee, which is a lot of fun.