Welcome to our “Wedding Wednesday” post! We’ve decided to dedicate every Wednesday to something about weddings. The Smoky Mountains are beautiful and the perfect place for a wedding. Whether you’re looking for a destination wedding in the Smokies, or just a small gathering by your favorite waterfall, the Smoky Mountains hold a special place in a lot of people’s hearts. Below are a few images from some of our favorite Smoky Mountain weddings.
Did you know you can’t take your pet into the Smokies? Large national parks that have extensive backcountry areas do not allow dogs on trails. These include parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Rocky Mountains, and several others, so it’s not just the Smokies. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has prohibited dogs in the backcountry since the park was first established in the 1930s. There are several reasons why dogs or other pets are not allowed. They could be a danger to the wildlife, disturb the wildlife, or even be considered prey for larger predators. Read the full list ofdangers for your pet in the National Park.
But don’t worry, dogs are allowed in campgrounds, picnic areas, and along roads, but must be kept on a leash at all times. Dogs are only allowed on two short walking paths—the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail. Pets are not allowed on any other park trails. Pet excrement must be immediately collected by the pet handler and disposed of in a trash receptacle. Pets should not be left unattended in vehicles or RVs. This is a great alternative to taking your pet with you, where they will have plenty of fun while you’re away!
One of my favorite ways to enjoy fall is hiking in the Smoky Mountains. There is no better way to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage, cooler weather (less humidity) and the beauty of the mountains and the fall season. Right now there is not much color change in the lower elevations but over the past week we have started to see fall colors in the higher elevations of the Smokies. If you’re interested in taking a hike this weekend or into the first week of October, you should try hiking in the higher elevations. Mt. LeConte is a definite high elevation hike where you could see beautiful fall colors early in the season. You may have to set aside a full day to hike LeConte though, it’s an 11 mile roundtrip hike with a total elevation gain of 2763 feet.
There are plenty of other great hikes this time of year, just make sure you check out what’s going on with the foliage before you start on your hike, it would be no fun to hike LeConte when the colors are peaking in the lower elevations, and you’re hiking out of the colors. Just make sure you’re choosing higher elevations now, and in mid to late October try hiking Gregory Bald or the Sugarland Mountain Trail, which are lower elevation hikes where you will see more color.
Happy Hiking!
Ober Gatlinburg will celebrate Oktoberfest with a month-long festival featuring Bavarian-style food, drink and music. The resort commemorates the 200th anniversary of the festival held in Munich, Germany with weekend activities throughout the month of October. The Bavarian Fun Makers Band will be dressed in authentic costumes, will perform traditional Bavarian folk dances, schuhplattling, oompah music, sing-a-longs, yodels and more with shows at 1, 4 and 6 p.m. every weekend.
Special Oktoberfest Biers will be served along with traditional German wurst, schnitzel, sauerkraut, strudel, pretzels and more. Oktoberfest was a popular event when the Heidelberg Castle operated its restaurant at Ober Gatlinburg in the 1980s, and for some of the Bavarian Fun Makers Band, it will be like coming home as they are part of the original band.
The Barker Lounge located in Sevierville is a pet care program like no other! You can bring your furry friend for a day of cage-less day care, where there will be play time with friends, snack time and nap time. Your dog will definitely get plenty of socialization, exercise and stimulation at the Barker Lounge. The facility provides cage-less dog day care, overnight boarding, grooming, training and retail merchandise offering pure, authentic all natural dog food, hypoallergenic dog food, slow-roasted 100% all natural meaty treats and various souvenirs.
Since a lot of people bring their pets on vacation, The Barker Lounge is the perfect place to take them while you spend the day sightseeing!