Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg is the Tennessee-side gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park — a pedestrian-friendly half-mile of Parkway storefronts, pancake houses, moonshine tasting rooms, and mountain-themed attractions, anchored at one end by the Sugarlands Visitor Center and the road into the park. Founded as a logging and craft community, it's reinvented itself as the busiest stopover town in the American South for park-bound visitors.

What separates Gatlinburg from every other park gateway: the density. More than 10 million visitors a year pass through town, packing every weekend from April through October and most of December. Parking meters top $15/hour downtown, shuttle trolleys run every 10 minutes in summer, and the walk between attractions rarely exceeds three blocks. Ride the SkyLift Park's gondola up to the 680-foot SkyBridge; ride Anakeesta's chondola up to the mountain park; ride Ober Mountain's aerial tramway 2.1 miles up to skiing in winter and amusement rides in summer. Every ride-up is an attraction, and the views are genuinely spectacular.

The food scene: Pancake Pantry (the original, since 1960), The Peddler (steakhouse), The Greenbrier (fine dining), Calhoun's (ribs), No Way José's (Mexican), plus 20+ more breakfast, lunch, and dinner spots within walking distance of the Parkway. The lodging scene: the Gatlinburg-style chalet cabin (stacked on the hills around downtown), Parkway hotels, and a growing number of large group rentals in the outlying hollows.