We were so excited to take our first family trip to Smoky High House during July 2021. We invited family and friends to join us, so we had a full house. Us adults and kids (ages 4-15) enjoyed the cabin's amenities and exploring the local area. We took a scenic drive on Foothills Parkway, hiked Spruce Flats Falls Trail to swim in a waterfall, picnicked at Townsend Wye and swam in Little River, drove through Cades Cove, and enjoyed moments of relaxation on our cabin's porches. We also spent each day working on the house to make it a perfect stay for our guests.
We even got to see bears...on two occasions! Our early morning start hiking Spruce Flats Falls trail gave us an opportunity to come up on 2 bears eating close to the waterfall that was at the end of the trail. A couple who arrived at the end of the trail before us spotted them and pointed them out above us when we arrived. (You can see one bear watching our friend's son in the photo!) The bear slowly walked off as we spotted another one above us who disappeared as soon as our kids started yelling and pointing at them in excitement.
Guests at Smoky High House have also spotted a mama bear and her bear cub that frequently appear above and below the house. Our son was on the main floor porch enjoying the afternoon view when he saw movement in trees behind the cabin. He kept watching and sure enough the baby bear ran down the hill above us, across the road, and then slid down along the side of our house. His screams of "Bear, Bear, Bear!" alerted all of us to come see, and soon after we spotted the mama bear. Before following her cub down the hill, she first made an appearance on the road so that we could see her up close. It was SO exciting and remains a highlight of the trip to Smoky High House for us and our guests who report seeing them during their stay.
We are already creating a list of things to do on our next trip to Smoky High House-- there will definitely be more swimming in Little River and hikes to play in waterfalls.
Here are links to places we visited during our recent trip:
Spruce Flats Falls Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/tennessee/spruce-flats-falls-trail?u=i
Townsend Wye Swimming Hole: https://www.pigeonforge.com/townsend-wye/
Cades Cove Loop: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cadescove.htm
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