Taking a family vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee soon? If so, then we are going to share with you our Top 10 Things To Do At Anakeesta Adventure Park.
Anakeesta adventure park is a beautiful mountaintop adventure park in the heart of Gatlinburg. It’s the perfect location for both play and relaxation. There is something for the entire family and it’s a great place to enjoy if you need a break from hiking.
If you haven’t started your hiking adventures yet, check out our Top 3 hiking trails for families in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park .
Inspired by nature the gorgeous manicured grounds at Anakeesta is on a 70-acre mountain 600 feet above the city of Gatlinburg.
So you may be asking what exactly can you do at Anakeesta. Below you will find our top 10 things to do when you visit this mountaintop adventure park.
- Ride the Chondola or Ridge Rambler
- Find the perfect gift in Firefly and Black Bear Village
- Enjoy scenic views and delicious food at Smokehouse Smoky Mountain Restaurant
- Savor a tasty treat from Pearl’s Pie
- Strike gold at the Gem Mining location
- Walk across Canopy Treetop Skywalk
- Soak up the views at Anavista Observation Tower
- Swing through a Treeventure Challenge Course
- Climb the Treehouse Adventure Play Area
- Sit, relax and enjoy
Ride the Chondola or Ridge Rambler
Begin your adventure to Anakeesta with a Chondola ride from downtown Gatlinburg to the summit of Anakeesta Mountain.
This relaxing slow ride to the summit gives you scenic views of the city as well as the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. They offer open-air 4-person chair with a bar chondolas or enclosed gondola cabin with seating for 6.
Now, we know what you’re thinking. What if you’re afraid of heights? Not to worry. Anakeesta offer rides to the top via their Ridge Rambler vehicles. These passenger trucks take you on a scenic ride to the top of Anakeesta.
Both the Chondolas and the Ridge Ramblers are no extra cost and have unlimited rides included in your admission.
Find the perfect gift in Firefly and Black Bear Village
There are several shopping locations around Firefly Village and Black Bear Village. There you’ll find soaps,mugs, toys, candles, outerwear, jewelry, toys and so much more.
There is a little something for everyone and is a great way to buy those one-of-a-kind gifts.
Enjoy scenic views and delicious food at Smokehouse Smoky Mountain Restaurant
Located in Firefly Village, Smokehouse is a covered and open air restaurant that has spectacular dining views of the Great Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg as well as delicious food like pulled pork, brisket and chicken wings.
We loved the BBQ classic foods at smokehouse. Everything had great flavor and was reasonably priced.
Savor a tasty treat from Pearl’s Pie
Our first stop when we arrived at Anakeesta was Pearl’s Pie per my children’s request. Pearl’s has several different ice cream flavors as well as some pretty amazing looking pies and desserts.
My kids said the ice cream was “some of the best ice cream they ever had.”
Strike gold at the Gem Mining
The second my kids saw the gem mine they were begging to try it out. Located at the end of the Treetop Canopy Walk, this interactive waterfall and sluice allows children of all ages to search for special gemstones and fossils.
My kids loved sifting through the sand to find their special gems. You can purchase bags of sand to sift at the near by counter. Prices range from $10-$30 depending on size of bag.
Walk across Canopy Treetop Skywalk
Explore the forest at the longest tree-based skywalk in North America 880 feet of hanging bridges. The Canopy Treetop Skywalk was one of my favorite things at Anakeesta.
The skywalk is included in the general admission tickets. We loved exploring the forest floor as we were 50 feet in the air.
Soak up the views at AnaVista Observation Tower
AnaVista tower is the highest point in Gatlinburg and is the best location to get a gorgeous view of the Great Smoky Mountains.
This tower is surrounded by beautiful botanical gardens and trickling streams. On a clear day you can see as far as Kentucky.
Swing through a Treeventure Challenge Course
This was my children’s favorite part of the entire experience. They loved swinging, climbing, and crawling through these interactive treehouses.
There favorite parts were the netted bridges that they had to wobble across to get to the treehouses.
Climb through the Treehouse Adventure Play Area
Another really fun spot that my kids loved climbing around was the Treehouse play area. Very similar to the Treeventure but I would say a little more early elemenarty age friendly.
Here you’ll find a log walk, elevated bird nest where you’ll find information on how a Goldfinch builds its home, a plank walk and more.
Sit, relax and enjoy
Most importantly sit, relax, and enjoy. After all the fun take time to soak in the environment. Anakeesta has gorgeous fire pits, beautiful gardens, and spectacular views. It’s the perfect spot to relax and enjoy a beverage, coffee or tea.
This is not all that Anakeesta has to offer. These are just some of our favorite things that we did as a family that are included in your general admission to the adventure park. There were other things like Zip-lining and a mountain coaster for an additional fee.
The best part is that your general admission ticket gets you in for the entire day. That being said if you want to leave and return later in the evening to catch the sunset you can definitely do that. For more info check out all the details on Anakeesta website.