Some families vacation to relax. Dragoslav's family vacations to do it all — and on a recent trip to the Smoky Mountains with his wife and their three boys, they did exactly that.
Waterfalls one day. UTV trails the next. Mountaintop views, an aquarium, a shipwreck replica, and a bear sighting the whole family stopped to watch. Their home base for the week was Ten Bears cabin, a Mountain Laurel Chalets property that Dragoslav says felt like a home away from home from the moment they arrived.
Here's his family's trip, in his own words.
It truly felt like our home away from home.
— Dragoslav, Mountain Laurel Chalets guestFor a family with three boys and a wide range of interests, Anakeesta hit the mark. Perched above downtown Gatlinburg, the mountaintop adventure park combines sweeping views with enough activities to keep every age entertained.
Dragoslav counts it among the trip's clear highlights: a place where the views were incredible, and where everyone in the family — from the youngest to the oldest — found something to enjoy. That combination of scenery and activity is exactly what makes Anakeesta a repeat recommendation for families visiting Gatlinburg.
The SkyBridge itself is worth calling out on its own. At over 680 feet long, it's the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America, stretching across a tree-covered ravine with mountain views stacking up in every direction. It sways gently underfoot as you cross — enough to make it feel like a genuine adventure, without being unsettling for younger kids. For a family of five with three boys, it turned out to be one of those rare attractions that works for every age at once: a little bit of thrill, a lot of scenery, and a payoff at the other end that's easy to linger over.
If you ask the three boys what the best part of the trip was, the UTV off-road adventure is a strong contender. Getting out on the trails, navigating the mountain terrain, and sharing a bit of controlled chaos together turned into one of the trip's most talked-about memories.
There's something about putting a family behind the wheel (with a guide) on real Smoky Mountain trails that turns a scenic drive into a full-on adventure — and for families with kids who love being outdoors and moving fast, it's an easy addition to a Gatlinburg itinerary.
Not every day was about horsepower. The family also laced up their hiking boots for two of the most popular waterfall hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Rainbow Falls Trail and Grotto Falls Trail.
Rainbow Falls is one of the tallest single-drop waterfalls in the park, and the trail leading to it winds through classic Smokies old-growth forest. Grotto Falls, meanwhile, is notable for being the only waterfall in the park you can walk behind — a detail that tends to make an impression on kids and adults alike. Between the two, the family got a proper sampling of what makes the Smokies' hiking trails worth the effort.
Rounding out the week were two of the area's most popular indoor attractions: the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg. Both offered a change of pace from the trails and the mountain views — and gave the family a couple of easy, air-conditioned afternoons in between the more physical days.
It's part of what Dragoslav says he loves most about the area: the variety. One day is a waterfall hike. Another is a UTV trail. Another is a walk through a full-scale ship replica or past a tank full of sharks. Few destinations let a family shift gears that easily from one day to the next.
No Smoky Mountains trip report is complete without a wildlife moment, and for Dragoslav's family, it came in the form of a bear sighting in its natural surroundings. The boys in particular were fascinated — the kind of moment where conversation stops and everyone just watches.
Seeing them in their natural surroundings was an incredible experience, and the whole family was excited.
— Dragoslav, Mountain Laurel Chalets guest
It's a reminder of what makes the Smokies different from a typical family vacation spot: the wildlife is real, it's wild, and it's often just off the trail or across a field. Sightings like this are part of why families keep coming back.
After days spent hiking to waterfalls, riding UTVs, exploring Anakeesta, and working through the attractions in both Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, the family needed somewhere to land — and Ten Bears cabin delivered.
Dragoslav describes it as a perfect fit for the family, with a cozy mountain atmosphere that made everyone comfortable right away. Whatever the day had involved, coming back to Ten Bears to relax and spend time together made it feel, in his words, like a true home away from home.
Traveling with a spouse and three boys means everyone has an opinion about food, as Dragoslav puts it — and one of the underrated perks of the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area turned out to be sheer variety. With so many restaurant options nearby, the family was able to try something different throughout the week and actually find places that worked for the whole group, picky eaters and adventurous eaters alike.
For Dragoslav, the appeal of the Smoky Mountains comes down to range: one day of waterfalls and mountains, another of UTV trails, another exploring Anakeesta or Gatlinburg, another at the aquarium or the Titanic Museum — and then coming back each evening to a peaceful cabin to unwind.
But underneath all of it, he says, it's the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains that really makes the area special. The activities change from trip to trip. The mountains don't.
Between the waterfalls, the UTV trails, Anakeesta, the SkyBridge, a bear sighting, and evenings spent unwinding at Ten Bears cabin, Dragoslav's family packed a full range of Smoky Mountain experiences into a single trip — and came home with plenty of stories to tell.
If a trip like this has your own family thinking about the Smokies, start exploring Mountain Laurel Chalets' full property list at mtnlaurelchalets.com and start planning your own mountain adventure.
The trails, the mountains, and the bears will be waiting.
