Category: Why we do this

From UTV trails to waterfall hikes to a wild bear sighting, Dragoslav's family of five found their home away from home at Ten Bears cabin. ...

Casey Georg and his wife have visited the Smoky Mountains more times than they can count. And every single time, it feels like coming home. ...

Some places earn the title of “happy place” over a lifetime of visits. For Jan Hemsworth and her husband, Porch cabin in Gatlinburg was exactly that. ...

Since 2014, Mary Plagge's family has made the trip from the suburbs to the Smoky Mountains a couple of times a year — staying in seven different cabins along the way. From a surprise bear encounter at Highland Fling to the simple pull of mountain views over a crowded beach, here's why eleven years later, they're still coming back. ...

We gathered at Smoky Mountain Memory Gardens to say goodbye to Marina "Nina" Torres Casas. She was 69 years old. She spent more than twenty years at Mountain Laurel Chalets, folding towels and sheets in our laundry department and cleaning cabins. She was the mother of Jazmin Hawks, who leads our entire housekeeping operation. She was the mother-in-law of Corey Hawks, our COO. She was, in every way that matters, family. ...

Fifty-four years of legacy doesn't produce quick wins. What it produces are deep wins — the kind that settle into you slowly and remind you exactly why you got into this business. This is one of those stories. ...