Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg is a ski resort and amusement park, tucked away in the mountains with a fantastic view overlooking the town of Gatlinburg. The area has a large mall with indoor amusement activities, ice skating rink, snack bars, lounge, a restaurant, and gift and clothing stores. That’s just inside; outside we have the alpine slide, which is one of few in the US, a scenic chairlift which will take you to the top of Mount Harrison, which is the longest in the US. When you reach the top you will find bumper cars and other kiddy rides. There is also the Smoky Mountain Wildlife Adventure where you can view black bears and other animals native to the Smoky Mountains. The aerial trams which can carry up to 120 passengers at a time will on average take three to four thousand people a day up to Ober Gatlinburg from downtown Gatlinburg. It is approximately a 2 mile ride at 17 mph and takes about 10 minutes to get to the resort. You will have stunning views of the Smoky Mountains and if you take a ride at night be prepared to be dazzled by the lights of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and beyond.

For those of you who like to ski and snowboard Ober Gatlinburg has 8 slopes and 3 chairlifts. Usually, season begins in mid-December and goes through early March. If you’re a little rusty or simply want to learn to ski try the ski school. For those who are expert skiers try the Grizzly slope (one of the two most difficult), and if you’re not totally exhausted from hitting the slopes all day you might want to try night skiing which is available on seven of the eight slopes (not the Grizzly).

This year there is a NEW attraction at Ober Gatlinburg, snow tubing, they have finished construction and opened 9 lanes, each 400 feet long with a 50 foot vertical drop. No lessons or special equipment required just bring your sense of adventure and enjoy the ride. For $20.00 Monday – Friday or $25.00 on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays you can ride the tubes for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Some restrictions apply such as you must be 6 years of age and 42 inches in height to be able to ride alone, children ages 3-5 can ride with an adult.

The chairlift rides take about thirty minutes; you have the option of going to the halfway point and riding the alpine slide back down or go all the way to the top. The exceptional thing about this lift is it goes up to the practically untouched peak of the mountain, once there you are more than well to take pictures of this magnificent view or just sit for a spell and soak it all in.