Gatlinburg “Mancation” Guide
HomeAway 02.06.12
Sometimes a man feels the need to get away for a while, leaving his wife or girlfriend behind and taking a vacation with the guys. Like an extended boys’ night out, “mancations” are becoming more popular. Men contemplating such trips have a wide variety of options…and one of the manliest is Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Getting to Gatlinburg
Gatlinburg lies about twenty-five miles from Knoxville and is about ten miles or so off Interstate 40. Travelers arriving by air can fly into McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville and rent a car to take them the rest of the way.
Fishing
The Sevier County area, where Gatlinburg is located, contains 1,000 lakes, rivers, pools, streams, and ponds. This is important because your Gatlinburg mancation won’t be complete without an afternoon spent fishing with the dudes. You can even go fishing on the Little Pigeon River, which runs right through downtown Gatlinburg!
Ober Gatlinburg
Ober Gatlinburg is a double treat—an amusement park and a ski resort. It boasts nine ski trails and three chair lifts, but skiing isn’t the only activity Ober Gatlinburg offers. The area also contains a huge mall, a lounge and restaurant, an alpine slide, and the Wildlife Encounter, where visitors can get close to local native species such as river otters, raccoons, opossums, flying squirrels, snakes, and turtles.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is Gatlinburg’s most famous attraction. The city lies right on the edge of the park, which offers visitors the opportunity to get back to nature in any way they can imagine. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains over 800 miles of hiking trails, and lucky hikers may even have the opportunity to see a black bear. Just don’t try to arm wrestle with one!
Horseback Riding
One time-honored way of seeing the kind of countryside the Smokies have to offer is from the back of a good horse. There are a number of businesses in the area, such as Smoky Mountain Stables and Sugarlands Riding Stables that offer guided horseback tours of the back country. Cowboys ride horses, so it is pretty manly, right?
Whitewater Rafting
Go for an exhilarating and manly rafting ride on the Big Pigeon River. The river offers no fewer than twelve rapids with testosterone filled names like “Vegamatic,” “After Shave,” “Razor Blade,” “Too Late,” and “Lost Guide.” If surviving that experience doesn’t make for a man-trip to remember, then nothing will!
Gatlinburg Vacation Rentals
With big fridges, living rooms and natural surroundings, cabin rentals are perfect for mancations and are easy to find in the Gatlinburg and Knoxville areas. Hanging out together under one roof and having drinks around a fire or watching the game at your own place is far superior to a bunch of separate hotel rooms. The extra privacy will be a great benefit too, for without the neighbors on the other side of a wall that one might have in any alternative accommodation, you and your buddies are free to party as loudly as you wish—which, of course, is the whole point of a mancation.
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