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Since 2021, we’ve set aside two to three weeks each year for a big cross-country road trip. Last year was a little bit different, though, and we had to put our plan to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone on hold.
While we’re planning our next road trip for later this year, we decided to spend the first half of this year taking smaller weekend trips with our pups, Toby and Lily instead.
Our first was to Congaree National Park in March, followed by a weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains in April.
Like most people, we both work full time, so this wouldn’t be a weeks-long mountain trip. We packed the car after work on Friday, buckled Toby and Lily into their car seats and started the 6-hour drive from Alabama to the Smokies.
We’ve visited the Smokies before, hiking to places like Kuwohi and Mount Cammerer (neither are dog-friendly), but we really wanted this trip to be a relaxing weekend outdoors with our two dogs. We wanted to drive through the mountains with our windows down and to be unplugged for a couple days before heading back home on Sunday.
Here’s how we spent our dog-friendly weekend getaway in the Smokies.
Friday: Road Trip & Arrival in Pittman Center
We left Alabama as soon as we finished work Friday afternoon. Well… kind of.
Both of us have fallen into this terrible habit of packing right before we leave. I’m far more guilty of this than Minerva is. Somehow, we haven’t actually forgotten anything important (yet), but you’d think after all of these road trips that we’d learn our lesson.
A couple weeks earlier, Minerva booked us a small RV in Pittman Center, Tennessee (just 20 minutes east of Gatlinburg) at Outdoor Resorts at Gatlinburg (ORG). With just one full day to enjoy the Smokies, we also didn’t want to overload our weekend.
With our little man Toby being 14 now, we wanted this trip to be something he could enjoy too. We packed our day hiking backpack with a water bladder and collapsible bowl for the pups, buckled them into their car seats and started the drive towards the Smokies.
The drive took us about six hours once we stopped for gas, bathroom breaks and losing an hour crossing into Eastern Time. It was after 1am by the time we pulled into our Airbnb in Pittman Center.
We carried our bags in, walked the puppers around out for one last pee break, crawled into a very uncomfortable bed and hoped a couple hours of sleep would be enough for our one full day of exploring the Smokies.
Saturday: Dog-Friendly Hikes & Gatlinburg Exploration
Breakfast & Entering Great Smoky Mountains National Park
After sleeping in a little (arriving after 1am definitely caught up with me), we checked in at the campground office before driving over to Trish’s Mountain Diner for breakfast.
Since this was a dog-friendly weekend trip, we wanted Toby and Lily to be with us for pretty much everything. Trish’s normally has a dog-friendly patio, but it was closed when we visited (we probably should have called ahead to check). That meant our pups stayed in the car with the engine running and A/C on while we ate.
It wasn’t ideal, but there weren’t too many breakfast options close to our Airbnb. We ate quickly and checked on them a couple times to make sure they were ok while we were inside.
🐾 Dog Travel Tip: Don’t assume a dog-friendly patio is actually open when you arrive, call ahead first.
After breakfast (and enough coffee to wake me up), we drove back to the RV to finish getting ready for the day. We packed our hiking bags, filled our water bladder, made sure the dogs had plenty of water and started the drive through the Smokies toward the North Carolina side of the park.
The drive was one of our favorite parts of the weekend. We drove most of the way with the windows rolled down, enjoying the winding mountain roads and scenic overlooks while the pups sniffed every new smell they could find.
Hiking the Oconaluftee River Trail With Dogs
We drove to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to pick up our parking pass (the Smokies don’t use the National Park pass system) before heading out for our first hike of the weekend.
Out of more than 800 miles of hiking trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, dogs are only allowed on two: the Gatlinburg Trail in Tennessee and the Oconaluftee River Trail in North Carolina.
Since we only had one full day in the park and wanted to get further away from touristy areas like Gatlinburg, we chose to drive about 1.5 hours through the Appalachian Mountains to reach Oconaluftee.
The Oconaluftee River Trail starts right at the visitor center and is an easy 3-mile out-and-back hike that follows the river. It’s also an area where elk are frequently spotted. We had a great time exploring the trail with Toby and Lily, especially with the river access giving Toby plenty of chances to cool off along the way.
A Quick Detour to Dog-Friendly Mingo Falls
After finishing the hike, none of us were ready to head back to the RV. At the same time, we also didn’t want to go on another long hike either. We opened Google Maps to see what was nearby and found Mingo Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the region, less than fifteen minutes away.
The drive to the falls took us through Cherokee, North Carolina, following US-441 before turning onto Big Cove Connector Road / Saunooke Bridge Road. The falls parking lot was just across the bridge on Mingo Falls Bridge Road.
The trail to the falls is only 0.8 miles round trip, dog-friendly and has a viewing platform right at the falls. But we’d need to climb 163 stairs to get there. With Toby being older, we carried him both up and down.
Scenic Drives and an Evening in Downtown Gatlinburg
After our waterfall stop, we started the drive back toward Gatlinburg through the Appalachian Mountains. The pups were quiet in the back and everyone was content, but tired. On the way back through the mountains, we stopped a couple times to take photos and look out over Gatlinburg from above.
We stopped in Gatlinburg for dinner at Howard’s Restaurant, which is Gatlinburg’s oldest restaurant. Like Trish’s, their patio is dog-friendly. They had a photographer going from table to table asking if they could take people’s photos.
We said yes, and when they asked if we’d like to buy a print for $20, we couldn’t really say no. We don’t make it to Gatlinburg with the pups all that often, so it’s not every day we get the chance to have all four of us in a photo together.
We walked around downtown for a bit after eating. Gatlinburg is usually pretty busy and Lily didn’t love the noise from the crowds, music and cars.
As we were walking past Ripley’s Believe It or Not, there was even an animatronic lizard head display above their sign that startled her when it moved (kind of like the Jaws 19 scene in Back to the Future).
She tucked her tail and tried to run. It was funny in hindsight, but at the time we could tell she was done and wanted to leave. We left for the night and made our way back to the RV.
Sunday: Dog-Friendly Breakfast & Heading Home
Sunday morning came around way too quickly. We packed up the RV, loaded the car one last time and started making our way back toward Gatlinburg before heading home to Alabama.
Before leaving the Smokies, we stopped at Little House of Pancakes for breakfast. We couldn’t tell if they are dog-friendly (and they were really busy when we visited), so Toby and Lily stayed in the car with the engine running and the A/C on while we quickly ate. We also walked out there once or twice to check on them.
After breakfast, we got on the road. Four hours later, we were home with two tired pups who had spent the weekend exploring rivers, waterfalls and mountain roads.
Our Smoky Mountains Weekend Route
| Day | What We Did |
|---|---|
| Friday | Leave home after work → drive to the Smokies → arrive late in Pittman Center, TN |
| Saturday | Breakfast in Gatlinburg → scenic drive through the park → Oconaluftee River Trail → Mingo Falls → dinner at Howard’s → evening exploring Gatlinburg |
| Sunday | Breakfast → drive back home |
Is a Smoky Mountains Weekend Trip Worth It?
Absolutely!
We love taking long cross-country road trips, but you don’t always need two or three weeks off work to have a memorable adventure with your dogs.
By staying just outside of Gatlinburg and visiting places where Toby and Lily could come along too, all four of us got to spend the weekend driving through the Appalachian Mountains, hiking along the Oconaluftee River, climbing up to Mingo Falls and enjoying time together.
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