We went to the Great Smoky Mountains in March for spring break and stayed in Gatlinburg. When I researched things to do in the area, I knew I wanted to go to Anakeesta and it did not disappoint. We were staying at Margaritaville resort on the day we went and it was right across the street from Anakeesta. It worked out perfectly. The kids loved it and my husband and I both had a great time too, so it is fun for the whole family.
In this post we will review pricing, things to do that are included with admission and that are add-on costs, and dining options.
Related posts: Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Kids for Spring Break and Embassy Suites Gatlinburg or Margaritaville Gatlinburg with Kids
Pricing
We purchased our tickets online ahead of time and I do recommend that you do that if you can. There is the possibility they will sell out if you wait to go as a walk up. At the time, I had to pick a time window to arrive. I chose the 2-4pm option because I wanted to be up there for the sunset. But it looks like now you purchase a ticket for the day and can arrive at any time. Pricing is as follows:
- Adult (Ages 12-64): $39.99
- Child (Ages 4-11): $27.99
- Senior (Ages 65+): $32.99
- 3 and Under: FREE
There are add-ons that you can also do during your visit if you would like to. They are as follows:
- Coaster Pass: This provides access to two rides on either the Hellbender or Rail Runner mountain coasters. The cost is $16.99.
- Astra Lumina: $18.99
- Zipline: $59.99
Arrival
The parkway is where you will check in and it is located off of the main road in Gatlinburg. We were staying at Margaritaville Resort so it was directly across the street from us and a quick walk. There are a few parking options near the parkway but downtown gets very busy and parking can be tough so keep that in mind. When we were staying at the Embassy Suites, the downtown shuttle had a stop close by so if your resort has the shuttle, that’s another great option to avoid parking. Once you check in and provide your ticket, you will get in line to get up the mountain. They now have two options, the ridge rambler or crystal express gondola. We went in March and the crystal express gondola was still under construction so our only option at the time was the ridge rambler. If you think anyone in your party would be nervous about the gondola, I would go with the ridge rambler.
The gondola will drop you off in firefly village, at one end of the park and the ridge rambler will drop you off at black bear village, just past firefly village.
I would check out the park map ahead of going to get an understanding of where everything is, that always helps me.
Things to do Included with Admission
There are so many things to do here! When we were there, we stayed for close to 5 hours. We got there a little past 3 and stayed until 8 because I wanted to watch the sunset from up there.
Anavista Observation Tower: This is downtown Gatlinburg’s highest point a great way to get 360-degree views of the Smoky Mountains. It is 86 steps to get to the top and you can see views as far as Kentucky from up there.
Bird-Venture: My kids absolutely loved this and we spent a long time here. It is a play area that is designed to look like 3 bird houses with so many things to see and do surrounding it. In the middle of the bird houses is a large net that acts like a trampoline. This was such a fun feature. There are 7 slides throughout the bird-venture area plus other interactive things to do. This was such a well thought out area for kids and a unique experience for the kids. All 3 of my kids did great with this and I was able to walk around with my youngest (3 years old) to make sure he was doing ok. I didn’t have my youngest do the slides that took him to the bottom area but my older two loved that.
Treetop Skywalk: This is the longest tree-based skywalk in North America. It is 880’ long with bridges suspended in the air at 50-60’. Our whole family loved this. But you do sometimes have to wait for others to go across the bridge before you can (people need to go two ways on the bridge but it is only wide enough for people going one way to go). So, I can see on a busy day this may take longer to do. It is worth it though and I do recommend doing it.
Treeventure Challenge Course: This is a 3 level play area for kids where they can climb, walk, and swing across bridges, slides, and treehouses. It is another great area for the kids to be able to play and have fun. This was perfect for my two older kids, but I didn’t have my youngest do this one. There was a BearVenture course right next to it that was great for his age, so we did that about 50 times while the older two went through the other course with my husband.
Treehouse Adventure Play Area: This is another play area for kids that is great for all ages. My 3-year-old was able to keep up while playing there with his older two brothers and I was able to keep my eye on them. It is located right next to the gem mining.
Firefly Experience: This is new and was not there when we went in March so we were not able to experience this, unfortunately. They have lit up the treetop skywalk with this immersive experience so if you are there at night, you can check out the skywalk with glowing pathways and choreographed lighting.
Splash Pad: There is a splash pad in black bear village so if you are there in the summer, this may be something you want to plan for. It was cold when we were there so the splash pad was not going.
Things to Do that are an Additional Cost
Mountain Coasters: Anakeesta has two different mountain coasters, Hellbender and Rail Runner. We did the Rail Runner coaster and we loved it! The kids were nervous at first as we had never done before, but they had so much fun. We did end up waiting about 20-30 minutes for it, which is why we didn’t do the second one. My kids did not want to wait in line a second time.
Price: $16.99 and you get access to two rides on either the Hellbender or Rail Runner
Astra Lumina: This starts 30 minutes after the sun sets and it is a unique immersive experience through lighting, projection, and sound. We did not pay to do this because by the time it got dark, we had been there a long time and were ready to head out.
Price: $18.99
Dueling Zipline: With the ages of our kids, this was not something we considered doing. But if they were older, I’m sure they would have loved this. Reservations are not required for this, but they are encouraged. So I would make a reservation if this is something you are interested in.
Price: $59.99
Gem Mining: My kids are a big fan of gem mining any time we see it. So we did do this and they had a great time.
Price: $12.00
Dining
If you are at Anakeesta for lunch or dinner or just want to be able to get a snack, there are plenty of options for you to choose from. I would check out their website for a full listing of places to dine and shop. We got pizzas from Kephart Café in black bear village for dinner and then ate them at the rocking chairs that overlook the mountains. It was perfect for us! Later on, we also got giant pretzels as a snack and the kids loved these. The employee even took a family picture of us while we were waiting for our pretzels. They saw me taking one of my husband and the boys and offered to take one of all of us. It was so nice and truly all of the employees there were so friendly.
If you prefer to do sit down dining, they have two restaurants to choose from. There is the Clifftop Restaurant, which is a nice restaurant with great views to enjoy during your meal. And there is the Smokehouse Restaurant with smokehouse barbeque and great views to enjoy as well. The restaurants do not take reservations but the Clifftop Restaurant will put your name on a waitlist and text you when your table is ready.
Anakeesta also has Mimi’s Creamery where you can get ice cream, bars scattered throughout where you can enjoy local craft beers or a cocktail, and Cloud 9 Café & Bakery where you can get coffee or a sweet treat.
Additional Items to Know
There are a few additional items that I thought are worth mentioning.
- Strollers: We did not bring a stroller with us but it is stroller friendly if you want to do so.
- Seasonal Events: Make sure to check out if they have any seasonal events while you are there. The Christmas one especially looks pretty magical.
- Live Music: There is a stage for live music so if that is something you are interested in, check out their calendar to see when they will have live music in black bear village.
- You can buy tickets at the gate, however, we had friends who were not able to go because they were sold out for the day. So the safest is to purchase ahead of time or be flexible.
- For parking, there are two nearby parking garages or you can park at “parkway parking” for an additional cost. This parking lot is not associated with Anakeesta but is right there and convenient.
- General admission provides all day access so you can leave and come back if you would like to do so.
Overall Feedback
Overall, we loved Anakeesta and I would recommend it to anyone (with or without kids) who will be in the area. It had gorgeous views, kept the kids entertained for hours, and plenty of dining options for everyone in the family. Bird-venture and treetop skywalk were our favorite included in admission activities and the mountain coaster and gem mining were a lot of fun as well for an additional add on.
