I’m excited to recap our trip to Nashville and Gatlinburg! It was such a fun trip and we stayed in the perfect mountain Airbnb if I do say so myself. I’ll provide links to both Airbnbs and everywhere we ate + hikes we did! We only spent one night in Nashville so here’s my other Nashville Recap if you’re looking for more recs or reviews! I hope this Nashville and Gatlinburg recap and guide is helpful for you!

We had decided to go to the Smoky Mountains but it’s about an 11 hour drive. Nashville is almost halfway in between for us so we decided a night in Nashville would be a fun way to break up the drive!

Outfit link: HERE

Nashville

We got to Nashville around 3pm so we changed and headed out for happy hour. Also we had the dogs with us so we dropped them off at our Airbnb before heading out.

Link to the dog friendly Nashville Airbnb: HERE.

Happy Hour: We went Saint Anejo, it was about a 15-20 minute walk from our Airbnb! Both times that we have gone to Nashville, we’re walked everywhere. We try to spend our money on food vs spending it on Ubers haha. It also felt nice to stretch our legs after a long day in the car!

They have a happy hour special on margaritas so we split a pitcher of margs. We also ordered their guacamole and just look at that mound! Then we shared a hot chicken taco and a fish taco. The food and margaritas were all delicious!

We say outside too and it was a nice atmosphere for happy hour.

Rooftop Bar: We were done eating and wanted to go to a rooftop bar before our dinner reservation. We initially walked to LA Jackson which isn’t far from Saint Anejo. They were booked for a private event though so we headed over to L27 Rooftop Lounge. We were there on a Thursday night so luckily it wasn’t crowded at all. We had a drink here and it’s a cute rooftop space.

Dinner: I think the best thing you can do for your trip is make dinner reservations. Waiting in line is never fun so make reservations when you can! We went to Emmy Squared in The Gulch for dinner. It seemed like a good idea to stay around this area for everything because we knew we had a walk back to our Airbnb later.

We shared an order of their fries and hot chicken pizza. 10/10 recommend this, it was incredible! The crust was similar to a pan pizza from Pizza Hut, doughy but also crispy.

Dessert: Our plans were to go listen to music or something but we were pretty tired haha. So we decided to go grab an ice cream from Jeni’s on Fifth and Broadway. I got salty caramel and it was some of my favorite ice cream ever!

Outfit Link: HERE

Breakfast: We got up and walked to Milk and Honey (again in The Gulch) around 8am. I’m glad we got there kind of early because by the time we left, the line was so long. All of the popular breakfast spots get super busy around 9-10 it seems so if you can get up a little earlier and go, I highly recommend that!

We ordered their cinnamon roll, biscuits, and lattes. I loved it all but I thought the cinnamon rolls we had at Biscuit Love the last time we were here were better! The coffee was so good though and they had a ton of coffee options.

After that, we walked back and checked out of our Airbnb. We had the dogs with us now but still had a few hours before we needed to leave for Gatlinburg. So, we decided to go to the 12 south area because it’s a pretty dog friendly area and less overwhelming than the downtown area.

We grabbed coffee and matcha at the Frothy Monkey. I had the rose pistachio matcha and I know it sounds weird but it’s so good! Eli had the mocha monkey and it was also great. A chocolate banana combo!

Our favorite donuts were right down the road and they have a dog friendly patio. Frothy Monkey is also dog friendly but it was pretty busy! So we walked around, drank our drinks, then headed over to Five Daughters’ Bakery to grab some donuts for the road. We shared one on the patio then headed out for about a 4 hour drive to Gatlinburg.

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge

Okay I keep saying Gatlinburg because most of what we did was in Gatlinburg or The Smoky Mountains. But our Airbnb was actually in Pigeon Forge. It wasn’t a far drive at all and it was nice being a little away from the business of Gatlinburg.

Pigeon Forge Airbnb Link: HERE

outfit link: HERE

Day 1: Our first full day was supposed to be the nicest so we decided to do the hike we wanted to do the most this day. We hiked Mount LeConte and it was tough but so good! The views were just unreal. It was a lot of incline but the challenge of it is half the fun. It ended up being around 12 miles total.

outfit link: HERE

After this hike, we went to the grocery store on the way home and picked up food for dinner. Eli and my stepmom grilled out on the deck and it was perfect after a long day! Our Airbnb included everything you needed to grill basically.

outfit link: HERE

The views were just *insert heart eyes*

Day 2: It was supposed to rain all day so we wanted to do a shorter hike. I can’t imagine being on a 12 mile hike and it starts storming halfway through… So we hiked Rainbow Falls! It was about 5 miles total and is such a pretty hike. It rained but still was a great hike and time.

After this, we searched for a brewery or cider place to go to for a drink. We came across Wyile Cider and it was such a unique place! We did a cider tasting and then grabbed some to bring back with us.

Then we went back to our Airbnb and decided it was the perfect weather for a pizza and wine night! We got pizza from Big Daddy’s Pizzeria and it was perfect. We had a veggie pizza and a philly cheesesteak pizza. Then we watched Dateline all night while it stormed haha.

Day 3: It rained all night and there was supposed to be rain again all day. With all the rain, we knew the trails would be pretty muddy. It wasn’t raining in Knoxville, so we decided to drive there for the day. First, we went for a long walk along the river and grabbed coffee. We really didn’t love the coffee place so I’m not going to recommend it haha.

Then we had dinner at Tupelo Honey and loved it! I had the harvest bowl and it felt great to have some veggies. We walked around the area for a little bit, there are some shops there.

outfit link: HERE

Then we went back to our cabin and just played cards and hung out. It was a great trip with Eli and my stepmom. Full of lots of good food and good hiking! I think I covered everything but please let me know if I can answer any more questions!