A family trip to the Smokies includes lots of activities. Maybe a trip to Dollywood or a day spent walking the strip in Gatlinburg is in the works. Sometimes though, mother nature doesn’t always take our plans into account. The Smoky Mountains are actually considered a temperate rainforest, with the high elevations of our mountains seeing more than 80 inches of rain per year!
Don’t let a little precipitation put a damper on your vacation. There’s still plenty to do in the Smokies, even in the rain. Check out our list of fun activities to do indoors in the Smoky Mountains!
Indoor Minigolf at Crave Golf Club
Ranked in the Top 13 mini golf courses in the country by the Travel Channel, and PigeonForge.com’s 2018’s Mini Golf Course of the year, you’ll find Crave Golf Club. While Crave does offer a traditional outdoor mini golf course, there’s still plenty to do inside, too! It’s a fun destination when you’re looking for things to do in the rain in Pigeon Forge.
The indoor mini golf course is sweets-themed. Weave your way through cocoa cliffs and ice cream canyons, while interacting with characters to help you avoid tasty obstacles along the way. While winding your way through the course, you can compete by using the Spin Zone, which promises to add a new level of competition to your game. Take a Sugar Safari!
If 19 holes of golf isn’t enough to keep your crew occupied, fear not! There’s also a mini bowling alley with mini balls and pins. Fun for the adults and the kids, this indoor alley doesn’t even require special bowling shoes. Have the fun of traditional bowling on a smaller scale and faster pace.
Crave Golf Club also includes not one, but TWO escape games. Try your hand at Mayday! – A Submarine Adventure. Get the doors of your submarine closed in 30 minutes or less before your sub is claimed by the depths of the sea forever. Or, find the cure for the Zombie apocalypse in the Zombie Research Lab.
Crave offers a Sweet Shop on premises, with plenty of gummies, jelly beans, giant pixie sticks, and more! Of course, Crave is best known for their milkshakes. Their signature shake, The Jelly Bean Jungle, is made from vanilla and rainbow ice cream with shots of orange, raspberry, and pomegranate. They top off the shake with a heaping handful of jelly beans!
Check out this video from Pigeon Forge Chamber featuring their milkshake bar!
You can find Crave Golf Club located between traffic light #4 and #5 on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.
Wonderworks of Pigeon Forge
If you’ve got kids who love to run, jump, and play Wonderworks is the perfect destination! With so many hands-on exhibits to engage the senses, kids can learn and have fun on their spring break. Six different WonderZones of discovery encourage kids to run at the speed of light, stomp aliens back to their home planets, and even give kids the chance to crawl into a replica of a one-man spacecraft.
If your family can’t manage to find enough to keep them busy here most of the day, Wonderworks offers some additional packages as well. The indoor ropes course glows in the dark and has more than 50 obstacles to overcome while you’re four stories high. A laser tag arena encourages a healthy dose of friendly competition among siblings and friends.
If you’re at Wonderworks in to the evening hours, you won’t want to miss The Wonders of Magic show features Terry Evanswood – the longest-running headline performer in town. This incredible show runs nearly every day during the peak seasons, and sometimes even twice a day! A recipient of the Merlin Award, the magic world’s equivalent of an Oscar, Terry will leave you wondering “how’d he do that?!” in a wide variety of illusions and sleight of hand tricks.
For a rainy day activity in Pigeon Forge, look no further than Wonderworks!
Dinner Shows
No matter what the weather, you won’t want to miss out on the amazing dinner theaters in the Smoky Mountains! From classics to new family favorites, there’s a show for everyone in your family. Special diets can be accommodated at most shows. While advanced notice isn’t required, it is encouraged.
Join Blackbeard & his quarter master Calico Jack in a pirate battle on land, the deck of a ship, and even in the water at Dolly’s Pirate Voyage.
Get in the middle of one of the longest-running family feuds in America at Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud, all while watching high-flying stunts and “mighty feats of strength”!
Of course, no trip to the mountains is complete without visiting Dolly Parton’s Stampede! This classic dinner show has been a staple of Pigeon Forge for over 30 years. The audience is split in to two teams. Cheer yours on to victory in the 30,000 square foot arena.
Want to see what you can expect at several local shows? Check out our blog post all about them!
Indoor Snow Tubing at Pigeon Forge Snow
Hot and rainy outside? No problem! Pigeon Forge Snow encourages you to hit the slopes year round! Despite the outdoor conditions, it’s always a comfortable 60-70 degrees indoors. No heavy snow clothes required! Although, if you are planning to visit in summer months, it might not be a bad idea to bring a long-sleeved shirt and close-toed shoes. Flip flops in the snow just aren’t any fun!
Pigeon Forge Snow makes their snow every single day, and it’s only made from water. No chemicals are added to the process, meaning nice clean fun for everyone in your group.
Race each other down the snow slope, or see who can do the run the fastest by timing each other. After you get your adrenaline rush, there’s an indoor play area where you can build your very own snowman or a snow fort. Have a fun winter day any time of year!
Upstairs, there’s an observation area where you can sit back and relax. Watch the family play and grab a snack from the concessions area.
This indoor snow tubing hill is the first of it’s kind in the entire United States. Get ready for a vacation experience you won’t ever forget!
Pigeon Forge Snow is located on Teaster Lane, between stoplights #2 and #3 in Pigeon Forge.
TopJump Trampoline & Extreme Arena
Just because you’re indoors doesn’t mean you can’t burn off a little energy! Sevier County’s first trampoline park has a wide variety of high-flying activities for the whole family! You can jump around and try a few flips, or have a contest to see who can jump the highest or farthest. Try trampoline dodgeball or basketball together as a family. The kid zone even includes kid-friendly trampolines and a foam pit – specially designed for kids under 42” tall.
The Fire & Ice Ninja course was added in 2018, and encourages you to challenge your group to see who can complete the course the fastest. Jump, climb, flip, and race through tall mazes, over ramps and rungs, up steps, and more! TopJump can even record the run so you can share it on your social media pages!
The Cliffhanger Challenges is a one-of-a-kind arena that can accommodate up to 60 climbers. Complete challenges on 21 lines, including Stairway to Heaven and the Astro Ball. Rounding out the activities you can enjoy indoors at TopJump – Hologate virtual reality game and Arcade Alley.
If you’ve worked up an appetite from all this family fun, TopJump even includes an onsight snack bar and an INCREDIBLE candy store to bring out the kid in anyone!
This rainy day in Pigeon Forge just got a whole lot better.
You can find TopJump between traffic light #8 and #10 in Pigeon Forge, near Dolly’s Stampede, on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.
Ice Skating and Ice Bumper Cars YEAR ROUND at Ober Mountain
If you want to continue the winter fun any time of year, you’ll definitely want to head to Ober Mountain. While Ober offers a fun variety of things to do outdoors all year round, when rain drives you inside there’s still plenty to do.
The indoor ice skating rink and ice bumper cars are sure to help cool you down on a hot, rainy summer day. There’s even an indoor mall.
Check out the Wildlife Encounter and see native Smoky Mountain animals, including a black bear family of four. The Nocturnal House gives you an opportunity to see raccoons, skunks, flying squirrels, and more.
If you’ve been wondering what to do when it rains in Gatlinburg, Ober Mountain has you covered.
Reach Ober Mountain by driving Ski Mountain Road at stoplight #10 in Gatlinburg. Don’t want to drive a winding mountain road? No problem! Take the famous Aerial Tram from downtown Gatlinburg to the top of the mountain.
Take a Scenic Drive or see Sugarlands Visitor Center
A little rain doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the most visited national park in the country! Rain keeps a lot of visitors away, meaning you can have a little more quiet and serene experience driving through this gorgeous part of the country.
A classic scenic drive through the clouds of the rainy weather up to Newfound Gap or Clingman’s Dome will give you a whole new view of this temperate rainforest. A trip to Cades Cove in the rain will mean fewer visitors and an opportunity to see wildlife in the smoky, rainy meadows.
The Sugarland’s Visitor Center makes a perfect rainy day activity. Home to an expansive natural history exhibit, you can see replicas of hellbender salamanders, Smokies flora, and learn a little about the Cherokee who once called this land home.
There’s also a 20-minute film about the park that plays throughout the day. Best of all, visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is FREE!
CABIN FUN!
There are so many exciting things to do in the Smoky Mountains in the rain, you’ll be sure to be tuckered out by the time you get back to your cabin. Of course, the fun doesn’t have to stop just because you’re in your home away from home for the night.
Book a cabin with a game room and compete to be the cabin champion in pool, foosball, air hockey, or even shuffle board. Many of our cabins offer game systems, so bring your games from home or connect via the Smart TV’s to play your favorites. Some of our cabins even have board games!
Since all of our kitchens offer a fully equipped kitchen, if you don’t feel like venturing back out in the rain that’s no problem. Cook up all your favorite dinners. Enjoy listening to the mountain rain while relaxing in a rocking chair on the covered porch of your cabin.
You can also book a cabin with a home theater, because watching a movie on a rainy day is always a fun idea. Prep some popcorn and settle in for the day.
Give our friendly Reservationists a call at 800-204-5169. Check out our website to book your perfect rental cabin in the Smoky Mountains.
A little bad weather doesn’t have to mean a bad vacation! Be sure to check out all of our vacation guides for planning your Smoky Mountain getaway. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest area information!
