With Thanksgiving now within ear shot, Gatlinburg is busy putting on its best holiday shoes and jewelry. Or, let’s just say the town has started decorating for Christmas and the holiday season.
If you take a drive downtown you’ll notice that lights and decor have started going up in some places. Of course, River Road and the Parkway gets the most attention with its Santa and festive elf decorations, though many stores downtown have taken it upon themselves to try and outdo each other while keeping with the holiday spirit.
Officials with Gatlinburg have even let some in on a few secrets. One of those happens to be that the town starts decorating before even November. Apparently, October is when those beautiful LED lights start going up all over town. Many miss that part because they’re still staring at the trees and all the fall color.
In all, workers drape the town in more than 3 million holiday lights in various displays and around poles, fences, and buildings downtown. And all these LED lights are environmentally friendly.
And it doesn’t just stop there, the tourism industry – the vital lifeblood of the Smokies, prepares for an always busy holiday season. Smoky Mountain cabin rental companies are booking up fast for the holidays. Businesses like Sugar Maple Cabins, Majestic Mountain Vacations, The Preserve Resort, and Sherwood Forest Resort see reservations really spike over the coming months.
From mid November till Thanksgiving and into December, Christmas, and through new years, families are shuffling in and out of the thousands of Smoky Mountain cabins that line the various ridges and hillsides just outside of town. The year end rush is upon everyone from town employees to area businesses.
To sum it all up, Gatlinburg thrives on this time of year. The bustling of people coming in and out of town, the decorations going up everything, the shopping, the lights…. It’s a season like no other in the Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains. What are you waiting for?