A few years ago, a local businessman proposed a marketing plan for our region entitled “Nature’s Theme Park”. The premise of his proposal was that all the natural activities in and around the Great Smoky Mountains were as good as those found in any theme park. Personally, I liked the idea, but it never caught on and the idea quietly died.
Don’t get me wrong, my family loves theme parks. As our boys were growing up, we visited several of the large parks and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We loved all the rides, excitement, and food. But I was also never really interested in going to one in the summer. They were crowded, noisy, and because of all the concrete, very hot.
I would much rather be walking on a nice trail following a mountain stream with a canopy of trees across my path. As for water rides, our area is full of places to tube, whitewater raft, canoe, kayak, or boat. I will guarantee that the water in our streams are cooler than any you will find in a water park.
A local newscaster recently said “…there is one place where we can guarantee it will always be 60 degrees…our creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes.” We have found that to be very true.
In addition, there are numerous other outdoor activities including mountain biking, zip lining, rock climbing, fishing and more. There is so much to fill anyone’s day. If you stay with us at Hemlock Inn, you have the added bonus of our wonderful southern meals. Combine that with our discounts and you have can have a very affordable vacation.
There is another wonderful feature of the mountains. The days may be warm, but our mornings and evenings are cool. After dinner, many of our guests go outside and sit on our deck watching the sunset. Even though our rooms are air conditioned, some of our guest actually turn them off and open the windows to take advantage of the 60 degree nights.
I am a believer that we live in Nature’s Theme Park and I think you will too. Come experience it yourself.
–Mort
