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Planning Murphy’s Smoky Mountain Getaway

Photo by Don Wang

Not counting the family Christmas road trip all of us –even Mr. Meow–took back in 2005 to Denver, the week we spent looking for houses in March of 2005 when we were moving from Jacksonville to Nashville, or last Labor Day weekend when we made a quick trip down to Jacksonville for a couple of days, we haven’t gotten away for a true vacation to somewhere we’ve never been since we went to Charleston in 2003.

Well, we’re finally going to take a few days and head up to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains. A neighbor will watch Tabby and Mr. Meow for us, but Murph gets to come along with us.

Accommodations: Hotel vs. Cabin

There’s no shortage of places to stay in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, the two cities closest to the Smokies. (The hotels took the Field of Dreams approach: if you build them, they will come.)

So finding a place to stay is easy. Surprisingly, finding a place to stay that allows pets is also easy. Normally that’s an issue. Instead, the issue is deciding if we want to stay in a hotel or a cabin.

And even then we have to decide which one we want to stay at, because all of them –hotels and cabins–offer something different. Some hotels are bigger than others, or closer to certain other attractions. Some cabins are more secluded, some have more amenities than others, and some are downright rustic.

I’ve got it narrowed down between the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and one of the cabins offered by Stony Brook Chalets. I’ll solicit Wayne’s vote before making a final decision.

Dog-Friendly Attractions

If we stay at the Holiday Inn we’ll be right next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since national parks can be funny in their pet policies, I made sure to see where pets are allowed. Murph’s okay to go in campgrounds, picnic areas, and along roads, but there are only two trails that allow pets: the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail. Still, two is better than none so Murph will get to enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains too.

Wayne and I would also like to do Dollywood. I checked to see if they have an on-site kennel like Murph’s enjoyed at Disney World so we don’t have to worry about getting back to the hotel and cutting our day short. Sure enough they do, appropriately called Doggywood.

And then there’s the Smoky Mountain Doghouse. I just happened to stumble across it in my vacation getaway research. It’s a boutique for dogs and their people, including a doggie bakery, where dogs are welcome. I figure if I get to do a little tourist shopping so can Murph.

It won’t be a long getaway, but it seems a good vacation spot for both people and pets.