Gatlinburg for Mardi Gras Week

if you hadn't booked a place yet, rent a log cabin on the mountain right outside of town. The town itself has a tourist trap feel to it but overall it's gorgeous area.

there's an ice skating ring

For some unbeknownst reason, Tennessee and its business owners went "all in" and decided to pander to the rednecks. They could have taken a page out of North Carolina's book and treated the place like Cashiers and Blowing Rock. The place has so much potential, but if you haven't been, the "Strip" is loaded with gimmicky places like Flapjack's Pancake Tavern, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Hollywood Movie Streetcars, Putt-Putt, Arcades, Bubba Gumps, The Melting Pot, and so forth.

That said, most people are too ignorant to take advantage of why places like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge exist, The Smoky Mountain National Park. My advice is to spend as much time in the Park as possible. It truly is a beautiful and special place. Hike as many tails as possible, fish or whitewater raft (if available), and leave the Strip to the unwashed masses.

Assuming you have rented a cabin, I'd stop somewhere along the way (not too sure where you are coming from), maybe Chattanooga or Knoxville, and load up at the grocery and liquor store. Depending on what you want, Gatlinburg prices are a little higher and the options are more limited. Spend as much time in the Park as possible, relax, drink coffee/beer/bourbon on the porch, read a book, make a fire, and enjoy the Smoky's and its wildlife. More times than not, we usually see black bear milling around which is pretty cool.

And, if you really have the hankering for pancakes, I like Pancake Pantry the best.