Larry Vaught Photo
If you want to see Christmas lights in a very unique way, then SkyLand Ranch in Sevierville, Tenn., has the perfect opportunity for you.
Over half a million lights are on display for Skyland’s Festival of Lights. Perhaps the best part is that you get to see them from a scenic chairlift as you ride to the top of the mountain. There were some spectacular light displays including a sleigh ride that might have been the best light display we saw in five nights in the Sevierville-Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge area.
There is a life-sized nativity scene after you exit the chair lift and the illuminated walkways are unique. There are also performers to entertain you or you can just hang out by the campfire and enjoy the view.
Legacy Lookout is a must-see spot too. It is 350-feet above the parkway and you can see for miles.
Before the sun sets and it is time to see the lights, SkyLand Ranch is open for day visits with plenty to do.
We actually went on the Safari Hayride Adventure that might be geared more for children but was a ton of fun for this animal lover. You climb in a covered wagon pulled by a tractor to take a look at llamas, donkeys, alpacas, longhorns, sheep, goats and young sika deer.
I don’t know about you but I will never be too old to enjoy getting to feed and pet animals. While I got to feed and even walk an alpaca in Virginia during spring break in April with two of my grandchildren, never had I been lucky enough to feed or pet young deer. They could not wait to snuggle up to the wagon and let us feed them. Two young children on the ride with us could not have been happier and watching them made the ride special.
And don’t forget the Wild Stallion, the longest mountain coaster in the southeast at 1.25 miles. I had been on it during the day but never at night. You control your own speed so I go slower than most but the view at night as you race through the darkness is something you will not forget.
SkyLand Ranch also partners with Rowdy Bear’s Smoky Mountain Snowpack. It has the largest snow tubing hill in Tennessee and is a whole different experience than the indoor snow tubing facility in Pigeon Forge.
The tubing lanes are 500 feet long and you make a 70-feet drop during the ride. I was told you might hit 35 miles per hour. I just know you go FAST and because Rowdy Bear makes its own snow there is snow tubing all winter. In the summer it turns into a water slide but take the time to go during the winter. You can also play in a huge pile of snow when you finish.
Rowdy Bear also has two ride options. The Avalanche Snow Coaster also allows you to control your speed on the ride but I really like the Ski Lift Shootout Coaster, North America’s first alpine flyer. You get to shoot at various targets in the two-passenger suspended coaster as you glide through the course.
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One Response
Larry you must have moved there lol. Thanks for the insights on Gatlinburg and Dollywood