When the days get shorter and the stresses of the holiday season get a little heavy, we have all experienced the winter blues creep in. You are slower to get out of bed, cancel on plans a lot quicker, and give in to those holiday sweets cravings much more than you fill up on healthy options. There are some confirmed strategies to beating these feelings back and coming to enjoy your wintertime to the fullest, and all those tools can be found in Pigeon Forge! Here are 5 ways that one trip to the Smoky Mountains – and relaxing in a cozy Pigeon Forge cabin – can help resolve a lot of these looming feelings:
- Plan a Vacation
By creating some anticipation, your mind gets excited while planning a vacation! A trip to the Smoky Mountains is very customizable and, with the help of our in-depth attraction and event information pages, you can spend time creating the exact Smoky Mountain getaway to relieve some of your wintertime blues.Plan a vacation for you and your special someone in a romantic Gatlinburg cabin retreat in a 1-bedroom cabin, or make it a family affair and book a 3-5 bedroom cabin for nights full of games and laughter in front of the fire!
- Get Outside
Studies have always consistently harkened to the positive affects of nature on your attitudes and emotional wellbeing. Whether you lead an active lifestyle or not, a trip to a Pigeon Forge cabin makes getting back in touch with nature during the cooler months very easy and a great therapy for your soul!Make some hot chocolate and wrap up in a blanket to sit in a rocking chair on the porch as you let your eyes wander across miles of mountain skyline. Pack a swimsuit and spend some quality time outdoors in a hot tub surrounded by serene mountain forestry. Take a helicopter tour for soul-stirring views that are sure to inspire more happiness as you glide over miles of majestic mountain peaks and beautiful forestry.
Really get in touch with nature and take a trip to Cades Cove for some of the best views of nature in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! While in Cades Cove, you can get out and hike to Abrams Falls where you may have the opportunity to snap pictures of a frozen wonderland as winter ice forms and creeps up the waterfalls. You don’t even have to get out of your car, however, to take in the awe-inspiring scenery of Cades Cove as you travel around the 11-mile loop through this magical mountain valley.
- Exercise
While you can knock strategies 2 and 3 out together by hiking any of the hundreds of trails in the Smoky Mountain region, it may be more difficult to do so if you have little ones or if the winter cold has cranked far below freezing. Get all the exercise and adrenaline rush from hundreds of attractions found in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville!Ice skating is a great way to exercise year-round at Ober Gatlinburg! Take the Sky Lift to the top of the mountain in Gatlinburg to take in some beautiful sights of the gateway city, or simply drive straight there. Ober Gatlinburg is also home to the Ski Mountain Coaster, a great adrenaline rush as you fly up and down the mountainside through the trees and over rocks!
Walking counts as exercise, too, so why not squeeze in that last bit of holiday shopping or find that perfect outfit for all the holiday parties at the Tanger Outlets of Sevierville? Plus, retail therapy is another great quick fix if you are feeling down. As you peruse through racks and explore the large outlet center, hours of walking will go by before you know it!
There are plenty of ways to get more walking in as you explore Pigeon Forge, including spending a day at The Island. You’ll find a ropes course high above the ground and plenty of shops to keep you walking for hours! You can even book one of our Pigeon Forge cabins with an indoor pool to get some swimming exercise, even in the middle of winter in the mountains!
- Dive Into the Christmas Spirit
This is another multifaceted way to help beat back some of that winter sadness: the magical Christmas lights of Winterfest in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg! While you are getting outside and walking around, take in the millions of lights of the beautiful Christmas displays of the Smoky Mountain cities. While spending quality time with your husband, wife, or the whole family, “oooooh” and “aaaaaah” at all the magical lights decorating buildings along the Parkway.Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas is a sublime way to get into the Christmas spirit as you watch live musicals and give in a little to your sweet tooth with oversized desserts. Cuddle up with your children as you watch the millions of lights pass you during the Parade of Many Colors at night after riding roller coasters all day.
- Get Cozy
After fun-filled days of the outdoors, exercise, and getting into the Christmas spirit, come home to your homey mountain cabin in the woods and snuggle with your favorite people in front of the warmth of the fire. There is a term coined by the Danish, who experience long, heavy winters, that helps the people embrace and enjoy winter instead of dread it: “hygge.”In translation, the word alludes to a time where, like nature herself, we can slow down, relax, and enjoy the time spent with friends and family in the encouraging warmth of the home. It is an attitude and a mindset to help change your view of winter from a time to trudge through, but rather the perfect time to cuddle a little harder, and spend more deep meaningful time together.
So, grab those fuzzy multicolored socks, a cup of hot chocolate, and a blanket, and get in front of the fire in your cozy cabin as you learn to extinguish the winter blues, together, in the beautiful Smoky Mountains!
