Skip to content
The story below is an excerpt from our November/December 2017 issue. For the rest of this story and more like it subscribe today, log in to read our digital edition or download our FREE iOS app. Thank you!
You can zip through the trees and even walk among the treetop canopy at Anakeesta, a new family destination in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
You can zip through the trees and even walk among the treetop canopy at Anakeesta, a new family destination in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“It’s a real Smoky Mountain experience,” says managing partner Bob Bentz. “It’s really for the whole family.”
Anakeesta takes its name from a Cherokee Indian word meaning “the place of high ground.” The multi-faceted, outdoor attraction spreads across 70 acres and features dual-racing zip lines, each more than 1,000 feet long.
“Everything we do really involves the mountains, the trees and the environment,” Bentz says. “It’s all part of the experience that we’re preparing for our guests.”
Perhaps most unique is the 14-minute Chondola ride, taking visitors up 600 feet from downtown to the summit of Anakeesta Mountain, using 104 quad chairs and eight enclosed, six-person gondola cabins. “The reason it’s called ‘Chondola’ is it’s a combination of both chairs and gondola cabins. So we kind of combine the two words and get ‘Chondola,’” Bentz says.
Ultimately, you reach the Firefly Village—with shops and scenic views. Dining options include baked goodies and pulled pork plus treats at an ice cream shop.
Anakeesta’s treetop canopy walk puts pedestrians 40 feet in the air with passages on 16 hanging bridges—“all supported by the trees,” Bentz says. “You get up where the birds are, up in the canopy of the trees.”
The park also features the Memorial Forest Walk, paying tribute to the tragedies of the 2016 fires in the Great Smoky Mountains with an exhibit by photographer Jeremy Cowart.
Guests can sift for treasures in the gem mine. Or take a log walk to an elevated bird’s nest where you learn how an American goldfinch cultivates its home. Then navigate a plank walk to a maze and crawl through a tube net to reach a climbing adventure.
For more: 865-235-2777 / anakeesta.com
