Anakeesta in Gatlinburg, TN

We heard that we needed to visit Anakeesta. Upon arriving (8:45am) there was already a line and a sign reading that zip lining was sold old for the day. After $12 for parking, and $45 entry fee we took the lift up the mountain. The views were spectacular and took about 10 minutes. From the time of arrival to getting to Anakeesta, it was just over an hour. Once on top, we found some cute shops and a coffee shop that admittedly said they were under staffed and that it would take some time to get coffee. After 40 minutes in line for coffee, we enjoyed the fire pit and the weather. We looked in the other shops, visited the tower and took the rope bridge through the woods (highlight of visit). The upper village was crowed, making walking difficult, and shopping near impossible. This was definitely a one time visit. The staff was not helpful, nor was information forth-coming. We were asked if we went on-line to buy tickets for the rides. Doubtful we will ever go back because it’s honestly just not worth the money and time. We absolutely love Gatlinburg but fee like we wasted our valuable time and money doing Anakeesta.

We first visited in august of 2019, this year we definitely wanted to visit again due to them having a new attraction at the top. We went up in the morning and again that evening. Must go up both times, the views are amazing in the morning and breath taking in the evening. The weekend we went the sky bridge was partially closed, but we still enjoyed it. The new tower was great, 360 views, relaxing. The evening we went you could see fireworks in the distance from the tower and that was awesome to watch. At night everything is lit up and very pretty. We enjoyed sitting and just relaxing. The lift up is nice but in the middle of the afternoon it can be very hot :). Overall we throughly enjoyed it and will definitely visit again.

It was an amazing experience and worth the money. The guides were amazing and hilarious!!! Just go and do it!

My husband and I visited Anakeesta on a Tuesday afternoon in early September. I wanted to go and do the tree bridges, which had recently reopened completely after a big storm broke some of them. I'll break down our visit in pros and cons. Pros: Advanced online tickets are the way to go. We showed up to the entrance to see a very long line. Because we had tickets in advance we were told to go to the right and were seated on a traditional ski lift up the mountain within 10 minutes of queuing up. It seemed the enclosed carriages were few and far between and many folks were waiting a long time to take them to the top. The ride up was scenic yet slow. We also got to watch the zip lining adventurers wiz above us. The entire mountain top is really beautiful. We spent a lot of time just sitting in a quite area away from the hustle and bustle looking at the changing light on the mountain. We had just gone for a long hike that morning and sitting and relaxing was just the right speed. We got hotdogs from a to go stand and they had a beer stand as well. We also got fantastic ice cream from the ice cream place near the restaurant. For just 5 dollars, I ordered a regular two flavors bowl expecting two scoops of each. Instead I received a massive serving of blackberry and Dutch chocolate ice cream. It was bigger than the sundaes people ordered. So that was a pleasant surprise. So much for the burning calories on the hike but the ice cream was delicious and we had a pretty view of the mountain as we ate it. The tree bridge was a lot of fun. I felt like an ewok. I would have done it a second time but there were too many people around. We did manage to keep our distance from folks until it bottle necked at the very end while people refused to budge and just talked at each other without masks. (sigh). I really like the garden area with Halloween decorations. It was very cute and not super busy besides the line for fresh squeezed lemonade. We spent some time around there. By 4 the crowds had diminished and I could see how lovely the whole park is. They did a great job with it. But they are expanding it and that comes with a lot of growing pains. The pandemic certainly doesn't make it easy to operate a tourist attraction either. Staff were all very polite and helpful. It would be good to get them more training on proper mask wearing though. There is a diversity of things to do and fun stuff for families and singles. The bathroom up by the garden area was very clean too. Cons: When we got to the top it was around 3 pm way past lunch and a good two hours before senior dinner, the restaurant was impenetrable. Just huge wait and grumpy, hungry folks. The tavern on the other side of the park was not yet open. It should be open now though. It looked very lovely. They were out of water at first but then a truck of water come up the mountain and places got restocked. There were a ton of people and social distancing was kind of a joke. So many visitors were not wearing masks and some employees did the whole I have a mask on my chin or mouth but not my nose thing. I'm giving Anakeesta a very good because I had a great time. My husband would have given it a good. He thought it was pretty and had lots of potential if not full of people. He was pretty concerned about lack of social distancing. I countered that by saying that it is pretty impossible to social distance anywhere in downtown Gatlinburg. It is definitely a concern though if you are older or have a weakened immune system. So factor that in on your planning. Not sure if going really early in the morning would help.

This is in the middle of Gatlinburg and you take a lift to the top of the mountain! The area is very beautiful, but is a little crowded and cramped! If you decide to go to Anakeesta and want to zip line you need to book a day and time before you arrive! The have a chair lift with enclosed gondolas every 26 cars (they need more)! There espresso lots do on top of the mountain but the area is very condensed!