Ober Gatlinburg - Open for Winter Sports!

Our 4 Day special has been a great way for you to enjoy Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains for a general Smoky Mountain vacation, Christmas shopping, holiday activities and now, starting right now, winter sports getaway!

Ober Gatlinburg, the city's main family fun park, is just up the hill from us, and is opening for the winter season as a main destination for skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, indoor ice skating and more! This is the only place for miles and miles around to offer serious winter sports activities and Highlands will be the perfect place to stay for two weekends worth of winter exhilaration.


Make your reservations today!

Gatlinburg Fantasy of Lights Parade this week!

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Gatlinburg Fantasy of Lights Parade!

The fun starts at 7:30 PM, December 3rd on the main strip of downtown Gatlinburg, from the Alamo Steakhouse to Stoplight #10 at the gates to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. All your favorite characters throughout the Christmas ages and dozens of floats will be in attendance and its guaranteed to be the most fun that evening for miles and miles around.

Don't miss it!

October Views and Autumn Delights!

The colors are here! Now is the time to come to Highlands where the condos are facing out to the miles and miles of mountains that spread out over the patio - the colors are booming and exploding as far as the eye can see and with our four day specials, you can enjoy a double weekend's worth of it!

Highlands condos are a great spot for October not just for the views, but everything else going on in Gatlinburg too. Just up the road is Ober Gatlinburg which is celebrating Oktoberfest every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in October! Great time for some German-style fun and music (after all, when else can you hold an Oktoberfest?) and Ripley's is doing a special month-long tribute to Halloween all throughout the month at the Ripley's Haunted Adventure! If the kids are looking for something seasonal to do, you couldn't find a better place to shock up some fun than Ripley's!

So if you've come for fun or you've come for the deep relaxation of the autumn smokies, you get the best of both worlds here at the Highlands! Take advantage of our new offers with Beneficial to Life for a wonderous therapeutic massage. You came all this way, so relax in style here at Highlands Condos!

The Harvest Festival Hayride

One of the surprising favorites for autumnal activities here in the city of Gatlinburg are the hayrides. Starting at the crossing of Mountain Mall to the Gatlinburg Aquarium, you and your young ones (or older ones if they prefer) can climb in, find a haystack with your name on it, and take it nice and slow around the city.

What drives visitors to try a relaxing ride on the haystacks is that it gives them a free tour of the city and the many, many colors of the leaves in the distance mountains and right here in the downtown area. It's the perfect way to cap off the end of a day in Gatlinburg. An evening in the Smoky Mountains just isn't complete without a hayride under the autumnal glow of the colors.


And from Highlands, the downtown section of Gatlinburg is just a quick 7-10 minutes by car down the hill. There is never a bad season to come to Gatlinburg, but Fall has a certain magic to it that a great, long weekend would be perfect for.

Back to School - August Special

As August creeps up, one very fundamental fact plays in the lives of families across the country - School's starting in just a few weeks. It's a sobering experience that tends to drown out the remaining leg of the summer.

But why let it do that? Why not have a great late summer vacation with us at Highlands Condominiums instead? August is a great time to come up to the mountains, the city slows back down to a less frantic pace, traffic improves, and while the temperature stays hot, our pools stays cool. We've got everything you need right here up in the mountain, fully furnished condos with appliances, private balconies, the aforementioned swimming pools, two saunas and outdoor hot tubs, the exercise room, the meeting facilities and more.

Down in Gatlinburg, which you can see all of from our balconies, are plenty of things to do with the kids to give them that last burst of summer fun, the Ripley's Aquarium has the Penguins Playhouse - Fort Fun is Go-Karts, Arcade, 3-D Theater, Laser-Tag, indoor and outdoor minigolf - Ober Gatlinburg, which is up the road from Highlands, has been the family fun center in Gatlinburg for years and years. The possibilities are endless!

The Fourth of July (and now The Third of July), 2010

Is there any summer activity that's greater than the Fourth of July? Good luck trying to find one. There are only two events a year in this country that are so important, we shoot off high-powered, multi-colored explosives in public and in our backyards as an active means to personify our jubilation - the birth of the year and the birth of the nation.

To celebrate the Fourth of July in Sevier County takes some energy and some planning, but wow can you get a lot done in roughly 40 hours.

For one, Pigeon Forge is pulling a fast one on us and having its usual Fourth of July celebration on July 3rd! This day belongs to Pigeon Forge, as Patriot Park, the huge, level, open park in the Old Mill district, turns into the outdoor Fourth of July central. Bring a cooler, some chairs, a beach towel and enjoy some outdoors the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Some food vendors will be there and a large sound stage will be built for entertainment starting in the afternoon and lasting until the fireworks start. Diamond Rio and many other guests, local and abroad, are expected to perform that day!

Then, travel to Gatlinburg, which on a busy July 3rd evening starts filling with people in the mood for a celebration. At the stroke of midnight that evening, right as it turns into the Fourth of July, an enormous parade starts and marches through the streets of downtown Gatlinburg. Lots of floats, lots of people, lots of patriotism - the way a Fourth of July parade should be done.

The next day, you can return to downtown Gatlinburg for the midday favorite ID4 event, The River Raft Regatta, at the Ripley's Aquarium. It's an unmanned river raft race down the Little Pigeon River and you can find out more about it at this page: http://www.eventsgatlinburg.com/event_detail.aspx?id=33.

Then, as night draws near again, you have a choice - stay in Gatlinburg and watch the fireworks or check out the amazing fireworks at Smokies Stadium in Sevierville. Smokies Stadium would be a drive to get to, but what says America better than watching American fireworks celebrate America at America's favorite pasttime stadium? Certainly not me trying to fit the ubiqitous word into a sentence as many times as I can. Either way, you'll be treated to another incredible and bright fireworks display.

Two in one year! Only in Sevier County!



And with Highlands on campbell Lead road overlooking the city of Gatlinburg, you'll have easy access to both Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge for as many of the events as you're willing to participate in! Gatlinburg is between 7-10 minutes from Highlands and Pigeon Forge 10-15 minutes.

And when you're done after two solid days of day-trippin', come back to Highlands and surrender to the bed for as long as you like and take advantage of our pool and sauna. Reserve for the four day special and that's two whole days to relax after two whole days out. Clean and even and full of patriotism. Just the way a Fourth of July weekend should be!

You can visit our specials page here: http://www.highlandscondos.com/special_discounts.html

We look forward to seeing you!

I-40 and Cades Cove Loop Road

Roads Reopened!

We're happy to inform you that two major roads are now open through the Smokies.

The Cades Cove Loop Road that goes to and through Townsend in Blount County is now fully available to the general public. This means visitors can get to and from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Cades Cove area and see what millions of people come every year to see: A national treasure.

I-40 is also open again! Both east-bound lanes and one west-bound lane are open where Tennessee meets North Carolina. One west-bound lane is still closed, but this should make it much easier to get in and around.

If you've been waiting to get to the Tennessee side of the mountains, now's the time! It's still just before the summer rush and there's plenty to do and see here! The roads are open, so come on by!

In the news for Gatlinburg this April, 2010.

The Wildflower Pilgrimage! April 21-25! Nothing short of the cornerstone of Spring for the city and THE major natural exhibit and event for the Smokies, this is a major tradition for our neck of the woods dating back longer than before most of us were born, and as such, it attracts a huge number of visitors who come as yearly as possible!

And with a huge turn-out dictating they must give the audience something to see, you can expect 4 solid days of everything Flora and Fauna of the Smokies. Lectures, guest speakers, exhibits, walks, hikes, stuff for the kids and more than can be detailed here. Heck, most of the time people come back year after year so they can do the things they missed out on the years before!

That said, you shouldn't miss out on any of it! Make your plans to stay with Highlands so you can stay close to the action on April 21-25th!

In other news...

The Ripley's Aquarium in the Smokies turns 10 years old in just a short period of time, and to commemorate it, Ripley's is building a brand new 4,000 sq.ft. Penguin exhibit!

Penguins?

In the Smokies?

From Africa?????

Apparently, yes. Black-footed African Penguins are the brand new guests of honor for the Smokies at the Ripleys Aquarium! Come see them play in their underwater crawl tube, gliding across aquatic surfaces, swimming under glass floors and more!

Take some time out of your Spring schedule to see the new Penguins at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies!

25 Years of Dollywood

As soon as the gates open on March 27th, 2010, the flood begins. Thousands and thousands of eager guests who have been waiting for the perennial Festival of the Nations since as early as last year, quickly fill the park to see all the many new additions and familiar traditions Dollywood brings year after year.

This year, Festival of the Nations features "DRUM!" culminating Aboriginal, Black, Celtic and Acadian cultures into an exhilirating performance of music and dance and more. "Invaders" is an island-steel ensemble performing the sound of Trinidad. Atahualpa returns for another great year of South American music and Imagine returns too after a popular, grand performance from last year's Festival of the Nations.

Another thing to look forward to is the advent of Adventure Mountain for 2010. It's a new section of park designed as an outdoor obstacle course and even those who don't like to play outside will have a hard time staying away!

Finally, 2010 makes it the 25th year Dollywood has been entertaining families here in the Smokies. 25 years hasn't gone by unnoticed and we hope for Dollywood to stay open another 25 years at least! Stay tuned to see what Dollywood might be thinking for celebrating its 25th year in business!

While the snow has been had a major and somewhat polarized (no pun intended) effect on the Smokies this winter, we're wildly anticipating the return of Spring, warmer weather, and the color Green throughout the mountains!

Spring Break is starting soon, and there's plenty to see and do in Gatlinburg during the time. Plenty of chances to relax too, as Highlands overlooks the city of Gatlinburg with access to the downtown area within 10-12 minutes, but still far enough away that the traffic and noise to guarantee some well-earned rest and recuperation.

Another great incentive to take advantage of for the Spring Break is the 4 Nights deal for all condos.

4 Nights for 1 Bedroom - $328.50
4 Nights for 2 Bedrooms - $396.00
4 Nights for 3 Bedrooms - $508.50

Discounts are good until June 15th (!) and you need to call 877-877-1377 to reserve your condo.

We look forward to seeing you this Spring!

The Coming Spring

Gatlinburg's sleepy season is about to come to wake up here soon with a slew of special events that should make Mid-March a really exciting time to come visit the Sevier County section of the Smokies!

Santa Clause is coming back to town. Last year, the city of Gatlinburg sponsored a new Santa Clause convention and hosted a Holly and Shamrock Parade featuring 15-20 minutes of Elves and Leprechauns and other figures that were so popular, Gatlinburg decided to do it again for 2010. The parade is on the afternoon of March 13th.

The rest of the convention will be held at the W.L. Mills Convention Center in downtown Gatlinburg. From March 13-16, the Celebrate Santa event opens the convention doors to the general public. If you're planning on a vacation with small children, this would be a great surprise for them.

And between the 26th and 28th, we have the Gatlinburg ScreenFest, a returning film festival event that will showcase many of the visual talents we have in this area and nearby areas. You can look for more details on http://www.gatlinburgscreenfest.com/.

At the end of March, the Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community will be having their Easter Arts and Crafts Community Show at W.L. Mills Convention Center from March 31-April 3 in 2010. You don't want to miss it!

Downtown Gatlinburg is just 7-12 minutes from Highlands Condos, depending on traffic. If you decide to go out to these events, go early and get a spot before the rest of the traffic sets in.

We look forward to having you visit us in the coming Spring! See ya soon!

Cathy's Babysitting Service

30+ years experience

Available to come and sit at your house, room or condo.

Available during the day or night!

From 6 months of age and up.

Rates start at $50.00 minimum for 2 hours and $5.00 for each additional child.

References:

Cindy Werner 865-436-3547 (W) Owner of Highlands Condos

Marilyn England 865-654-1056 (C) Owner of Brass Lantern and Best Italian

Lynn Hamilton 865-805-4034 (C)

Judy Philips 865-436-3748 (H) Pi Phi Elementary School

Cell phone 865-805-4818