New Years and January 2012

The New Year starts with a 15-minute long bang in the Smokies and offers plenty of great entertainment and activity for Winterfest long after the holidays are over.

Gatlinburg is, naturally, the center of the biggest party in the Great Smoky Mountains during New Years Eve. The Pyro-shows production company will be playing music from the center of town until the countdown starts. Once the ball drops from the Space Needle to ring in the New Year, the tower will explode in a prolonged and incredible fireworks display the likes of which you won't see for another year! Only Gatlinburg offers something that grand here in the Smokies.

Following shortly after that is another major treat for visitors to the mountains with the ever-popular Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge. This is a week-long treat, from January 7th to the 14th for nature lovers as it promises plenty of lectures, presentations, guest speakers, a gorgeous photographic exhibit, vendor with nature supplies and much more! You can see more of that at http://www.mypigeonforge.com/events_winterfest_wilderness.aspx.



The new year is already shaping up to be a great start for 2012 and we at Highlands want to invite you all out for the fun and excitement each new year in the Smokies brings. See what we have to offer at www.highlandscondos.com.

Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade 2011

One of Gatlinburg's greatest traditions and Winterfest treasures is going on this Friday, December 2nd, at 7:30PM in downtown Gatlinburg - the Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade!

Without a doubt THE Christmas highlight of Gatlinburg's Winterfest celebration, the parade is a huge, grand exhibition of all things Winterfest here in the Smokies. All your favorite Christmas characters, heroes and icons, both new and old, will be prominent down the road from Highway 321 to Stoplight #10. The lights, the music and the Polar Express train itself, along with dozens and dozens of other floats, make for more than an hour's worth of entertainment.

And to really sweeten the Christmas cake there, choose our Fall - 4 Night Special going on for two weekends worth of Winterfest fun at a deal you can't beat. Check it out at www.highlandscondos.com

The Christmas Parade in Downtown Gatlinburg

The most magical night of the year is the night the city of Gatlinburg puts on The Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade through the main downtown streets in front of thousands from Highway 321 to Stoplight #10 - and you and your children won't want to miss a minute of it!

The Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade for 2011 is the night of December 2nd and it starts at 7:30PM. All of your favorite characters and floats will be gliding and marching and singing and dancing on the street. You can bet Santa Claus and his reindeer will be there, along with Frosty the Snowman, The Polar Express as you can see above - in the past we've also seen The Grinch, Charlie Brown characters and much, much more entertaining tens of thousands of people and filling the night sky and atmosphere with the Christmas Magic you came to experience!

Additional fun will include local Gatlinburg mascots, Scottish pipe and drum bands, the famous Oscar Mayer Weinermobile, which is reported to measure 60 hot dogs long (that must've been fun to measure), and Santa Claus himself will be holding an Autograph party at the Riverbend Mall at 6:00PM just before the start of the event.


It's going to be a wonderful, fun night in Gatlinburg that will kickstart the Christmas and Winterfest will provide a constant to keep that Christmas magic alive with things like Winterfest Tunes and Tales. Take advantage of our Four Day Special above for all the luxury and magic you can handle plus two weekends worth of entertainment possibilities in Gatlinburg! See www.highlandscondos.com for more information and contact.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Winterfest Kick-Off 2011

The Chili Cook-off is the big switch to Winterfest in Gatlinburg. Winterfest is largely touted as the most "magical" of the Smoky Mountain seasons and for very good reason!

On the night of the Chili Cook-off, November 10th from 5:00PM and 8:00PM, the city of Gatlinburg throws the switch for the lights to come on and Christmas to start throughout town. The Trolley Rides of Lights tour begins soon after that and visitors of all ages will marvel at the sights and wonders that transform this modest little town into something very magical indeed.

The Chili Cook-off itself it quite a show too. The purchase of an admission "spoon" gets you access to more than 30,000 cops of chili from some of the best vendors from miles around. Lots of people will be attending and there will be plenty to do for families and people of all ages. There's a reason the city of Gatlinburg chooses this as their official start to the season of Winter "magihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifc", and its because the Chili Cook-off is just that good.

Stay with Highlands Condos during your trip through the first week of Winterfest, or any time of Winterfest for that matter, and complete the magic of the holiday season here in the Smokies! We have everything you need to wrap yourself in a gossamer blanket of luxury to keep you warm in November, December, January and beyond. We have saunas, outdoor hot tubs and fireplaces that all come standard with a reservation at Highlands Condos.

Take advantage of our Four Day Special above for all the luxury and warmth you can handle plus two weekends worth of entertainment possibilities in Gatlinburg. Our prices for our 4 Night Special are listed on side outside of Peak Season (Thanksgiving Week), see www.highlandscondos.com for our Thanksgiving prices.

Harvest Festival 2011

If you've never stayed at Highlands Condos for the Autumn season, you and your camera have been missing out on hundreds of photo opportunities, not to mention atmosphere and a sense of majesty you just can't get anywhere else in the world!

Make your reservations for Highlands Condos in Gatlinburg and get views that comb over miles and miles of historical Appalachian ridges, hills, and peaks with nearly every color but blue. The crisp Harvest Festival air will add a touch of dignity to the luxury you're going to get in our condos and you won't want to leave until its time to go home!

Should you decide to venture out though, there are plenty of things to do during the Harvest Festival. Let's take a look at what Autumn offers the Smokies in East Tennessee!

Taste of Autumn
Location: Gatlinburg Convention Center
Description: The Taste of Autumn has been Gatlinburg's tastiest charity event for 13 years. A $25 donation will give you access to food from all kinds of vendors with the best food in town at the huge W.L. Mills Auditorium. All proceeds go to the United Way of Sevier County.
Start Date: September 15th
End Date: September 15h
Link Out: http://www.eventsgatlinburg.com/event_detail.aspx?id=7

Smoky Mountain Trout Tournament
Location: Gatlinburg Convention Center
Description: This popular event is hosted by Rocky Top Outfitter and is open to children as well as adults, visitors as well as local. Admission prices apply.
Start Date: September 24th
End Date: September 25th
Link Out: www.rockytopoutfitter.com

Oktoberfest at Ober Gatlinburg
Location: Ober Gatlinburg
Description: German food and German fun on top of the world for the Fall Season! Get in early and join in the music, dancing and everything else Ober Gatlinburg has to offer
Start Date: September 30th
End Date: October 30th
Link Out: www.obergatlinburg.com

Ripley's Fright Nights
Location: Ripley's Haunted Adventure
Description: An entire month of screams, frights and thrills to celebrate Halloween in Gatlinburg. Character parades, the living dead, and things you better say your prayers to prepare for.
Start Date: October 1st
End Date: October 31st
Link Out: www.ripleys.com/gatlinburg/

Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair
Location: W.L. Mills Convention Center
Description: Artists and Crafters local and from hundreds of miles around gather at the Gatlinburg Convention Center where over 120 booths and all kinds of handcrafted items, plus the artists, are on display.
Start Date: October 6th
End Date: October 23rd
Link Out: www.craftsmenfair.com

Trick or Treat Kick off Karnival
Location: Downtown Gatlinburg
Description: From Noon to 3 P.M. Gatlinburg will celebrate Halloween with the Gatlinburg Police Department and Gatlinburg Fire Department working in conjunction to offer a safe, family fun filled trip for everyone!
Start Date: October 31st
End Date: October 31st
Link Out: www.eventsgatlinburg.com/event_detail.aspx?id=54

Winter Magic Kickoff & Chili Cookoff
Location: Downtown Gatlinburg
Description: Offering mouth-watering recipes of homemade chili ranging from mild and delightful to wild and adventurous, the City of Gatlinburg celebrates the start of Winter with an awesome Chili Cookoff! Bring admission and a lot of napkins.
Start Date: November 9th
End Date: November 9th
Link Out: www.eventsgatlinburg.com/event_detail.aspx?id=11

Trolley Ride of Lights
Location: Downtown Gatlinburg
Description: Visitors can soak up the spirit of the season from the comfort of a Gatlinburg Trolley by taking the relaxing Gatlinburg Winter Magic Trolley Ride of Lights. These are popular guided excursions that are sure to become a tradition.
Start Date: November 9th
End Date: January 30th
Link Out: www.eventsgatlinburg.com/event_detail.aspx?id=13

Plan a Trip to Cherokee, North Carolina

Have you been across the National Park to Cherokee, NC? Cherokee is a sort of bookend to Gatlinburg and well worth a day trip visit out.

Cherokee is located on the other side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the Spur, on the same highway that the Sugarlands Visitor Center is on. From there, it is an hour's drive through the National Park, across THE most gorgeous scenery in the Tennessee Smokies (and over a dozen stopping-parking spots to take pictures, several hiking trails and plenty of picnicking opportunities), from the tops of the hills and then down again at the Oconaluftee Visitor's Center, which is your sign that you're 3-5 minutes away from Cherokee.

Once inside, you can go straight, take a turn left, or stop at the Arcade/Fun Center right at the gates into the town if the kids are getting antsy or you need a good place to stretch your legs a bit. Going left will take you to some hotels, some restaurants and some shopping alongside another arcade and fun center. Going straight will take you straight into the heart of the town. Cherokee is fairly small (about the size of Gatlinburg) and it's pretty hard to get lost.

From there are plenty of things to do from the aforementioned Arcades/Fun Centers to more cultural items of interest, like the Oconaluftee Visitor's Center, which offers a walking trail, historical architecture, and some exhibits on Appalachian culture from the old days, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, which is, appropriately, the authority on Cherokee history and information with hundred of exhibits and excellent video presentations throughout the tour, the Oconaluftee Indian Village, which is a working Cherokee Indian Village meant to show you what life back in 1760 was like for the Cherokee Indians, and Unto These Hills, a dramatic production high in the hills showcasing the story of Tsali and more history plus incredible musical numbers.

Cherokee also features an island park where kids can wade in the Oconaluftee river or a canal in the center of the park plus a large, unique bamboo grove full of photo opportunities. If you have kids who like to skate, take them to the free skate park. If all else fails, Harrah's Cherokee Casino is a huge facility with entertainment like you can't get for miles and miles around.

Cherokee, NC is a little town with a lot to offer, so if you're looking for something different and you want to see a lot of gorgeous Smoky Mountain scenery on the way there, plan a day trip out and you won't be disappointed.

To get to Cherokee from Gatlinburg, take the Gatlinburg Bypass from the Spur (just 2 minutes before you reach the city from Pigeon Forge) and keep on straight for roughly an hour.

All pictures are copyright Ge'ne L. K. Lawhead

Harvest Festival Starting Up!

Oh, how we have been looking forward to the Harvest Season! Cooler temperatures, an air of dignity (literally, as you breathe in, the air just gives a taste that makes the atmosphere feel more reverent and majestic without being too much - you'll understand it when you get here), Hay Rides and, saving the best reason for last, the colors of the mountains as they change here during the Harvest Festival.

From our views here on Highlands Condos, it's not crazy to think you might stand outside on our balconies and snap pictures for 10 full minutes or more - looking for perfect angles, dents and hillsides. The views themselves will be no contention as you can literally see out for miles of Smoky Mountain color and see the might of the mountains in full bloom. Suddenly it becomes clear how a culture like our great ancestors could've stayed stubbornly in place during the harsh years of generations before.

That's what the Harvest Festival is all about - celebrating the cultures that were our foundation and the mountains that built that foundation. There are several great places to capitalize that on here in the Smokies -

- The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge.
- Dollywood, which holds a Harvest Festival event month-long every October.
- Cades Cove out in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- The Arts and Crafts Community of Gatlinburg.
- The Hay Rides of Gatlinburg (Sept 15th to Oct 31st).

If that doesn't give you the spirit of the Smokies in a gorgeous Autumn setting, nothing will. If it does, boy are you in luck, as they are relatively easy to get to from Highlands (although Cades Cove is a good 34-40 miles away, it's well worth the trip) and you can take many chances to explore the cultures with our 4 Night Special which we have listed here:

Fall Specials - 4 Night Special
Starting Aug. 15 through Dec. 23
4 Nights / 1 Bedroom Condo $349.00 + tax
4 Nights / 2 Bedroom Condo $419.00 + tax
4 Nights / 3 Bedroom Condo $539.00 + tax
Void October 8 thru October 31 and Thanksgiving week.

October Specials 4 Night Special (Peak Season prices)
Starting Oct. 8 through Oct. 31
4 Nights / 1 Bedroom Condo $445.00 + tax
4 Nights / 2 Bedroom Condo $545.00 + tax

Reservations for Harvest Festival go pretty quickly, so make your reservations TODAY and get the views that are our National Treasure. Hope to see you soon!

July Craftsmen's Fair

For those who may have been to the Craftsmen's Fair for a while, the one in July, and likely more to come, would have surprised you. You would've arrived to find so many booths (more than 160 as listed by the Craftsmen's information sheet) that many of them had to spread out into the hallways and even outside the W.L. Mills Convention Center in downtown Gatlinburg.

With 160+ booths and artists both local and from Virginia, Ohio, Georgia and way beyond, there was, of course, a wide berth of arts and crafts from candles, baskets, wood works, rock works, paintings, clothes and music to Christmas trees, sports-based fan pulls, old fashioned rifles, shields, interesting lights, and much more than any human being could hope to absorb in a few hours.

If you're coming to the Autumn Craftsmen's Fair and you just can't get enough of hand-made arts the likes of which you've seen and haven't seen before, the $6.00 admission fee is well worth it. Unfortunately, we were not able to get pictures, but we can guarantee you you've probably never seen a convention center this packed with amazing arts and crafts from nearly the entire Eastern half of the country.

Check out some of our Youtube Videos!

Have you seen our Youtube page? We've been building it up and now its filled with video tours of our luxury condos overlooking the city of Gatlinburg. Take a look:



















Our videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/HighlandsGatlinburg

Special Events Into July

So what's coming up in the Gatlinburg section of the Smokies these days?

Well, tomorrow evening Gatlinburg returns its newest major summer tradition to the streets of Gatlinburg with Gatlinburg Tunes and Tales! Seven nights a week we have performances all throughout the evening and all throughout the city with musicians, dancers, storytellers and much more adding a significant touch of southern Appalachia to our summer here in the Smokies.

Then we have the Fourth of July to think about! The Midnight Fourth of July Parade at midnight the minute it turns 12:00AM (5 minutes after 11:55PM on 7/3/11), River Raft Regatta from 9:00AM on on River Road in Gatlinburg, and the fireworks going off at sundown over the city!


Make reservations at www.highlandscondos.com. See you soon!

Memorial Day and Upcoming June

June and the start of summer are both just around the corner and its never too early to start planning for your summer vacation here in the Smoky Mountains!

For those of you bringing family, Dollywood is doing Kidsfest again this summer from June 17-August 7. This year we have Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 4D, The Gazillion Bubble Show, Penguin Group USA and much more in addition to the list of rides and interactive items Dollywood already has. It's at least a full day's worth of fun right there.

And in Gatlinburg, we have Smoky Mountain Tunes and Tales going on June 17-August 13. It adds more to the evening stroll through downtown Gatlinburg whether its the first time you've seen it or if you've seen it year after year like many of our visitors are now doing. Who wouldn't want mountain music and performers serenading the night away in the Smokies? It's all here and waiting for you in Gatlinburg, TN.

For Those Looking to Live it Up...

...almost everything you came to the mountains to do is right here in Gatlinburg, TN - fishing, horseback riding, whitewater rafting and even winter sports at Ober Gatlinburg just up the road from us.



We have something for everyone; that is Gatlinburg's main appeal. Within a 15 minute walk through the main downtown road is one to two full days of activities with Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, the Guinness World of Records, The Haunted Mansion on River Road, The Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum, the Skylift and, of course, the tram to Ober. That doesn't even count other attractions elsewhere in the city, like ziplines or the Arts and Crafts Community!



The sheer multitude of activities both large and small would take months and months to explore fully and its quite common for visitors to come back and stay with us time and time again to really live it up in the Smokies and see what they missed out on the previous trip!

For Those Looking To Relax...

...there is nothing like literally being on top of the world, looking down and out from the balcony at the mountains around you with almost zero distraction, where the sounds of nature fill the ambiance of the air, and knowing everything else you need for a luxurious visit is right behind you inside our condo to separate stress and being from your mind.



Highlands offers you this almost effortlessly and combined with the near perfect weather and atmosphere of Springfest (our two saunas and private balconies overlooking the Smokies help too), you'll melt into March with everything we offer and get the relaxation you came all the way to the Smokies to get!



Special events will be coming up soon, so stay tuned here or our Facebook page (link) as more stuff comes in. Springfest comes alive at Highlands Condos!

Valentine's Day 2011

As a spot to call your own in the mountains for Valentine's Day, Highlands Condo will be the perfect solution to your needs for a romantic Smoky Mountain Vacation, overlooking the city of Gatlinburg and those gorgeous hills the area is famous for.

Imagine sipping champagne on the balcony of the starry night with the one you love as the Great Smoky Mountains give way to the moonlight. Could it get any better than that?

Yes it could - we are offering a special on on-site Swedish Massage and Face glow for only $160, good with no expiration date. Call (865) 908-2530 to reserve this special offer.

And call 877.877.1377 to reserve your special place for Valentine's Day before the reservations are taken! It will be a gorgeous evening on the 14th, so don't miss a chance to spend it with your loved one at Highlands Condos!