Aren’t you way, way overdue for a little me-time? A wellness escape focused on self-care, with the opportunity to slow down, to re-center yourself, to tend to mind, body, and spirit alike?
Well, as it happens, Gatlinburg, Tennessee—that beautifully situated portal to the Great Smoky Mountains—is a fantastic choice for this kind of trip. Prime a destination as it is for lively family vacations, weekend friend getaways, and the like, Gatlinburg can also serve as a rejuvenating and restorative—even meditative—home base, with natural beauty and wellness-oriented activities in ample supply.
Here are a few suggestions for things to do on a self-care retreat to Gatlinburg:
Accommodations for a Gatlinburg Wellness Getaway
Gatlinburg’s a tourist town, a well-known attraction in and of itself, and also one of the primary gateways to the most popular national park in the U.S. That means you’re spoiled for choices when it comes to places to stay, and many of these lodgings deliver nicely for a more reflective, in-the-moment visit focused on R&R and wellness.
Take Seven Springs Retreat, for example, a family-operated holistic center enfolded in the Great Smoky Mountain foothills. Seven (you guessed it) natural springs lie on the 126-acre property, which includes a spacious yoga shala as well as private yurts, a glamping tent, and multiple campsites. Seven Springs Retreat offers both group experiences and private wellness retreats, during which you’ll have the center as your own lovely personal oasis.
Calling the decked-out glamping tent or one of the electricity-equipped yurts—each designed to evoke different countries and cultures that the Seven Springs owners have experienced—your home away from home for a private wellness retreat, you’ll have access to the property’s fully equipped kitchen and the option of enjoying such pursuits as one-on-one yoga classes, holistic health consultations, sound baths, creativity workshops, and guided nature walks. Whether you’re looking for a getaway filled with personalized activities and sessions focused on health and mindfulness, or just an immersion in deep quiet and unstructured time, Seven Springs Retreat can be an utterly transformative place.
You might alternatively consider bedding down at one of the Gatlinburg area’s numerous resorts, which also nestle you amid serenity and splendor in the Smoky Mountain foothills and pamper you across the board. Among your options are Gatlinburg Falls Resort, Chalet Village, Cobbly Nob Resort, Mountain Shadows Resort, Hemlock Falls Resort, Elk Springs Resort, and Black Bear Falls Resort.
Or reserve your own Gatlinburg vacation cabin, relishing the privacy, charm, and quiet of a Smoky Mountain sanctuary all to yourself! Morning meditations, sunset yoga, long and leisurely baths, reading by the fire: Does it get any better?
Spa Sessions in Gatlinburg
A high-quality spa treatment is the kind of experience that can boil a self-care vacation down to its purest, most all-around blissful essence. Treat yourself to a hot-stone massage, a body soak, a pedicure, an interlude of peaceful aromatherapy, and the cares of workaday life will seem a million miles away. Set those therapeutic pleasures against the green backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains, and you’ve got real magic on tap!
Among your options for massages, scrubs, and other spa treatments in Gatlinburg are the St. Somewhere Spa (539 Parkway), Fox Place Salon & Spa (376 E Parkway Suite 2), and Serenity Spa by Westgate (915 Westgate Resorts Rd, Building 1000).
Immerse Yourself in the Vistas & Rhythms of the Great Smoky Mountains
Simply spending time in the Great Smoky Mountains—one of the great mountain-scapes in the country, host to towering forests, whitewater rivers, natural mountaintop gardens, expansive vistas of repeating blue-green ridges—can feed the soul and restore the spirit. It can also, of course, strengthen the body, what with the hundreds of miles of trails at your full disposal in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
With a Gatlinburg perch, you’re but a stone’s throw from the heart of these highlands, where day hikes, riverside picnics, and scenic drives set you up marvelously for a full dose of “forest bathing.” The park’s wonderful for independent forays of all kinds, but you’ve also got lots of options for guided and curated explorations. Besides ranger-led outings and activities, a number of outfitters and companies offer hiking and sightseeing packages in the Great Smoky Mountains.
A case in point is the long-running, locally-owned A Walk in the Woods, which offers half-day and full-day hikes with all kinds of focuses—waterfalls, fall colors, old-growth trees, even salamanders (which reach unrivaled diversity in the Southern Appalachians)—as well as guided backpacking itineraries.
“Me Time” of the Highest Order at the Doorstep of the Great Smokies
We all deserve the chance to get reacquainted with ourselves, to clear out some headspace, to kick up our feet, to shed a little stress, and unburden ourselves. A self-care retreat is a wonderful way to give yourself some overdue TLC, and Gatlinburg’s a fantastic setting for it!
