Gatlinburg and Smoky Mountain Gifts People Actually Use

The best Gatlinburg and Smoky Mountain gifts are the ones that get used at home: a mug for slow mornings, a sticker for the car, or a handmade piece from the artisans outside town. Match the gift to how the person spends their Smokies trips, cabin, trail or town, and it will not end up in a drawer.

Three kinds of Smokies gift

Most Smoky Mountain gifts fall into one of three jobs, and it helps to know which one you are shopping for.

• The keepsake for someone who just went. They came home talking about the fog on the ridges and the pancakes. They want something that brings the trip back on a gray Monday.
• The gift for someone who goes every year. Families who rent the same cabin every October, couples who honeymooned there, the uncle who has hiked every trail he can reach. They want something that shows you know it is their place.
• The gift for someone planning a first trip. Practical help beats souvenirs here: a trail map, a parking tag, a guidebook, or a list of where to eat.

There is also a fourth kind, which is the gift you buy yourself. No judgment. We all do it.

Smoky Mountain gifts under $25

This range covers stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, a thank-you for the friend who watched the dog, and the “saw this and thought of you” gift.

• Vinyl stickers ($14.95). For water bottles, laptops, coolers and the back window of the car that has made the drive down I-40 or I-75 a dozen times.
• Black coffee mugs ($20.95). The everyday mug is the souvenir people actually use. If their favorite part of the Smokies is the porch at 7 a.m., this is the one.
• A paper trail map. Visitor centers and park stores sell maps and guidebooks. A map of the park with a few trails circled is cheap and very personal.

Three picks from our Gatlinburg and the Smokies collection, each a different design:

“Coffee First. Smokies Second” is for the person who will not discuss the day’s hike until the second cup. The “Meet Me Where the Mountains Get Smoky” sticker suits the friend you always travel with. “I Take My Coffee with a Mountain View” is our enamel camp mug, which steps up into the next price range at $32.95 and is the one to grab for someone who drinks their coffee outside.

Gifts under $50 for the cabin crowd

A lot of Smokies trips are really cabin trips. The hike is a few hours, but the porch, the hot tub and the late breakfast are the whole weekend. Gifts for these people lean cozy.

• Enamel camp mugs ($32.95). They look right on a porch rail and pack well in a cabin bag. A matching pair makes a good gift for a couple.
• A cabin starter box. Fill a box with a mug, a local coffee, a deck of cards and a printed list of places to eat in town. Our Smoky Mountain cabin packing list has ideas for what else to tuck in.
• Something for the group. If you are the one who organized the trip, a set of mugs with different Smokies designs is an easy way to say thanks to everyone who came.

“Mountain Mornings. Cabin Evenings” on a camp mug is basically the whole cabin weekend in four words. “Cabin Hair. Mountain Air” on a black mug is for the friend who does not bother with a hairbrush on vacation, and is proud of it. “Gatlinburg Is My Kind of Altitude” as a sticker is a nice add-on for the person who likes the town as much as the trails. A camp mug plus a black mug comes to just over $50, so that pair ships free.

Practical gifts for a first Smokies trip

If the person is planning their first trip, the most useful gift might be something that saves them a headache.

• A parking tag. Great Smoky Mountains National Park has no entrance fee, but it does require a parking tag for any vehicle parked in the park for longer than 15 minutes. The park sells daily, weekly and annual tags. Daily and weekly tags are sold through recreation.gov, annual tags through Smokies Life, and tags are also sold at visitor centers and parking tag machines in the park. Annual tags are valid for 12 months from the month of purchase. Check current prices and rules on the park’s fees and passes page before buying, since they can change.
• A plan for an easy hike. First-timers often do not know where to start. Print out a couple of options from our easy hikes in the Smoky Mountains guide and put it in the card.
• A fall itinerary. If they are going in autumn, send them our list of things to do in Gatlinburg in the fall, with your own favorite stop circled.

Buying handmade in Gatlinburg

If you are in town and want something made right there, the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community is the place to go. Gatlinburg’s visitor bureau describes it as a community of artisans spread along an 8-mile loop, and says it dates back to 1937, when a group of local craftspeople set up shop out in the Glades.

According to the community’s own visitor directions, you head east from downtown Gatlinburg on Highway 321 North (the East Parkway) for about three miles to the start of the loop, which runs along Glades Road and Buckhorn Road and back to 321. You will find studios and shops for things like pottery, woodwork, painting and candles. The visitor bureau notes there is a trolley route out to the community, which saves you hunting for parking at every stop. Hours vary by shop, so check before you go, especially outside the busy season.

A handmade piece from the Glades and a mug from home make a nice pairing: one thing from the place, one thing that reminds them of it every morning.

How to pick the right design

Our Smokies designs come in a few styles: Forest Ink Stamp, Scenic Shield Badge, Vintage Round Badge and Woodland Scenic Lettering. If you are not sure which one to choose, here is a quick way to think about it.

• For someone with a simple, classic taste: the round badge and shield badge styles read like an old park patch.
• For someone who likes a more hand-drawn look: the forest ink stamp feels rustic and a little rough around the edges, in a good way.
• For someone who wants the words to do the talking: the woodland lettering puts the phrase front and center.

Then choose the phrase that sounds like them. A coffee person gets a coffee line. A porch person gets a cabin line. The person who drives in from Kentucky every fall and sings in the car the whole way gets “Smoky Mountain State of Mind.”

Questions people ask

What is Gatlinburg known for as far as souvenirs?

Gatlinburg is known for its handmade crafts, especially from the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community east of downtown, along with mountain-themed home goods and anything with a black bear on it. Mugs and stickers are among the souvenirs people actually keep using.

What is a good gift for someone going to the Smoky Mountains?

Give them something useful for the trip: a parking tag for the national park, a trail map, a list of easy hikes, or a camp mug to take to the cabin porch. Practical gifts for a first trip are always welcome.

Do you need a pass to visit the Great Smoky Mountains?

There is no entrance fee, but the park requires a parking tag for vehicles parked longer than 15 minutes. Daily, weekly and annual options are available. Check the park’s fees page for current prices.

Where is the Arts and Crafts Community in Gatlinburg?

It starts about three miles east of downtown off Highway 321 North (the East Parkway) and follows an 8-mile loop on Glades Road and Buckhorn Road.

What is a good gift for someone who loves the Smokies but cannot go this year?

Bring the mountains to them. A mug with a Smokies phrase, a sticker for their car, or a framed photo from a past trip will remind them of the ridges until the next visit.

More in Gatlinburg and the Smokies and the full Nature & Adventure collection.