Days Inn & Suites Gatlinburg is a hotel in downtown Gatlinburg at 1109 Parkway, sitting right at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the SkyLift, Ripley's Aquarium, and the town's best pancake houses all inside a short walk. If you want a base where the car can stay parked for most of the trip, this stretch of the Parkway is where to book.
The address matters because downtown Gatlinburg is narrow — one long strip pinched between two ridges. From this hotel, turn left out the front door and you're inside the national park in a couple of minutes; turn right and you walk straight into the middle of the shops, restaurants, and lift-served attractions. Very few hotels in downtown Gatlinburg put both of those on foot.
What sits within a short walk
The list is unusually dense for a downtown Gatlinburg lodging option. Crockett's Breakfast Camp is next door for cinnamon rolls the size of a hubcap. Log Cabin Pancake House is about seven minutes on foot, Pancake Pantry — the 1960 original that always has a happy line — is about eight, and The Donut Friar sits in the Village at roughly the same distance for a mid-morning coffee. Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen, where taffy is pulled in the window, is around six minutes down the sidewalk. For a distillery stop, Ole Smoky Moonshine is only about four minutes away.
On the attraction side, the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park and SkyBridge — the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America — is roughly an eight-minute walk. Anakeesta's base is about ten minutes on foot, and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies is around twelve. Sunset at the SkyBridge is a standing tradition worth planning around; the glass-floor panels look very different in gold light than at midday.
The national park is right outside
Because the Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance is at the hotel, the frugal version of a Gatlinburg trip works well here. You can spend nothing on the park itself and still fill a full day. The Gatlinburg Trail begins about a five-minute walk away — 1.9 flat miles from downtown to the Sugarlands Visitor Center, and leashed dogs are welcome. From Sugarlands, drivers can push deeper into the park for Rainbow Falls in the Roaring Fork area (an 80-foot waterfall reached by a scenic hike) or the Alum Cave Trail, which climbs past Arch Rock and the Alum Cave Bluffs toward Mt. LeConte. None of that costs a dime beyond gas and your own boots.
The rooms
There are four suite styles, and each one suits a different kind of trip:
- King Jacuzzi Suite — the couples' pick, with a two-person jacuzzi in the room and a king bed. Steps from the Parkway when you want to head back out.
- Bi-Level Loft Suite — a two-story family setup that sleeps six. Living area downstairs, bedroom loft above; useful when you want kids on one level and adults on another.
- King Fireplace Suite — a king bed with an in-room electric fireplace for the cooler months, when Gatlinburg nights drop into layer-up territory.
- Triple Suite — three beds in one extended suite, sleeping up to eight. This is the friends-trip room or the multi-family option.
All four sit at the same Parkway address, so no matter which one you book, the walkable list above is the same.
A short drive to Dollywood and Pigeon Forge
Some Gatlinburg trips lean park-and-town, and some lean theme park. Dollywood is about a fifteen-minute drive up the Parkway into Pigeon Forge, so a Dollywood day slotted into an otherwise walking-based Gatlinburg trip is easy — you drive there, drive back, and walk everywhere else the rest of the week. That balance is what most families here end up using this location for.
Booking direct
Booking direct at stayinsmokies.com/properties/days-inn-gatlinburg means a confirmed rate without the third-party game of telephone — and if you need to adjust dates, you talk to our front desk, not a call center in another time zone. Ask for a trail map at check-in; we keep a stack.
Common questions
### How far is the hotel from Dollywood?
About a fifteen-minute drive up the Parkway to Pigeon Forge.
### How close is the national park?
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance is right at the property, and the Gatlinburg Trail begins about a five-minute walk away.
### What's within walking distance of the hotel?
Ole Smoky Moonshine (about 4 minutes), Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen (6), Log Cabin Pancake House (7), Pancake Pantry and The Donut Friar (8), the Gatlinburg SkyLift and SkyBridge (8), Anakeesta (10), and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies (12). Crockett's Breakfast Camp is next door.
### What room types are available?
Four suite styles: the King Jacuzzi Suite, the Bi-Level Loft Suite (sleeps 6), the King Fireplace Suite, and the Triple Suite (sleeps up to 8).