Notes from the Smokies — Stay in Smokies blog

The Smokies Firefly Window: What Each Property Can Offer

Synchronous fireflies at Elkmont peak in the first two weeks of June. Here is what each of our seven properties can do for a firefly trip, with or without a lottery pass.

Jun 1, 2026

Days Inn and Suites

Fireflies, Free Trails, and a Gatlinburg Week

Synchronous fireflies peak around Elkmont in the first week of June. Even without a lottery ticket, the park puts on a low-key light show after dark from lower-elevation trails.

Gatlinburg · Jun 1, 2026

Days Inn and Suites

Alum Cave at Sunrise From a Gatlinburg Lobby

The Alum Cave trailhead is twenty-two minutes from our parking lot. If you leave at 6, you're at the bluffs before the sun clears the ridge. Here is how to set up a May sunrise hike.

Gatlinburg · May 16, 2026

Lodge at Mill Creek

The Park Is What You'll Remember, Not the Headlines

The Stampede gets the headlines in this part of Pigeon Forge, but Great Smoky Mountains National Park is what you'll remember. Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a twenty-five-minute drive from Mill Creek; Cades Cove is forty-five.

Pigeon Forge · May 8, 2026

Days Inn and Suites

Wildflowers Without a Guide: A Late-April Plan

Trillium, lady slipper, fire pink. Late April is when the lower-elevation trails out of Gatlinburg do the heavy lifting. Here is what you can see on a self-guided walk from our lobby.

Gatlinburg · Apr 25, 2026

Spring in the Smokies: A Plan From Any of Our Front Desks

April in the Great Smoky Mountains is wildflower pilgrimage week, mild trails, and weekday park access at its calmest. Here is the cross-property version of the plan.

Apr 22, 2026

Motel 6

Two Park Trails That Allow Your Dog

Most national park trails ban dogs. Two near Gatlinburg do not. Here is how to spend an April morning with the dog without leaving the park boundary.

Gatlinburg · Apr 7, 2026

Days Inn and Suites

A Free Spring Morning at the Smokies Doorstep

Cataract Falls is ten minutes from our parking lot, the trail is paved, and the only money you'll spend before lunch is on coffee. Here is how an April morning out of Gatlinburg actually works.

Gatlinburg · Apr 4, 2026