For kids that age, I wouldn't bother with Asheville. Go to Gatlinburg.

If you are going into the park from the Asheville side, I will second PP's comment about the long line of cars. We stayed closer to the entrance at Cherokee (which I don't recommend), but if you're coming from closer to Asheville it might be more than an hour without traffic. Get up early and go. The Alum Cave trail is nice and we went to Clingman's Dome, which we were also pretty early at but when we left was an absolute zoo. We also spent a day cruising by various waterfalls closer to Highlands/Cashiers. We had lunch in Highlands.

Anonymous wrote:Gatlinberg was touristy and crowded. We stayed in an AirBNB on the side of a mountain. While I didn’t like the location, at least it wasn’t jam packed and full of traffic like Gatlinberg.

In the Smokies, we’d sometimes be in long lines of cars. Once we started a hike, it was okay even though the trails were crowded.

Oh, my answer is no. I didn’t think it was worth it to go there.

Gatlinberg was touristy and crowded. We stayed in an AirBNB on the side of a mountain. While I didn’t like the location, at least it wasn’t jam packed and full of traffic like Gatlinberg.

In the Smokies, we’d sometimes be in long lines of cars. Once we started a hike, it was okay even though the trails were crowded.

Oh absolutely! And not just the smoky national park, there are so many forests, trails, etc in the area.

Where did you stay in Gatlinburg?

We drove to Gatlinburg and stayed there to visit the Smokies. Definitely worth it.

Tons to do in Gatlinburg. Also Dollywood was a lot of fun. The Smokies were beautiful.

Asheville was meh.

Not sure but downtown Asheville is riddled with drug addicts shooting up. I was really uncomfortable there with my kids. I thought it would be quaint and charming, which it would be without people doing every gross act imaginable in the shrubbery. No thanks.

We’re very late in planning spring break plans for family of 5, kids ages 7-13. Hoping to road-trip to Asheville. Is it worth also going to the Smokies? Any suggested itineraries for up to 9 days?