She Dares To Go

05/29/2026

Less than an hour from the Gatlinburg Strip 😮‍💨🙌

📌Add these hidden gems to your Tennessee adventure list!

📌Send this to the person who’d love it here 💃🏻

Listen - As a single mom traveling solo with kids, my daughter and I took this epic 6-hour road trip from Virginia to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and never stepped foot on the strip!

Instead we spent our entire trip hiking, ziplining, horseback riding, and exploring hidden gems in the Smoky Mountains cutting through Pigeon Forge, Townsend, and Sevierville Tennessee.

Unique Places to Visit in Smoky Mountains⬇️

1️⃣ Climb Works Ziplining — Gatlinburg

• One of the most epic things to do in Tennessee with kids
• Scenic zip lines over the Smoky Mountains
• Kids 5+ can participate

2️⃣ Grotto Falls — Smoky Mountains

• One of the only waterfalls you can walk behind
• Located on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
• Beautiful Smoky Mountain hike

3️⃣ Horseback Riding — Townsend, TN

• Ride through the Smoky Mountain foothills
• We rode with Davy Crockett Riding Stables
• One of the most peaceful ways to explore the park

4️⃣ Cades Cove

• One of the most beautiful places in Tennessee
• Scenic 11-mile loop drive
• Famous for black bear and wildlife sightings

5️⃣ Kuwohi (highest point in Tennessee)

• Highest point in the state
• Short 0.5 mile hike to the tower
• Go at sunrise or sunset

Save this Gatlinburg & Smoky Mountains itinerary for your trip.

05/26/2026

Wait for it….! 🫢🙌 How to Find it⬇️

📌Share this with the person who’d love it here & follow me for more epic adventures like this in Virginia & Beyond.

Listen! I’m rarely speechless and I’ve seen dozens of waterfalls all across Virginia and the US

But something about this Virginia waterfall stopped me dead in my tracks.

This 66 foot towering beauty is one of the best waterfalls in Virginia and it can be heard roaring as you get close to it!

I took a solo hike with my 8 year old here and this waterfall shows up seemingly out of nowhere!

Right smack dab in the middle of the George Washington National Forest in Pembroke Virginia

Cascades Falls officially ruined all the other waterfalls for me because it’s just that stunning!

📌Cascades Falls - Pembroke Virginia
Directions: I-64W about 30 minutes from Virginia Tech
🚗4 hours from northern Virginia
🚗3 hours from Richmond
💰3.00 to park
🥾4 miles and back hike (2 miles each way) - trekking poles recommended

Would you go here?!

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Hey! I’m Shaneice - a single mom who loves to travel solo with my daughter. Hiking, road trips, and epic unique adventures are our jam!

Follow for more epic adventures in you can do solo & with kids🙌

05/22/2026

The secret Virginia community that lived in the swamp…and you probably never heard of it…

📌 Comment “Trail” for guided tour info

As a solo mom, I took my 8-year-old on a 4-hour road trip from Northern Virginia to Suffolk, Virginia to explore one of the most powerful and overlooked Black history sites in Virginia.

The Great Dismal Swamp isn’t just a nature trail.
From the 1600s through the Civil War, it was a refuge for thousands of escaped enslaved people and self-emancipated communities known as Maroons, making it an important stop connected to the Underground Railroad.

What I wasn’t prepared for:
• The silence — it’s unlike any trail I’ve been on
• Fog that rolls in without warning
• Aggressive flies near the parking areas
• Limited cell service
• Trails that aren’t always clearly marked
• Wildlife activity that depends heavily on the season

Halfway through the walk, my daughter quietly said,
“Wow… what about the children? I’m glad I didn’t have that life.”
Yes — I cried.

This is one of Virginia’s Natural Wonders, and also one of the most meaningful places we’ve visited together.

If you’re looking for unique places to visit in Virginia, impactful things to do in Virginia with kids, or Black history experiences that stay with you — this is it.

📍 Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Suffolk, Virginia
🚗 4 hours from Northern Virginia & DC
🚙 2 hours from Richmond

📌 Save this for planning your Virginia road trip
➡️ Follow for more epic adventures you can do with kids

05/20/2026