The Adventures Of Suze (2025)

30/09/2025

Are you ready to test your fear of heights?!

𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 - if you’re new here 👋🏻 follow for more travel, hiking and National Park content 🥾

If you are visiting Gatlinburg, Tennessee or surrounding areas, I recommend making the scenic trip to the SkyPark.

𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐭 - 10 minute scenic ride to the top of 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧. It opened in 1954 and is the longest running attraction in Gatlingburg

𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 - It opened in 2019 and is the longest pedestrian cable bridge in North America! It’s almost 700 feet across and 500 feet above Gatlinburg. The halfway point of the bridge is 30 feet of glass panels - can you #𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬?

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 - The newest part of the 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 has firepits, glider chairs and the most stunning views! You can get drinks from 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐈𝐏𝐒 and burgers from 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡. Highly recommend watching sunset from here!

𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 - an elevated boardwalk and wooded path for those that don’t want to brave the 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞, or those that want a change of scenery. From here, you can also access the 𝐓𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫.

𝐓𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 - 70 foot metal structure accessible by two rope bridges. Gives you excellent views of the 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 lit up at night. Named in honor of Tennessee’s state tree, the Tulip Poplar

𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤
🎟️ 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭: $37.95 (Adult), $30.95 (Seniors), $23.95 (kids 11-6)
🎟️ 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬 (Allows unlimited visits for the date of purchase): $47.95 (Adult), $40.95 (Seniors), $33.95 (Kids 11-6)
🎟️ 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬: $77.95
🎟️ 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞: $59.95 - LIMITED DATES - Saturdays in October only!

29/09/2025

Who knew Kentucky could look like this?! So many arches and cool rock formations!

Hike 35/52 was a really lovely stroll winding through the woods to see Grey’s Arch. I really enjoyed it and if we had more time, I could’ve wandered along the connecting paths all day. As a note, there is a good amount of stairs on this trail near the arch.

📍Hopewell, Osage, Cherokee, Shawandasse Tula, S’atsoyaha and Adena land

26/09/2025

Swipe to the end for a cute jump scare 👀

Hike 34/52 was SO gorgeous!!! Lush green forests, rhododendron tunnels and a waterfall out of a fairytale?! Yes please!! Meigs Creek Trail wasn’t originally in the plans but I’m so glad we ended up here!

25/09/2025

If you are planning a visit to Great Smoky Mountain National Park and are looking for a property that has it all, I can’t recommend enough!

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 👇🏼
📍Cosby, Tennessee; approxiately 20 minutes outside of Gatlinburg city center and 30ish minutes outside of the main park entrance.
🥾 Close to lots of hiking and outdoor activities, including the Cosby section of GSMNP
🛖 We stayed in one of their yurts, which has heating, air-conditioning and a mini-fridge. All of the yurts have a firepit, picnic table and a bistro-style table and chairs on the deck. Shared flush toilets are a short walk away
⛺️ There are a handful of tent camping sites and multiple sites for campers/trailers
🏠 There are multiple cabins on the property you can rent too, which look really nice. The lodge also has a few available rooms
🚿The bathhouse includes multiple showers, flush toilets, sinks and a laundry room! There is a waterfilling station as well! Also, showers are free - no coins or tokens needed 🙌🏻
🏊🏼 A large pool is open daily during the warmer months
🍺 The lodge has a store for Roamstead merchandise and camping supplies; there is also a bar serving food and beverages. We got dinner and breakfast here during our stay!

Got questions about the property? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer. I will also be writing a blog post about my stay here soon, so stay tuned for that.

If you are interested in staying here yourself, 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐒𝐔𝐙𝐄 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟎% 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 🙂

24/09/2025

Hike 33/52 left from the same parking lot we were in for Kuwohi, which made things very convenient! We hiked to Andrews Bald…the trail was so beautiful and green. It reminded me a lot of my favorite trails in New Hampshire.

On our way out of the park for the day, we saw a little bear on the side of the road. He was so awkward, definitely young, couldn’t have been more than 100lbs. Seems like he might make a habit of hanging out there because the park had a trap set up on the side of the road not far away. He was super cute but I hope he learns to stay further away from the road so he doesn’t get hit 🥺

📍Cherokee, S’atsoyaha and Miccosukee land

22/09/2025

While Newfound Gap Road being closed hindered some of our plans for Great Smoky Mountain National Park, we were still able to visit Kuwohi by taking the long way around to the southern side of the park. Hike 32/52 was a paved trail, but it was over half a mile so I count it as a hike 🙂

The views were beautiful! It was very windy at the top of the observation tower so if you visit, hold on to your hats!

📍Cherokee, S’atsoyaha and Miccosukee land

21/09/2025

I wasn’t sure what to expect when visiting Gateway Arch National Park, but I have to say, I had more fun here than I thought I would! I still feel like this should be a monument over a park though 🫣

DETAILS BELOW 👇🏼

‼️‼️ but first, if you are new here, follow for more National Park, hiking and travel content 🙌🏻

📍St. Louis, Missouri
🎟️ Tram Tickets start between $11-$15
💸 Combo tours are offered but are more expensive
⏰ Visitor Center opened everyday 9am-6pm
⚠️ Last tram of the day runs 1 hour before closing
🚗 Preferred Parking can be found nearby at the Stadium East Parking Garage - $10 for 5 hours
‼️ Don’t forget to check out the museum and store within the visitor center!

So, would you take the ride?!

📍Osage, Quapaw, Kiikaapoi, Kaskaskia, Myaamia and Očhéthi Šakówiņ land

20/09/2025

Hike 31/52 was underground 😎 we covered about 2.5ish miles on the Extended Historic Tour. It was really neat, and incredibly large! We did feel rushed on the tour though so the pictures didn’t come out great, but oh well!

📍Cherokee, Shawandasse Tula and S’atsoyaha land

19/09/2025

Hike 30/52 was at Garden of the Gods in Illinois! This was the Observation Trail. It was less than a mile but had very cool rock formations and nice views.

Sadly we saw a lot of graffiti here too 🙁 remember to Leave No Trace!

This was the first hike of vacation 🙌🏻

📍Shawandasse Tula, Yuchi, Osage, Quapaw, Kiikaapoi, Kaskaskia and Myaamia land

12/09/2025

✨Save this for future planning 👇🏼

Virgin Islands National Park on the island of St. John was the first park Jarrett and I ever visited together! This was long before we decided to visit all 63 US National Park, so I didn’t pay close attention to the park details, trail names or history like I do now. We didn’t even go into the visitor center!

One of the coolest things is that about 60% of St. John is part of the park, so no matter where you go, you’re usually within the park boundaries! We did a hike or two but mostly spent our time lounging on the many beautiful beaches.

Besides hanging out at the beach, you can hike, snorkel, check out old factory ruins and see wildlife. Some animals we saw were wild donkeys, iguanas, pelicans and all kinds of marine life! We saw small sharks (I believe it was a lemon shark) and some kind of ray!

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝: May 2013
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: August 2, 1956
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: St. John, USVI
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐞𝐞: Free!
𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩? Yes! I would love to go back so I could actually stop by the visitor center, do more hikes and spend more time doing water sports.
𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡: Maho Bay
𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐞: Caneel Hill

Have you ever been to Virgin Island National Park?

📍Taíno land

10/09/2025

The US National Parks are all so unique and special in their own way. Sometimes they may have overlapping identities (like Kings Canyon and Sequoia both share the draw of the incredible Sequoia groves) but even then, you can find something special about each one.

At this point, we’ve been to 32 of the 63 US National Parks. 3 of those parks focus on sand dunes - Indiana Dunes, in Indiana, White Sands in New Mexico and Great Sands in Colorado. We had fun exploring all 3 of the parks and enjoyed them all but here’s my breakdown 👇🏼

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐬 (𝟐-𝟔): The area where this was located wasn’t the most beautiful - there were a lot of industrial buildings surrounding the park which diminished some of the natural beauty. Having a sandy trail through the woods was cool though. Also, Lake Michigan looked more like an ocean than a lake and I felt like I was at the beach (with the exception of seeing Chicago looming in the distance!).

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 (𝟕-𝟏𝟒): There might not be anything more random than driving in Colorado, being surrounded by blue, snow capped mountains, only to suddenly come across miles of sand dunes seemingly out of nowhere. The park is so strange, beautiful and unexpected. While we had fun exploring the park, we didn’t enjoy the crowds, the extremely hot sand (even in the morning) and feeling like our skin was being sandblasted off by the wind.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 (𝟏𝟓-𝟐𝟎): This is a gorgeous park with pristine white sands. Every pop of color, from the yellow flowers, to the green grass to the purple shadow of mountains in the distance, brought so much life to the park. The sand here was cool (temperature wise) and soft to the touch. Even with the wind blowing, we didn’t feel the pain we had at Great Sands. And we liked the sledding here better!

For us, White Sands takes the win!

Have you been to any of these parks?

09/09/2025

If Angel’s Landing had a younger cousin that lived on the east coast, it would be the Beehive Trail at Acadia National Park. It’s a short, fun hike that takes you up rungs and ladders and lots of rocks. If you are afraid of heights, beware! I personally didn’t find it scary but I know others did.

The views the whole way up were gorgeous. You can see the Atlantic ocrean, Sand Beach and other notable locations. Like other places in the park, you can add on other trails to make this longer if desired.

This is one of, if not the most, popular trail at Acadia so plan accordingly. Get to the trailhead early, be prepared to wait in line to ascend the ladders and rungs and remember that everyone moves at a different pace - give the person in front of you plenty of room.

Would you dare to hike this trail?

🥾 Approx. 1.4 miles round trip
⛰️ Approx. elevation gain 525 ft.
🌲 Moderate to hard (depends on fitness level)
⚠️ Be cautious if you are afraid of heights
💰 $20-$35, or use the America the Beautiful annual pass
🦮 No dogs allowed
🚽 Bathrooms available nearby

As always, please practice the 7 principles of Leave No Trace and stay on the trail.

📍N’dakina, Wabanaki, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot land

The Adventures Of Suze

30/09/2025

29/09/2025

26/09/2025

25/09/2025

24/09/2025

22/09/2025

21/09/2025

20/09/2025

19/09/2025

12/09/2025

10/09/2025

09/09/2025

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