Business Insider's reporter didn't expect to find a tramway above the Great Smoky Mountains.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I took an aerial tram up into the Great Smoky Mountains in spring 2023.
The ride was not part of my initial travel plan. In fact, I’d never heard of it before this trip.
I spotted the tram while stuck in the rain with no taxi. It was the highlight of my trip.
During a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains in spring 2023, I had an experience I never expected — taking an aerial tram ride high above them.
I never knew this tramway existed before I arrived at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But it turned out to be the most unexpected highlight of my trip.
And if I hadn’t been stranded in the rain, I never would have ridden it.
I was dreading a three-hour walk to my Airbnb on a rainy day in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, when I spotted a tram in the sky.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I spotted the aerial tram from a restaurant in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a town near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I was trying to figure out how to get to my Airbnb, but with no taxis available, I faced a three-hour walk in heavy rain.
The tram travels between downtown Gatlinburg and Ober Mountain, a tourist attraction with a roller coaster and other rides that happened to be just a 30-minute walk from my Airbnb.
The tram stop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with rides to Ober Mountain.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Completed in 1973 to bring skiers safely up to the slopes, the tram ascends 300 feet above the Great Smoky Mountains and has carried millions of people up to Ober Mountain, according to the company’s website.
I was relieved to avoid an hourslong rainy walk and went to the tram station, which was across the street from the restaurant.
The author gets her ticket to ride
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I bought a $30 tram ticket for a two-mile ride above the mountains.
At the station, I learned that it's one of the largest aerial tramways in the US.
A tram arrives at Ober Mountain.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Each tram car can hold 120 people, according to Ober Mountain.
Once on board, I was impressed by how much room I had to move around and see the park from different angles.
Inside a tram traveling above the national park.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I don’t think my tram ride was completely full.
The ride lasted about 10 minutes. I thought it swayed quite a bit, but not enough to be uncomfortable.
