Snow tubing season opened for the 2020-2021 season on November 21st at Ober Gatlinburg! This means now is the perfect time to plan your vacation to the Smokies and to purchase your advance snow tubing tickets! This is a wonderful activity the entire family can enjoy together and no special skills are required! Here are the top 5 things you need to know about snow tubing at Ober Gatlinburg:
1. What to Expect
If you have never been snow tubing at Ober Gatlinburg, it combines all of the fun of sledding down a mountain without the hassle of climbing back up the hill each time! After each of your tubing runs, simply use the convenient Magic Carpet for transport back up to the top. Each of the tubing sessions are 90 minutes long, so go down as many times as you want in that period of time! Sessions are held in sunshine, rain, sleet, and snow so be prepared and dress appropriately for any weather conditions!
2. Location Information
The snow tubing attraction is located at the Ober Gatlinburg ski area, which can be accessed via the Aerial Tramway from downtown Gatlinburg. The tram departs every 20 minutes for the 2.1 mile ride up to the ski area. During your journey, you can enjoy some of the best views in the Smoky Mountains! Keep in mind you may encounter wait times of 2 hours or more for the tram on weekends and holidays, so schedule your time accordingly. As an alternative to the tram, you can drive up Ski Mountain Road to Ober Gatlinburg and park in the lot for a fee.
3. Tubing Restrictions
One of the awesome things about snow tubing at Ober Gatlinburg is that there are very few restrictions. Since there are no skills involved with tubing, nearly everyone in the family can participate in the fun! While children ages 2 and under are not permitted to go tubing, kids ages 3 to 5 can ride with an adult 18 years or older in a double tube. Otherwise, kids have to be at least 6 years old and 42 inches tall to ride in a solo tube.
4. Snow Tubing Tickets
The snow tubing tickets are available both online and on the mountain, so you may want to purchase in advance if you have a particular session time in mind. The ticket price is the same for adults and kids, while children ages 3 and 4 are free with a paying adult! Note the price is slightly higher during holiday periods including the days around Thanksgiving, Christmas, Martin Luther King Weekend, and President’s Day Weekend.
5. Slope Reports
Keep your eye on the slope reports at Ober Gatlinburg to make sure snow tubing is open on the day of your visit! While the tubing runs are normally only closed in extreme weather conditions, there may be days in the early or late season where the temperature is too high for tubing. The slope report also comes in handy to identify the specific location of the tubing runs at the Ober Gatlinburg ski area.
Now you’ll definitely want to go snow tubing while you’re in town! Check out all of our information about snow tubing at Ober Gatlinburg today to plan your adventure to the Smoky Mountains!
